Timed vs Free Choice Protein Feeders

[Krivoman]

1200

[Ksbowhunter]

1200

do you give a price break for 2?

what is the lead time?

[Krivoman]

2 weeks. I start price breaks on orders of 5 or more. pm me

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[Ksbowhunter]

2 weeks. I start price breaks on orders of 5 or more. pm me

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sounds good. let me check with the other guys in camp and see if there is any interest.

will a 2000# fit in a regular pickup bed?

[Lawhorn]

If you have a budget then go the timed route. We have 488 and we have 6 stations, all of which have water, protein and cotton seed. This set up allows for all deer to be given an opportunity to eat and drink. Our deer actually prefer the cotton seed over the protein. We are in our 6th year under high fence and are carrying a deer per 8 acres. We currently are feeding a ton a month.


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[Archery1st]

I just said to grow and improve the herd the best possible, they need food 24/7 whenever they need and want it. Not when a human feels they need it for best purposes of killing them

I believe this is false. The deer have food 24 x 7 regardless if they are eating out of your feeder 24 x 7 - their natural browse remains.

I had this exact discussion with Macy Ledbetter who is arguably one of the best biologist in the state 7-8 years ago. He believes it could have the reverse effect having deer too dependent on supplemental feed.

For one...there are times of the year when they really need the supplement. Post Rut and early antler development. Nursing does. However if they become too dependent it can cause a deer to founder. Also if they become 100% dependent on protein and do to any number of reasons the feed runs out - your setup to fail. Last he believes natural browse helps their digestion of said protein feeds by providing a better balance.

So why not have the best of both worlds?

1. With timed feeders you can train them to come during daylight.
2. You are providing supplemental feed in a measurable amount so you can better time the next filling so you don't run out.
3. The deer do not become so dependent on protein and natural browse helps balance their digestive tract.

[txwhitetail]

There are definitely ranches that are pretty much feedlots now.

[RRagan83]

I got my timed All Season feeder out and it took the turkey about 30 mins after I left to start eating from it the deer was on it that night.

[daniel044]

We are going to buy ours here in a few weeks. What times did you set it to and how many seconds per feed?

[Tradman1971]

I believe this is false. The deer have food 24 x 7 regardless if they are eating out of your feeder 24 x 7 - their natural browse remains.

I had this exact discussion with Macy Ledbetter who is arguably one of the best biologist in the state 7-8 years ago. He believes it could have the reverse effect having deer too dependent on supplemental feed.

For one...there are times of the year when they really need the supplement. Post Rut and early antler development. Nursing does. However if they become too dependent it can cause a deer to founder. Also if they become 100% dependent on protein and do to any number of reasons the feed runs out - your setup to fail. Last he believes natural browse helps their digestion of said protein feeds by providing a better balance.

So why not have the best of both worlds?

1. With timed feeders you can train them to come during daylight.
2. You are providing supplemental feed in a measurable amount so you can better time the next filling so you don't run out.
3. The deer do not become so dependent on protein and natural browse helps balance their digestive tract.

I agree with this!!!

[hammer63]

I believe this is false. The deer have food 24 x 7 regardless if they are eating out of your feeder 24 x 7 - their natural browse remains.

I had this exact discussion with Macy Ledbetter who is arguably one of the best biologist in the state 7-8 years ago. He believes it could have the reverse effect having deer too dependent on supplemental feed.

For one...there are times of the year when they really need the supplement. Post Rut and early antler development. Nursing does. However if they become too dependent it can cause a deer to founder. Also if they become 100% dependent on protein and do to any number of reasons the feed runs out - your setup to fail. Last he believes natural browse helps their digestion of said protein feeds by providing a better balance.

So why not have the best of both worlds?

1. With timed feeders you can train them to come during daylight.
2. You are providing supplemental feed in a measurable amount so you can better time the next filling so you don't run out.
3. The deer do not become so dependent on protein and natural browse helps balance their digestive tract.

Great points! I've always said that deer tend to become lazy when feed is available 100% free choice. They live at the feeders rather than work for their food. Reminds me of our country's welfare system.

[mjhaverkamp]

We have a small place and were feeding free choice , it was costing us 8000.00 a year for 450 acres, about the only thing different that I have noticed with the deer ( since we quit feeding free choice ) is body size, I think a lot of that is because of the draught we had, the antlers seem to be about the same. I just started using the timed lamco feeder last season, i really like it a lot, I am just using the protein as an attractant and hopefully it will help some deer as well.

[RRagan83]

We are going to buy ours here in a few weeks. What times did you set it to and how many seconds per feed?

7AM and 5PM that was the day before the time change. So it will be feeding at 8AM and 6PM I have it running 7 secs per feeding I will adjust as needed. I am trying to find a balance where they clean it all up each time it goes off. I have a free choice feeder 50 yards from the timed unit that I will run until September, and then go solely to the timed unit.

[BigThicketBoy]

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[Kbar]

I'm considering feeding protein on a new place I'm hunting. It is 630 acres. I'm going back and forth between timed or free choice feeders.

I like the ability to control when protein is available with the timed feeders. That would lead to your deer feeding in daylight hours if you only had it feeding in daylight hours. It would also allow me to control the cost by controlling how much protein I'm feeding. The question is do the deer get the benefit of protein if it is available but not in an unlimited free choice amount?

I've looked at the timed protein feeders from Lamco, HB and All Seasons. Krivoman isn't an option logistically. The troughs on the Lamco and HB look to be more maintenance than I want because they would fill with rain water. That's more trouble that I'm looking for because the place is 2.5 hours away so I'd probably go with the All Seasons 600 pound timed protein feeders.
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If I go with a free choice I'll go with a Lamco feeder such as this in either 700, 1100 or 2000 pounds.

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My questions are:
1. Timed or free choice and why?
2. How many protein feeders are needed on 630 acres?
3. How many pounds of protein ball park should I expect to feed on 630 acres?

Thanks

Which feeders did you go with and why?