Protein Feeders and Cows

[Danimal]

We are planning on putting out 6 to 10 protein feeders around our ranch this year and I want to get off on the right foot.

We do have cows in the pastures from time to time and I assume they will be a problem at the feeders. Anyone have experience with this?

What would be a good feeder/acre ratio?

Also, can I get some recommendations on protein feeders?

[dgilbert]

All I can say is make your pens as big as possible & strong, taking away the temptation. The # depends on size and terrain. We use All Season feeders.

[stonecold]

build the pens before you put feed in the feeders, if the cows don't know its in there most of the time they will leave it alone

[huntingfanatic]

If you put these on as drop tubes you do not have to build pens. Cows wont mess with them and the der can get out as much as they want.

[Andy]

I use the all season protein feeder actually I bought lid,inside funnel,and down spout.I buildt legsand had my own barrel. I didn't feed any this year but had my cattle in tank lot with protein feeder and I found it on the ground and one leg twisted off......That simbra bull of mine will destroy anything metal and standing up. He loves to tear up T post that are out by themselves.They will be bent,broken or pushed over........Andy

[ZZ Pops]

We put up barbed wire pens. The cattle where we hunt have apparently never read that they shouldn't do anything un-ordinary around deer feeders! They will rub against the legs (almost knocking the feeder down), eat feed from the dispenser, and keep deer from coming to eat. The yearling calves will lick dispensers as long as pellets continue to fall, and generally make a nuisance of themselves. We find it better just to fence them out.

Our pens work well except for the occasional herd of feral goats that sometimes hit our pasture. They have emptied an 800# feeder in less than two days.

[keep]

We are trying an electric fence this year around the food plots, hope it works.

[Danimal]

I guess I will be building pens huh! Huntingfanatic I like the idea of the heavy drop tubes, but I am afraid our crazy cows would just knock the legs out from under the hopper.
I had a new feeder I built last year and set up at the of January when I went back out in February the legs looked like pretzels. And it was anchored good! I have since started hanging all my corn feeders from large oaks with a bracket I make. Watch for a DIY post on that one in the future.
You guys that are using the "All Seasons" feeders, have you had good luck with them? How about coons, do the tubes on them really work to keep them out like they claim?

[Deerslayer]

We are diving into using protein on our new lease. AceLineman cleared our pens in the brush to 150' x 150' ! We are going to hog panel 24" and barb wire a couple of strands above that. We have had corn feeders going for a month and the cattle could care less. We need to keep hogs out. The big question we have is how long does it take deer that have been fed very little over the last 5+ years to get use to using protein feeders? From our pics in the last month , alot of immature deer will come under a corn feeder, but not alot of mature bucks are going right under the feeder or in the pen. Strattons buck was at a feeder, but he was eating hand fed corn. It took a month of heavy tailgate feeding for these deer to learn what that was all about. Should we hand feed the pens heavy in the beginning with protein to get them started?

[tuthdoc]

If not hots, I'd build 3 strand barbed wire pens with Gaucho, 4 prong barbed wire. I'd make the pen pretty big. Use a panel for your gate so you can drive in. I HATE wire gaps. You can use a hog panel and keep it off the ground if you want to for the gate. Build it so they can't get to it. If you let them get to it, they'll tear up ANYTHING to get to it again.

If you have hogs, I'd build it out of at least 10 hog panels, 12 is better. I'd make it round. One post per panel will usually be enough. If you want to make it super strong, add a post midpanel. I'd NEVER put a strand of barbed wire or slick wire above the panel. Deer, and especially bucks, are lazy. They can jump an 8 ft fence if they want, but they'll just jump high enough to clear a 3 footer. If you put a wire above the panel, it's a matter of time until you find a buck with a broken leg hung in the fence.

If the deer have never eaten protein, then I would put a sack of corn in the feeder then a 50/50 mix of corn and protein and fill it up, if it's a 300 lber. If it's a 100 lbs or more, I'd use corn, mix about 3 of each and then straight protein. Problem is, deer can be picky about what brand they like. So, if you don't know what they'll like, then I'd wait and let them tell me that they'll eat it before I filled a 1000 lber.

We put up two new pens this past weekend. Here's what we do. We select the sight first. That's NUMBER 1!! Put it where the deer are and not where you want it. Then we built them with 12 panels in a round onfiguration. We put up a 1000# Boss Buck feeder and moved a corn slinger feeder in the pen. We set the corn feeder for 7 AM, 6 PM, and Midnight. When the feeder pens were ready, I drove my ranger all around the pen throwing corn from my road feeder. Don't want piles of corn to temp the cows. After laying down a sack or so of corn in the pen, I drive all around the pen throwing corn with the road feeder. Usually, we'll have deer around the pen the first day, in it that night and they'll get on the protein quick. We know they like Purina and most have eaten out of feeders somewhere on the ranch, so we don't worry about the "corn in the protein feeder" step. We also don't want our feeder pens or the area around the pens clean. We place them to encompass some brush in and around the pens. Before we took over the feed program, they'd take a maintaner and clean the pen sights. Most of those pens were worthless. Just too clean for the deer.

[Danimal]

Truthdoc, great information, thanks! Never even thought about the wire at the top being a problem.
Have you had good luck with the Boss Buck feeders? I think the type of feeder is all we have left to decide on now.

[tuthdoc]

They are my choice right now. I have two of the 1200 lb (1000 lb protein) feeders on our San Angelo lease and we now have 10 new ones on the Junco. They are light, easy to move and set up with the Ranger, durable, and I haven't had a problem with them clogging. The deer have used them readily. We put up two three weeks ago and two two weeks ago and they each took 10 sacks this past weekend.



That pen has been up for three weeks and it looks like a barn yard it's so torn up.