Cottonseed going crazy like everything else.

[Bdub25]

Screw worms played hell on the deer population for years until the late 70’s.


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[James]

I 1000% agree. Deer get old and big. My point wasn’t about their potential. It was strictly about carrying capacity. I wasn’t trying to start an argument about it either. Deer get big when left alone.

My point was the simple fact of more food source equals higher number of deer able to live somewhere.

Look at the freeze for example. Feed store sold a ton of feed to folks trying to keep animals alive. Then lots of high fence places have been overgrazed like nobodies business. So the deer survive on the supplemental feeding program. It happens all over. Why feed goats and cows? Why put out hay and range cubes? Why put out mineral blocks? Why feed deer protein and alfalfa and cotton seed and corn? Turn all that off and leave it off and watch our population. Heck I’ve seen multiple posts here about guys dumping feed to their herds during this drought. Guess what? No feed then you’re gonna lose a ton of animals.

Maybe I should just say feeding program instead of supplemental.

My short response is whitetails (native to Texas) would of been fine in your examples. Feed was needed for all the exotics and livestock not Texas whitetail.

[trophy8]

My short response is whitetails (native to Texas) would of been fine in your examples. Feed was needed for all the exotics and livestock not Texas whitetail.

Y’all may be right. This is just my opinion. We all got em.

Now back to us all griping about feed prices!

[Smart]

I don’t think anybody is keeping deer alive with protein or cottonseed. Deer have survived forever with no supplemental feed, and they’ll survive hundreds more years without.

So you think all the deer survived in the drought of 2010-2011? on their own? You don't think supplemental feeding in the same drought saved any of the deer when there was little to zero food available with available well water?

I have pics where my lease looks like a nuclear war aftermath. Yellow dead cactus, brown cedars, oaks without leaves, dirt for grass/forbs. Some ranches out west were claiming losses in the 30-50% range? My landowner sold every cow he had during that time....and is starting the process again now.

[panhandlehunter]

So you think all the deer survived in the drought of 2010-2011? on their own? You don't think supplemental feeding in the same drought saved any of the deer when there was little to zero food available with available well water?

I have pics where my lease looks like a nuclear war aftermath. Yellow dead cactus, brown cedars, oaks without leaves, dirt for grass/forbs. Some ranches out west were claiming losses in the 30-50% range? My landowner sold every cow he had during that time....and is starting the process again now.

There tons and tons of places out there that don’t feed a drop of supplemental feed. Probably the majority of leases don’t. And there are still plenty of deer. I’m sure it set back the herd some, fawn crop was probably nonexistent but still the deer remain. It may keep an extra deer or two alive, but I don’t think in the grand scheme of things you’re really doing anything.

[Smart]

There tons and tons of places out there that don’t feed a drop of supplemental feed. Probably the majority of leases don’t. And there are still plenty of deer. I’m sure it set back the herd some, fawn crop was probably nonexistent but still the deer remain. It may keep an extra deer or two alive, but I don’t think in the grand scheme of things you’re really doing anything.

A deer or two? ....Disagree.

[RMW]

Think I’m going to have to agree with Trophy8 and Smart on this one, I believe I read somewhere, there is more deer in Texas now then there ever has been.

[kyle1974]

Cottonseed going crazy like everything else.

Our landowner is 81 years old and is the 3rd generation rancher on the land i lease. We started a serious feeding effort 4 years ago and he said in his
Lifetime he hasn’t seen the deer look this good in drought conditions (conversation a month ago). We do have a lot of water but the pasture conditions were horrible. We have a feed pen up about every 300 acres. I’d like to go to about 250.

He was telling me when he still rode horseback historically, during droughts it wasn’t uncommon to see dead deer all over the pasture. We do see some now and then but our numbers are relatively stable and we rarely see dead deer.

I have to think the feeding efforts is keeping some marginally healthy deer alive, Especially post rut bucks when winter conditions are usually bad and the deer are run down.

[trophy8]

Our landowner is 81 years old and is the 3rd generation rancher on the land i lease. We started a serious feeding effort 4 years ago and he said in his
Lifetime he hasn’t seen the deer look this good in drought conditions (conversation a month ago). We do have a lot of water but the pasture conditions were horrible. We have a feed pen up about every 300 acres. I’d like to go to about 250.

He was telling me when he still rode horseback historically, during droughts it wasn’t uncommon to see dead deer all over the pasture. We do see some now and then but our numbers are relatively stable and we rarely see dead deer.

I have to think the feeding efforts is keeping some marginally healthy deer alive, Especially post rut bucks when winter conditions are usually bad and the deer are run down.

No no. We don’t know *** we are talking about dude. Let the pros handle it. We are doing it all wrong. Lol

[kyle1974]

No no. We don’t know *** we are talking about dude. Let the pros handle it. We are doing it all wrong. Lol

Everytime I drive by a feeder pen the deer give me a thumbs up. I think they’re happy with it????
[emoji23]

[trophy8]

Everytime I drive by a feeder pen the deer give me a thumbs up. I think they’re happy with it????
[emoji23]

That’s neat. Every time I drive by one, there’s goats inside giving me the finger! 🤣

[hoythunter02]

We started feeding Cottonseed last year to give our deer other protein intake options and hopes that it would help offset some of the higher priced consumption of the protein pellets we also feed. It has been working well up to now, but Cottonseed prices have shot thru the roof. We don't have the option of storing large qty's, so we purchase it in 1 to 2 ton orders at a time in the Super Sacks. Bought our first ton of the year 1st of January for $315 a ton. Bought our next 1.5 tons 55 days later at $385 a ton. I called our Gin today to order another 1.5 tons and he told me the price has jumped to $450 a ton.

That is for bulk which comes out to $11.25 per 50 pounds. That's CRAZY.

New Harvest doesn't happen until September, and he said no one knows if it will be coming back down any.

Hard to believe this might be the new normal.

Picked up 1000lbs in Del Rio for 14.95 a 50. Id be happy to pay 11.25. Corn was 10.50.


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[kyle1974]

That’s neat. Every time I drive by one, there’s goats inside giving me the finger! 🤣

"time to fill it up *** hole!!!!!"

but are your goats seeing major gainz?

[panhandlehunter]

We’ve got another load of seed coming. Not sure what it cost. I started putting out double down this year too. I prefer protein over cottonseed but our lease rules say cottonseed. Kyle I hunt right up the road from you, I hunt with Jason and Charlie.

[SaltwaterSlick]

Philip, them cows really appreciate that DD too!!