Only Feeding Cottonseed 1/2 year

[J Wales]

I've noticed most people who feed cottonseed seem to start around January and stop about now. Why is that? Is there a problem feeding it into the fall on a low fence place?

[gneimeth]

Following...

[Cookiemonster1]

They say it makes your buck sterile while they are on it.

[8pointer]

It's not as easy to find

Most of the cottonseed at the gins is already under contract and not for sale to the public......at least at the gin we use. We did our last fill in april.

[rtp]

Supposedly it messes with their ability to reproduce if they eat too much of it once they become hard antlered. People quit feeding about now figuring it will be gone by the time the bucks are coming out of velvet. Google it, there is plenty of info out there about it. Probably plenty on the site as well.

[rattler7696]

We feed it almost year round. And we got ALOT of deer. Never had any problems with out bucks breeding does.


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[Muddy Bud]

I stop feeding it around September. Usually start around January. The only reason I stop feeding it, is to keep them from going Nocturnal prior to hunting season. The sterile theory is somewhat true, but studies only found it to be true in pen raised deer who's diet was mostly made up by cotton seed alone.

Feeding wild deer year around probably will not have this affect, mostly due to their diet being natural forage. I'm pretty sure if you feed deer in a normal free range environment year around that they will become sterile. I believe most of this ideology comes from ranchers which find this to be more true in cattle.

[Dc78]

I feed year around. While I am hunting, some deer that come in walk past corn and go to cotton seed.

[BolilloLoco]

We used to feed it year round. Only problem we ever had was getting enough delivered to the ranch.

[RRagan83]

I start post rut and stop around August to avoid the deer turning nocturnal and it becomes a little harder to find I bought 6 tons in January and have about 1500 lbs left it keeps easy

[J Wales]

Thanks for the replies. I've read the theory about sterility but that it was only likely if the cotton seed was the main part of their diet.

Those of you that stop feeding cotton seed to keep them from becoming nocturnal, does that seem to work? Do you stop feeding protein too?

[RRagan83]

I don't do any free choice feeding after September

[TKK]

I stop feeding it around September. Usually start around January. The only reason I stop feeding it, is to keep them from going Nocturnal prior to hunting season. The sterile theory is somewhat true, but studies only found it to be true in pen raised deer who's diet was mostly made up by cotton seed alone.

Feeding wild deer year around probably will not have this affect, mostly due to their diet being natural forage. I'm pretty sure if you feed deer in a normal free range environment year around that they will become sterile. I believe most of this ideology comes from ranchers which find this to be more true in cattle.

we do the same as above and also stop protein end of Sept. One advantage of cottonseed often overlooked is that fawns can get to it whereas they have trouble jumping into pens to get to protein. To me the main value in the cottonseed is post rut in January to help them get their weight back up. We go through 50 tons from January through September.

[bgleaton]

We feed it from Januarry to August bc of availability. You won't have any sterile issues on low fenced places. We like to have one protein feeder running year round to keep the fawns fed and to help keep some other bucks on our property. We have noticed if we remove the protein, some of our bucks leave.

[hammer63]

I don't do any free choice feeding after September

I feed free choice thru deer season, but only daylight free choice.