Buck Hollow Sporting Goods - click or touch to visit their website Midwest Habitat Company

deer food in winter

sego60

sego60

New Member
I was just wondering if anybody else feeds deer during the winter. Every since I can remember my family has been feeding deer during the winter to keep them healthy. We never put anything out until after first shotgun sesason. We are done hunting by then each year and the cattle are out of the pasture and will not eat it. Does anyone else do this? If you do what do you feed?
 
If you have food plots, that'll get them through even a tough winter. If you don't have food plots, chances are they'll move to a nearby property that does.

NWBuck
 
Winter..... feeding...... health of the deer..... Here we go, this outta get interesting :D

Here are the responses you'll likely get.
1. Feeding deer in the winter is bad and will bring CWD from N2N contact :rolleyes:
2. Food plots are no different than hunting over bait and guys that plant food plots are the devil :rolleyes:
3. If you can feed birds, you should be able to feed deer. :rolleyes:
4. Deer don't need supplemental feeding in Iowa, because we have so much food for them :rolleyes:

I'm sure I missed a few so feel free to chime in guys. :grin:

Nothing wrong with what you're doing IMO. With the hard winters and most of the fields having been chisel plowed, vittels for the deer can be pretty scarce in some parts of the state. Last winter I fed them corn and hay, but this year upped the size of the bean plots and put in some brassica plots, so I'm hoping they have plenty of food.
 
I've got a brassica, alfalfa, clover and chicory plot in my back yard.. and once the season is over, ill give them some hay and some corn here and there
 
The only reason we feed is because in our area in central Iowa it is mainly farmground. There are a lot of deer in my area because of the river but other than that everything is farmground. I dont plant food plots because we have cattle that run throughout the timber and what ever acres are left are farm ground. We have a lot of big farmers in our area who farm thousands of acres and they dont leave anything in the fields for deer food. They barely leave any stubble because of all the tilling they do too.
So what we do is wo throw out hay bales in at least five different locations throughtout our property and neighbors properties. Just from what we have noticed our deer herd is a lot healthier in terms of population and overall health of the animals. My main question was basically is hay the best thing to be feeding during the winter?
 
In my opinion, high quality hay (2nd or 3rd cut) is the best thing you can feed. Deer rely on about 60-65% browse during heavy winters and what some people don't understand is that many parts of Iowa don't have that available for them. Anything high in protein and carbohydrates will help them along in the hardest parts of winter. They have the ability to ferment the fiber portion of what they eat quickly in their Rumen and the sugars and soluble starches are absorbed directly, basically providing them energy and nutrients quickly during the coldest times. Without boring you any more, I would say that supplemental feeding is definitely beneficial in some places and not needed as much in others. Spread it out for them also, so the younger deer have a chance to get some as well. Hopefully this winter isn't as bad as the last couple have been.
 
In 1999 I built a feeder in my backyard and would go to the coop once a month and get a truck load of corn for it. We would be able to watch deer , turkeys, squirrels, pheasants, and birds all winter really enjoyed it but when corn started getting more expensive I quit doing it really miss it though but I did buy some I think it was three years ago when we were covered in a ton of snow all winter I felt bad for them didn't take long for them to find it
 
Standing corn, clover/alfalfa, turnips, rye, radishes, winter peas, standing beans AND all the browse created by timber stand improvement.
 
Just be happy you aren't in the same situation we are here.

95% of my county didn't get seeded this year so there is nothing for the deer to eat this winter......it is going to be interesting to see what the herd looks like next year if we get a large amount of snow like we have the last 3 years.
 
I also am hunting a property that is next to a BIG public area in SD and don't think there is a good food source near by. I am very close to the river that boarders Iowa/SD ... I have no standing food sources to speak of. Have a large cut bean field along side a 17 acre cut corn field. I have access to about 200 acres of ground that is private hunting ground boardering probably close to 1500 public and another 1000 private. Since I have access to about 200...how many different feeding stations would you decide to put up? My reason in doing feeding stations are to create a supplemental feeding source specifically for creating a more healthy deer herd and for shed season. Give me your thoughts.
 
We usually put up at least five different feeding stations on about 400 acres. This helps keep the competition for food down and gives younger deer a better chance to get some food.
 
Sligh1 said:
Standing corn, clover/alfalfa, turnips, rye, radishes, winter peas, standing beans AND all the browse created by timber stand improvement.
Click to expand...


This and I use some distillers grain during the really lean times, say in February/March if its brutal cold out.
 
My hunting partner and I have put out some hay bales during some rough times and cold winters as well. 1st time we brought out some cheap ditch hay so we could keep the costs down. They ate it all but seemed to be a little picky with it. Then we brought out the good alfalfa hay and they totally demolished it. We found that interesting how picky eaters they were. Spreading the hay out is a good idea as well for the young ones.
 
It does seem like they are pretty picky. We have three different hay fields only one on the property we hunt. But if we dont feed hay of the field that is on the property it seems like they pick thru it. I mean our other field are of better quality alfalfa. This field is just a main grass field with alfalfa mixed. I guess maybe they are just used to eating that as they eat it year round and are used to it. Idk, but they sure are picky eaters!
 
Looks like first part of this winter is going to be mild. Up in N. MI ,,where winters can be brutal,,DNR always said if deer made it thru Dec, without brutal weather,,they would survive rest of winter in good shape. As far as disease goes, I am interested in how the states with disease,,like Wis. are doing? Are all the deer dead.? Diseases spreading? What.? Having found about every possible outbreak in MI, I am surprised they still allow feeding and baiting. From my friends there ,I do know they are still liberal with the doe permits and hunting is sparse..
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom