THE ACCURATERELOADING.COM GAME MANAGEMENT FORUM


Moderators: Canuck
Go
New
Find
Notify
Tools
Reply
  
What to feed the town deer?
 Login/Join
 
One of Us
posted
Hello

What could I try to feed a small group of deer in that comes through my yard about everyday. I live in the middle of a small town.

Something nutritious.

They will eat corn and some apples and bananas. the later I can't get much of. I tried horse sweet feed but they don't eat much of it but maybe I need to give them more time to get used to it.
 
Posts: 344 | Location: Elkin North Carolina USA | Registered: 12 March 2006Reply With Quote
One of Us
Picture of billinthewild
posted Hide Post
I'd give them an arrow and then donate the meat to a local homeless shelter. Helping them both from starving to death. cheers


"When you play, play hard; when you work, don't play at all."
Theodore Roosevelt
 
Posts: 4263 | Location: Pinetop, Arizona | Registered: 02 January 2006Reply With Quote
One of Us
posted Hide Post
It is a thought lol
 
Posts: 344 | Location: Elkin North Carolina USA | Registered: 12 March 2006Reply With Quote
one of us
Picture of ForrestB
posted Hide Post
Peanuts, peas and beans. See what you can buy at low cost in your locale.


______________________________
"Truth is the daughter of time."
Francis Bacon
 
Posts: 5052 | Location: Muletown | Registered: 07 September 2001Reply With Quote
One of Us
posted Hide Post
Hello ForrestB sir

That sounds good thanks

Do you still build custom guns on mauser actions?
 
Posts: 344 | Location: Elkin North Carolina USA | Registered: 12 March 2006Reply With Quote
one of us
posted Hide Post
Wildlife Artist,

I am trying to figure out the same thing.

There are a couple doe families that visit my back yard quite frequently. I have also found the tracks of several bucks and saw one big fella that had a rack approaching 140 inches. I'd like to have these deer visit enough so that my children can get a chance to see them.

The deer have enjoyed our holiday pumpkins as well as acorns. I am going to try to offer them a more attractive variety of foods...

Firstly, a trip to the local feed store and see what sort of options they have(corn, grain etc.). My neighbors have horses so I am thinking that 'horse carrots' might go over well. Lastly,I am going to try a mineral block I found at Cabela's

Mineral Block

This will likely be enought to get us some regular visitors.... Smiler

Regards,
Dave
 
Posts: 1238 | Location: New Hampshire | Registered: 31 December 2001Reply With Quote
One of Us
posted Hide Post
I saw a 6 pt about 15 feet from my front door last night. He is breeding the does we have. we have a very big buck every year working the town. Friends of mine that know what they are talking about have seen some in the 130 to 140 class.

The night before last there where 6 standing about 15 feet from the front door of my taxidermy studio.

Its fun to watch them and how they react to humans. You can learn a lot from that to use while hunting.
 
Posts: 344 | Location: Elkin North Carolina USA | Registered: 12 March 2006Reply With Quote
one of us
posted Hide Post
Just keep it simple, a salt block and corn. I tried the nutrition route a couple years ago mixing up all kinds of grain, but they like corn, like a kid likes candy, and it's cheap. Around here, they can use the carbs in the cold weather. Also found out they don't like those brown mineral blocks, they like plain white salt blocks best.


aim small, hit small
 
Posts: 1522 | Location: WV | Registered: 24 August 2003Reply With Quote
One of Us
Picture of billinthewild
posted Hide Post
Keep feeding the deer and one day, when the rut is on, that six point will put one of them in you. And if that happens don't call the local game warden. thumbdown Any feeding that attracts wild critters to close proximity with humans is just flat wrong, and I am not talking about birds and squirrels. Pretty soon they become pests, dangerous, or both. Here in Arizona we have idiots feeding bears, javelina and coyotes, and here in arizona we have folks getting bit by bears, coyotes and javelina.


"When you play, play hard; when you work, don't play at all."
Theodore Roosevelt
 
Posts: 4263 | Location: Pinetop, Arizona | Registered: 02 January 2006Reply With Quote
one of us
posted Hide Post
DavidC--I had one of those "rocks" given to me by a friend and I put it out on our lease with a standard livestock salt block about 100 yds away for comparison. Couldn't tell any differnce after about 4-5 months, and they both are still in the same areas.

Feed deer in the yard? Not me--Go on line to the San Antonio Express News paper and search for Hollywood Park Deer. Really a firestorm around here.


An old pilot, not a bold pilot, aka "the pig murdering fool"
 
Posts: 2848 | Registered: 14 October 2004Reply With Quote
One of Us
posted Hide Post
prestone
 
Posts: 324 | Location: VIRGINIA | Registered: 27 January 2007Reply With Quote
One of Us
posted Hide Post
what I do is spend about two days planting a garden water it pull weeds ect.. for a couple of months and then let my wife leave the gate on the deer fence open. fattens them up real quick.
 
Posts: 509 | Location: Flathead county Montana | Registered: 28 January 2008Reply With Quote
one of us
posted Hide Post
Nosler Partitions, lovingly loaded over some 4831 and delivered with care in the boiler room.
 
Posts: 1638 | Location: Colorado by birth, Navy by choice | Registered: 04 February 2001Reply With Quote
one of us
Picture of buckeyeshooter
posted Hide Post
all you need to do here is plant flowers or a garden--- this seems to give them a nice salad bar buffet!
 
Posts: 5691 | Location: Ohio | Registered: 02 April 2003Reply With Quote
One of Us
Picture of jdollar
posted Hide Post
subsonic .22's at night, up close and personal- head shots of course.


Vote Trump- Putin’s best friend…
 
Posts: 13104 | Location: Georgia | Registered: 28 October 2006Reply With Quote
one of us
posted Hide Post
Of course, you could import some town bears, to feed the deer to. Big Grin

Grizz


Indeed, no human being has yet lived under conditions which, considering the prevailing climates of the past, can be regarded as normal. John E Pfeiffer, The Emergence of Man

Those who can't skin, can hold a leg. Abraham Lincoln

Only one war at a time. Abe Again.
 
Posts: 4211 | Location: Alta. Canada | Registered: 06 November 2002Reply With Quote
one of us
posted Hide Post
There are so many deer in town in Charleston, WV, that there is an organized urban bow hunt ... with a limit of 7 per person per year (and they don't count against your state limits)!

So ... Muzzy broadheads are good.


Mike

--------------
DRSS, Womper's Club, NRA Life Member/Charter Member NRA Golden Eagles ...
Knifemaker, http://www.mstarling.com
 
Posts: 6199 | Location: Charleston, WV | Registered: 31 August 2002Reply With Quote
one of us
posted Hide Post
Get some deer protein and mix it 50/50 with corn.

After they eat the mix for a while, you can go to straight protien.


DOUBLE RIFLE SHOOTERS SOCIETY
 
Posts: 16134 | Location: Texas | Registered: 06 April 2002Reply With Quote
Moderator
Picture of Whitworth
posted Hide Post
I was going to suggest lead...... Big Grin



"Ignorance you can correct, you can't fix stupid." JWP

If stupidity hurt, a lot of people would be walking around screaming.

Semper Fidelis

"Building Carpal Tunnel one round at a time"
 
Posts: 13440 | Location: Virginia | Registered: 10 July 2003Reply With Quote
One of Us
posted Hide Post
Just stop mowing your yard...

Rich
 
Posts: 23062 | Location: SW Idaho | Registered: 19 December 2005Reply With Quote
One of Us
posted Hide Post
The town where I live has a "no feeding law" for deer. However, I think I know of two places where the residents are feeding deer anyway. One of the places is very close to where a motorcyclist was recently killed in a collision with a deer. My point is that the deer feeding may have contributed to drawing more deer to the area which could be viewed as contributing to the motorcyclist's death. Just a thought.
 
Posts: 278 | Registered: 25 November 2005Reply With Quote
One of Us
Picture of cal30 1906
posted Hide Post
I use corn and apples they love them both.


If you really want to give them a treat try peanut butter. Not unlike giving it to you dog Wink


Cal30




If it cant be Grown it has to be Mined! Devoted member of Newmont mining company Underground Mine rescue team. Carlin East,Deep Star ,Leeville,Deep Post ,Chukar and now Exodus Where next? Pete Bajo to train newbies on long hole stoping and proper blasting techniques.
Back to Exodus mine again learning teaching and operating autonomous loaders in the underground. Bringing everyday life to most individuals 8' at a time!
 
Posts: 3066 | Location: Northern Nevada & Northern Idaho | Registered: 09 April 2005Reply With Quote
one of us
posted Hide Post
And some people wonder why towns and cities have Wildlife problems??????? Mad Mad Mad You're not doing anyone a favor by feeding them.

Grizz


Indeed, no human being has yet lived under conditions which, considering the prevailing climates of the past, can be regarded as normal. John E Pfeiffer, The Emergence of Man

Those who can't skin, can hold a leg. Abraham Lincoln

Only one war at a time. Abe Again.
 
Posts: 4211 | Location: Alta. Canada | Registered: 06 November 2002Reply With Quote
one of us
posted Hide Post
Another thread back from the dead....

What a range of responses...I love it! Big Grin

Best,
Dave
 
Posts: 1238 | Location: New Hampshire | Registered: 31 December 2001Reply With Quote
One of Us
posted Hide Post
a trail of corn right into the walk-in deep freeze!


We Band of Bubbas
N.R.A Life Member
TDR Cummins Power All The Way
Certified member of the Whompers Club
 
Posts: 2973 | Location: South Texas | Registered: 15 January 2008Reply With Quote
One of Us
posted Hide Post
we had a very big deer feeding in the girlfriends yard a few years ago, one afternoon a .22 mag barrel came out of the kitchen window........ Later that day we had backstraps......
 
Posts: 589 | Location: Austin TX, Mexico City | Registered: 17 August 2005Reply With Quote
One of Us
Picture of Crazyhorseconsulting
posted Hide Post
The first thing anyone wanting to supplementally feed deer or other wildlife needs to do, is contact their state Game and Fish dept.. In some places there are strict laws forbidding such activities.

Wild animals, whatever the species that begin to associate humans with food can and do become dangerous really fast.


Even the rocks don't last forever.



 
Posts: 31014 | Location: Olney, Texas | Registered: 27 March 2006Reply With Quote
One of Us
Picture of Alberta Canuck
posted Hide Post
Depends on how much you want to spend....

For 21 years I fed the deer in our front yard "All-Breed", a 13% protein mix available at most feed stores. I gave them a 50 pound bag a week. That would feed 7 deer each day, on average.

I watched them have their fawns, watched the does train their fawns in grooming each other, staying when told to by their moms, babysitting for each other, how to safely cross the highway in front of our place, and many other things.

There were bucks I got to know quite well,too. At the turn of the 21st Century, there were two particular Columbian Whitetail bucks born on our front lawn two consecutive years and raised there, about 20-40 feet from the front door. We had a little orchard on the other side of that, between the lawn and the highway, in which they used to lie during the hot hours of the day.

One of those bucks grew to be a 7-pointer (western count...16 pointer eastern count)!! His little brother (one year younger) had one point less each year for the years I watched them. They were both killed by poachers shooting from the road toward our front bedroom, while standing at their water tub about 12 feet from my front door. The same bastards killed my 30-year old Holsteiner warmblood standing in his run at the barn a few weeks later. Gutshot him with a .22 at about 1.20 a.m. one night. He was a great horse...had been a member of the U.S. equestrian team before I gave him a retirement home. He was the most gentle, friendly animal I have known, even though 18+ hands and heavy enough to get his own way if he had wanted. He had competed internationally in both Gran Prix Jumping, and when too old for that, Dressage.

Anyway, All-breed is a good pelletized food for cattle and deer. Most feed storees also have a similar generic food that will be either 11% or 12% protein, for substantially less money. A block of salt, and fresh water each day, are all they need in addition.

BTW, I had never ben able to keep our plants safe until I started feeding the deer. I tried everything else, bloodmeal, sprays, netting, alarm guns, etc. As soon as they started getting food, they layed off the decorative plants, just as if we had signed a contract. Poor animals had just been hungry. And they never ever threatened ANY of us, not once.

(I also fed the valley quail, the wild turkeys, a family of 'coons, a pair of skunks and the elk.) Wish I still lived there with my animal friends. Not one of them ever did ANYTHING unpleasant in my presence, including the skunks, who used to meet me daily at my shop door.


My country gal's just a moonshiner's daughter, but I love her still.

 
Posts: 9685 | Location: Cave Creek 85331, USA | Registered: 17 August 2001Reply With Quote
Moderator

Picture of Mark
posted Hide Post
A/C-

The house we lived in before this one, we kinda had a similar arrangement.

The deal was that if you hung out in the back yard, you got a pass during hunting season.

In regards to them eating up a garden, I planted a row of sunflowers once and one night a deer came along and ate all the flowers off them while the plants were still small, no more than a few inches tall. Well the sunflowers still grew to over 7 feet tall, and it was funny seeing this row of towering sunflowers and not one of them actually had a flower.


for every hour in front of the computer you should have 3 hours outside
 
Posts: 7757 | Location: Between 2 rivers, Middle USA | Registered: 19 August 2000Reply With Quote
one of us
posted Hide Post
many states prohibit feeding for good cause, if the deer are starving it is for reason...too many. Wait till one of your kids or friends get one through their car windshield....leave them be.


NRA Life Member, ILL Rifle Assoc Life Member, Navy
 
Posts: 2295 | Location: Monee, Ill. USA | Registered: 11 April 2001Reply With Quote
one of us
Picture of fla3006
posted Hide Post
I live 3 blocks off Main street in the historic section of Fredericksburg, TX. We have 2 creeks that flow thru town. The deer travel up them, we get lots in our yard during fall/winter, they run up & down the street during the rut, one pretty decent 8 pointer last year. Drought hasn't helped either. Lots of folks here have "brush" guards on their vehicles, even saw a Mercedes the other day with one. A deer broadsided a motorcyclist 2 years ago. Neighbors would probably shoot me if I started feeding them.


NRA Life Member, Band of Bubbas Charter Member, PGCA, DRSS.
Shoot & hunt with vintage classics.
 
Posts: 9487 | Location: Texas Hill Country | Registered: 11 January 2002Reply With Quote
one of us
posted Hide Post
Deer digestive system changes in winter to less feed and you can over feed them and it can be deadly..I fed a small herd a handfull of alfalfa a day and they did well and they sometimes didn't clean it up..

My bioligest with the Game dept program warned me not to over feed, saying most people meaning well feed deer to death!! ????

A hand full of alfalfa per adult deer works well in cold climates..


Ray Atkinson
Atkinson Hunting Adventures
10 Ward Lane,
Filer, Idaho, 83328
208-731-4120

rayatkinsonhunting@gmail.com
 
Posts: 41763 | Location: Twin Falls, Idaho | Registered: 04 June 2000Reply With Quote
  Powered by Social Strata  
 


Copyright December 1997-2023 Accuratereloading.com


Visit our on-line store for AR Memorabilia