I hear it all the time - "feed free choice or you're just wasting your time". Really? My deer would beg to differ.
First of all, it's supplemental feeding, NOT life-sustaining feeding. If you have to feed tons and tons of protein to carry your herd, you're probably carrying too many head. Unfortunately, most hunters don't have much say in deer harvest numbers and leases/hunting areas with bad buck-to-doe ratios make supplemental feeding a losing proposition in trying to grow horns. I mean, who wants to feed 10 does to maybe see an extra few inches on the few bucks? So, maybe protein is fed as an attractant with a tiny bit of nutritional supplement and there's nothing wrong with that.
Unless you feed your deer as a business with a way to recover that cost, it's a hobby - a charity - and as with any charity, you give what you feel comfortable giving to help the herd do better. I'm not ignorant and I do understand that natural browse nutritional value varies from region to region as does the carrying capacity in those regions, but more important than feeding is controlling the population and managing genetics/age if you're in it to grow bigger racks. Throwing feed is not the magic bean.
Where I hunt, we have a good ratio. I think we carry a few more deer than we should, but that's going to happen when you raise them to 6 or 7 years old. And we have to make up for the extra mouths with protein to see the 140's and 150's every year.
Lots of us use free choice feeders but they don't always have feed in them. Some of us use timed feeders or timed free choice feeders to stretch our protein out to fit our budget. Everyone has their limit regarding how much they spend on feed and everyone has their own strategy for how they feed. But, regardless of what the individual limits are or the method of feeding, WE ARE NOT WASTING OUR TIME. Our deer get bigger every year and more of that is likely due to age and genetics than feeding. The feeding just helps.
Carry on.
First of all, it's supplemental feeding, NOT life-sustaining feeding. If you have to feed tons and tons of protein to carry your herd, you're probably carrying too many head. Unfortunately, most hunters don't have much say in deer harvest numbers and leases/hunting areas with bad buck-to-doe ratios make supplemental feeding a losing proposition in trying to grow horns. I mean, who wants to feed 10 does to maybe see an extra few inches on the few bucks? So, maybe protein is fed as an attractant with a tiny bit of nutritional supplement and there's nothing wrong with that.
Unless you feed your deer as a business with a way to recover that cost, it's a hobby - a charity - and as with any charity, you give what you feel comfortable giving to help the herd do better. I'm not ignorant and I do understand that natural browse nutritional value varies from region to region as does the carrying capacity in those regions, but more important than feeding is controlling the population and managing genetics/age if you're in it to grow bigger racks. Throwing feed is not the magic bean.
Where I hunt, we have a good ratio. I think we carry a few more deer than we should, but that's going to happen when you raise them to 6 or 7 years old. And we have to make up for the extra mouths with protein to see the 140's and 150's every year.
Lots of us use free choice feeders but they don't always have feed in them. Some of us use timed feeders or timed free choice feeders to stretch our protein out to fit our budget. Everyone has their limit regarding how much they spend on feed and everyone has their own strategy for how they feed. But, regardless of what the individual limits are or the method of feeding, WE ARE NOT WASTING OUR TIME. Our deer get bigger every year and more of that is likely due to age and genetics than feeding. The feeding just helps.
Carry on.
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