Hill country folks. Let's talk protein

[trophy8]

Any of y'all feed it out of a corn feeder? Does it work?

[Grant2]

Any of y'all feed it out of a corn feeder? Does it work?

Feeding out of a corn feeder is a waste of time and money. The amount they need to make a difference is not even close to what a corn feeder will throw. They need a free choice feeder and let them get all they can to see a difference.

[GIL HUNTS]

Protein definitely pays huge dividends, but you've got to have pretty deep pockets to do it right. As others have stated consumption rates will vary once you get them acclimated to coming to the protein. Results will vary, but they will be noticeable much quicker than you may first think.

[cwill]

Following. My parents own a small 80 acre place in Burnet county and I was thinking about adding a timed protein feeder mainly for the attractant aspect. Has anybody had success with that? Very low deer numbers on the place, but it has gotten alittle better since I started year round corn feeding.

[Ryan81]

if you're on a budget its hard to beat cotton seed

I don't have any experience with cottonseed. What's the average cost and result of cottonseed?

I can't justify free choice protein where I hunt. Low fence, small property with too many neighbors that live by "if it's brown it's down." But I wouldn't be opposed to other cheaper alternatives.


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[sharpstick35]

I don't have any experience with cottonseed. What's the average cost and result of cottonseed?

I can't justify free choice protein where I hunt. Low fence, small property with too many neighbors that live by "if it's brown it's down." But I wouldn't be opposed to other cheaper alternatives.


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I'm in the same situation at 40 ac. feed cottonseed after the last rut activity, at high concentrations it can cause low sperm count. I feed it from feb-july. the feed method is in a 2 ft diameter roll of fence about 5 ft tall with a t-post in the middle but not tied to the fence so they can push it around but not tip it over.

http://discussions.texasbowhunter.com/forums/showthread.php?t=102004&page=2

price varies but its usually between $8-14 for 50#

[kch73]

It will be three years minimum before you can judge results so make sure you will have the property for that time frame. I don't remember if this is a lease or your land.

In a wet spring/summer they never would eat too much protein was our experience but in a dry season they would make us bankrupt, lol. We hunted between Harper and Junction in Kimble County fyi...we used some kind of mix from Bode feed.

Good luck!

[trophy8]

It will be three years minimum before you can judge results so make sure you will have the property for that time frame. I don't remember if this is a lease or your land.

In a wet spring/summer they never would eat too much protein was our experience but in a dry season they would make us bankrupt, lol. We hunted between Harper and Junction in Kimble County fyi...we used some kind of mix from Bode feed.

Good luck!

The place I am going to feed it on is a lease. We may be leasing the ranch out. I have never messed with protein on our owned place. I am going to feed cotton seed and I will see if I can swing protein. Idk if I can afford it at the rates some here have said they eat it at but I will try to at least run a timed one. Some is better than none and cotton seed is cheap. I should be able to fill those every 2 weeks at least.

Also going to feed rice bran and corn all year.

[TKK]

protein, to have any impact, must be fed free choice IMO - deer must have it available whenever they want it and as much as they want. Cost is certainly a factor as is the size of your property and neighbors.

Cottonseed is less expensive especially in bulk but does not have the nutrition protein does - cottonseed is great post rut to add weight back to the deer. If you buy it in bulk then it is labor intensive - you also do not need a feeder for cottonseed - just wire circle staked down.

We use both on our LF lease but it is a large place -

[Jimbo47]

I haven't read all the posts but I hunted a ranch for several years that fed protein and the antlers were a huge improvement over what the natural environment could provide.
Also where I saw the biggest improvement was in body weight with the does and the bucks, with an increase in deer numbers as well.
Fast forward that same ranch some 10 plus years after protein was stopped, the antler size, body size, and deer numbers are down to where normal hillcountry range deer were at before the protein was started, and numbers of deer are down as well.