We have a couple gravity protein feeders set up at our place in Gillespie County. 1 feeder, usually gets hit harder than the other. From the time we fill them in Feb all the way through the summer. The feeder that is not hit as hard, is filled at the same time in Feb and will stay full until the summer when they start to hit it Hard. The feeders are only half a mile apart. Both setup next to a reliable water source, have cover. Essentially they are the same setup just different area of ranch. Deer are still using that area of that ranch and are seen within 150-200 yards of that feeder all the time. Can't explain the inactivity at the 1 feeder, just not understanding the issue. It's like summer time comes and switch goes off, they will empty 1850# in a month, but in until June they could care less. Doesn't make sense that they would empty the other feeder every 3-4 weeks starting in Feb. Same feed, 10 cattle panel pens, plenty of room. What says the GS? This isn't just during wet times with new growth. Complete opposite activity between the 2 feeders, during the same time frame. Feb-June.
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We have found that when forbs and natural food is abundant after rains our deer will always back off the protein. Could be the answer. Just a thought. -
Agreed. But why would they still be hitting the 2nd feeder hard and not touching the other during the same timeComment
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Just an area the deer want to be in.
I’d move it so you have two feeders going in same spot.
Hand corn the old SpotComment
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Speaking of rain- our gravity protien feeders are always plugged up after 2-3 weeks When we go back to check them the exposed protein in the funnel is always hard as a rock and caked up , blocking new protein from falling down . it’s the rain and moisture wind blowing up in there I guess . is anybody using any protein
that says it’s water resistant or moisture resistant , water repellent, etc. ? and does it work? Thanks.Comment
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We used the record rack with moisture shield for several years out of spin feeders. It did well and didn't clog. Had them spin several times a day to keep it flowing. I was advised to switch to protein without moisture shield. Was told it didn't break down as well after consumption and the deer weren't getting all the nutrients from it. Switched to protein without and have had better results.Comment
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Lyssey & Echol have a protein feed with a coating.Comment
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Willow city are your feeders exactly the same style, maybe location may feel more comfortable at oneComment
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One has coon hoods, the other does not. The one with coon hoods gets hit the hardest. Also is the one that is 100 yards from camp is hit harder. IdkComment
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Antler max also has a rain shield/moisture resistant protein. As for different feeders with one not being hit hard and one is...... maybe the are that is not being hit hard has more natural food around it. Take a look around on the ground for the natural deer food around the less hit feeder. Only thing I can think of other than something bad in the feed in that feeder.Comment
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We have the exact same issue with one of our 13 protein feeders set up at the lease. We keep a spreadsheet and it has historically done the same thing every year. It’s been a big head scratcher for us.... so much that we even changed the feeder out 2 months ago because the spouts were a little higher (5”) than the others. That ended up not helping. Come July, it will be getting hit 300 lbs every 5-7 days. It’s in a high deer density area as well so not sure.
I’ve kicked around the idea that there might be a dominant buck keeping other deer off the feeder but that idea seems pretty extreme with the difference in feed consumption to the other feeders. I’ve even considered that we might have reached our max feed put out for the ranch but that seems unlikely to me as well. It continues to be a mystery.Comment
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I have the same thing happening here this year. There has always been a difference but this year it is more pronounced. The only thing I can figure out is the one that is barely touched has cattle in that pasture and the one being hammered does not.Comment
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Well, they have eaten 1200# in 4 weeks. They dang near avoided that feeder for 4 months like it was the plague. Looks like are back on track and hitting just like usual. As I was typing this started thinking... That creek bottom stays shaded for about 12 hours of the day. Not much sun light gets down into that creek as it runs through a canyon. Might just be that they use that area more during the hot months to stay cool. Either way, back to consuming about 3k pounds a month. Feed bill is about to double.Comment
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Maybe there is something near by they like more.. mineral, green growth etc
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I'm glad someone else is having this issue. We had great utilization in January, then it shut off during the spring green up in March. Kicked back on in April and now has totally shut off
Granted the thing flooded in the storms we had in May, so maybe it threw everything off its rhythm, and we have loads of native browse and finally got the cows out of the food plot, so maybe that is our "issue".
Just don't want 2k pounds of protein going to waste!Comment
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