Protein Feed Question

[rhester]

Question for those of you that feed protein on your leases. Can you give me an estimate of costs for the feed when fed January through September? Or an annual feed estimate for corn and protein. I am trying to get a good estimate for a turn-key price if we were paying $2000 to hunt, plus electricity and then feed. We have never hunted a place that had a good protein program in place.

[tadmaryperry]

Mary and I are dropping about $350/mo right now for RR (from 3 free choice feeders). We started feeding in Jan and will stop in Sept.

[JMG]

Kind of depends on how much protein they eat. My deer are eating about 600+ lbs per feeder per month at about $120 per feeder. It adds up pretty quick.

[KingsX]

Corn and protein is going to run you an estimated $200 a set "1 corn feeder 1 protein" and the corn is only going to be about $40 of that the other $160 is protein.

[thearrower]

The average is probably about $150 to $175 per month if the protein is in a Free Choice Feeder. Some setups will be a little more....some a little less.

[Encinal]

In order to answer this we need to have some information.

What is your deer density?
How much acreage are you planning to feed?
How many feeders do you have and what are their sizes?
Will you be buying bulk or sacks?
Do you plan on feeding on a schedule or when the feeders run out?
Do the deer currently eat protein or are you just starting them?

[Bower]

Why turn off Protein in Sept? Once you have your Bucks on the stuff you should keep them on it. My Feed cost (corn and protein )that goes into my feeders a year is $4,100. We feed our protien year round. I never fig what it cost untill now kinda wish I had not put it on paper.

[rhester]

I know there are a lot of variables in different ranches. My group is trying to find a new lease and I want to set a turn-key price when we choose a ranch. Some of the ranches that I have looked into have been feeding protein and some have not. I have an opportunity to join a lease in western Crockett county that has been protein feeding for years. 5000 acres with 8 free choice feeders, dunno the capacity.

[clffrdfdge]

The deer here are eating about 100 pounds a day thats about $19-20 a day free choice feeder. Adds up quick.

[clffrdfdge]

Wished I could get by for just a couple hundred at a rate of 100 pounds a day that is around $525 a month.

[Sr_Egor]

We have 350 ac. in S. Edwards County. 2 1000# and 1 800# feeders. All free choice feeders. We also put out 2 alfalfa bales. Feed is about $9.75 a bag right now and hay is 13. We fill them every month. We spend 450-500 a month. During post rut/recovery months (Jan/Feb) the feed only lasts 2-3 weeks.

[KingsX]

Not sure of my deer density where I hunt but they eat 1,200lbs in just 15-20 days......and its green in the pasture right now! I think you just have to start before you'll get a definite answer to your questions but ballpark is about 50-75lbs a day per feeder with a good number of deer in the area......any less consumption would lead me to believe that the density is low....the range is in great shape....or the deer just haven't had protein before and might take awhile to get on it! No set in stone prices in the protein game but it does make a difference feeding it and I would suggest doing it. Not every place is suitable for protein feeding but it couldn't hurt and you will benefit from it in some way.....if your place is setup in a good location with good genetics and decent neighbors the cost for feeding it will become easier when you see the results down the road! Good luck!

[KingsX]

Wished I could get by for just a couple hundred at a rate of 100 pounds a day that is around $525 a month.

Is this just for one feeder? How many doe do you have on it? The buck doe ratio is important in these questions as well. From what I know on my place "only been on since January this year" the buck doe is 1 to 1.5 or maybe even 1 to 1.

[Mike Murphey]

I would think you can bet that the cost is going to be around $500 per person for that time period.....

[Redraider]

We put 600lbs in ours and it lasts about a month. It varies depending on the time of year. It also depends if the deer like the stuff. We are currently feeding AntlerMax and the deer love it. I have counted between 8-10 different bucks that eat from the feeder and about 5-8 doe. We were on a different lease a couple years ago and they would go through in just a couple of weeks. We had mulies and whitetails eating out of it.