Depending on where you live and what you are used to,supplemental deer feedingmight becommon practice or an illegal offense. Many states are starting to enforce stricter limits on what can and cannot be fed to wild whitetails, primarily out of concern for spreading diseases like chronic wasting disease (CWD).But where it is legaland in the right conditions,supplemental deer feedingcan be helpful. Here are somegoodground rules tofollow if you are considering this approach.
Nutritional Needsthroughoutthe Year
During the course of a typical year,most whitetails change their diets pretty significantly. They do this to get the most nutrition they can during a given season. This is especially true in northern areas with harsh winters, as whitetails need to drastically switchtheir food sources to survive.Sowhat do deer eatthroughout the year?Here is a seasonal breakdownto show you.
Winter
As mentioned above, winter can be an especially cruel time for whitetails in northern areas, which is whysupplemental deer feedingefforts are brought up so much this time of year.What do deer eat in the winter? Snow often covers all herbaceous vegetation, leaving only woody browse for them to eat. Branches are not very digestible (they are very high in fiber) and have little nutrition. But deer are adapted for this scenario, and their four-chambered stomach allows them to survive on it. In agricultural areas, they will also devour standing soybeans or corn for their high fat and carbohydrate content.
Many bucks enter winter at a deficit and will spend most of their time eating to catch up. Does and fawns are also in survival mode during this time of the year. This is why many people assume thatwinter deer feedingis helpful, although there is more to it than that, as you will see below.
Spring
Spring is full of fresh new growth after a longand stressfulwinter. Deer shift their diets to key in on tender green growth (e.g., grasses, forbs, leaves, etc.), which are generally higher in protein and minerals than older vegetation. This growth is also very palatable and digestible for deer.In areas with high habitat quality,supplemental deer feedingwill not likely offer any benefit in the springsimply because the natural vegetation is so nutritious.Some good examples include clover or alfalfa fields,forbs and grasses in natural meadows,regrowth after a prescribed fire,orthetendertips ofnew branches.Why do deer seek this out in the spring?
Bucks arealmost certainlyat a significant loss from their fall weight, and need to eat a lot of very nutritious food to replenishtheir musclemassand fat reservesbefore their bodies will investmuchin antler growth.Likewise, many does are either pregnant or lactating to feed their new fawns. They too need a lot of nutrient-dense foods to fuel this cycle. Finally, last year’s fawns are also playing catch-up with body mass, and will consume a lot of food to do so.
Summer
The summer period is a time of routines for whitetails. They will seek out reliable food sources, such as agricultural crops (e.g., soybeans, corn, etc.) or young clear-cuts to feast on foods high in protein and carbohydrates. They usuallydo notbed too far from food, and spend each day on a simple rotation of feeding and bedding.
Again, this is a rebuilding phase for deer. Bucks are hopefully back up to their original muscle mass after a stressful winter, and they are also using nutrients and minerals to fuel antler growth.Manysupplemental deer feedingeffortsduring the summer focus on providing high-nutrient/high-mineral contentdeerfeed to help bucks build their antlersfast.Doesare still nursing fawns and trying to maintain their own bodiesduring the summer. Fawns are weaning themselves and eating a lot of vegetation too.
Autumn
Fall is usually the fourth quarter for deer (and many other animals). They need to make the final push to put on as much weight as possible before winter arrives. As such, they switch from high-protein diets to food high in fat and carbohydrates, which puts as much fat on their bodies as possible. Some goodfall food sourcesinclude hard mast (e.g., oak acorns, beech nuts,chestnuts,hickory nuts, etc.), soft mast (e.g., apples, pears, persimmons, etc.), and agricultural crops (corn,soybeans, brassicas, cereal grains, etc.).
While bucks will definitely eat a lot in the early part of the fall, they tend to switch out of this pattern as the rut approaches. When the rut occurs, most bucks focus their time on chasing and breeding does or fighting rival bucks. During this time, they can lose asubstantialamount of their body weight. Does and fawns, on the other hand, will eat as much as possible during the fall. As long as theyare notbeing chased or harassed by bucks, you will find them feeding throughout the day and night in many areas.
What to Feed Deer
So nowit istime for the ultimate question:what is the best thing to feed deer?Sure, it sounds like they get a lot of their food naturally, but what if your area is lacking in habitat quality or good food sources?This is where well-intentioned (but misinformed) people can go wrong.Assumingsupplemental deer feedingis indeed legal where you live, here are a few tips on what to feed andwhat not to feed deer.
First, thebest deer feedwill always be the same as or reminiscent of their natural food sources for a given season, plain and simple.They are naturally adapted for certain foods at specific times of the year, so why mess with what works?Like the name itself, it should be a supplement to what is already available to them.For example,it is tough to beat corn pilesover the summer or in the fall forsupplemental deer feeding.Many deer are already consuming a lot of corn in agricultural fields anyway and it has a high level of carbohydrates that they are seeking.
However,if you were to suddenly introduce a lot of corn to deer thatare notused to eating it in the winter, you could cause acidosis.Basically, their bodies cannot process that sudden infusion of thenew food and they can die as a result. So as far aswhat to feed deer in winterorwhat to feed deer instead of corn,stick to more naturalsourceslike cutting a small patch of forest down to bring browse to deer level.This is a veryinexpensive way to feed deer– all you need is a chainsaw and a couple hours of your time.And as this patch grows into young forest, it will provide more browse for deer over the winter.
If deer arealreadyused to eating corn throughout the winter in your area, you can startfeeding corn to deerslowly and see how they take it, butyouwill likely have no problemfeeding deer corn year roundin these areas.Ultimately, thebest supplemental deer feedis one that the deer in your area will be attracted to that actually helps themgain body mass.
Now when it comes tofeeding deer in summeror spring, you have many more options. Many people will buyhigh protein deer feedfor theirsupplemental deer feedingprogram.This helps them bounce back and recover muscle mass faster, and for bucks, it can help with antler growth too. You could combine thedeer proteinpellets with our GYT90deer attractant(4 gallon case)to make your own customdeer antler feed.The high fatcrudesoybean oil serves as an attractant, helps themgain weight, and provides many essential minerals for antler growth, including calcium and phosphorous.Just mix it into your feed or pour it over piles of food.
Where andHow to Feed Deer
Asfor where andhowyou should go about yoursupplemental deer feeding, you have a few options. You should find something that works for your own situation, because a consistent feeding program is more importantand usefulthan a haphazard one.
Food Piles
The easiest route is to simply go out and dump thedeer feedinto a pile somewhere. You can quickly do this along access roads and trails, which also makes for easy checking of trail cameras. But the downsideto this kind ofsupplemental deer feedingis that the exposed food can be eaten by other animals, including crows, blue jays, squirrels, raccoons, hogs, bears, etc. Being exposed to the elements on the ground, it can also rot faster.Deer food pelletsin particular tend to turn into mush when they sit on wet ground or it rains.
Feeders
Abetter option for most situations is to use adeer feeder. Gravity-fed or battery-powered feeders protect thedeer feed ingredientsfrom spoiling and regulate it better. Deercannotcome in and gulp it all down – they have to eat only a little at a time. Feeders are easiest to refill if they are located alongside trails too.Thebest time to feed deer with a feederis usually during the day, which can train them to come during shooting hours. If you can’t hunt deer over or near feeders, the timing really doesn’t matter as much.
Other Locations
Of course,other placesare good to feed deer too.
- Small openings just offlarge agricultural fields can be great spots because they are often staging areas for deer before venturing out into fields at night anyway.
- Small patch cuts in an otherwise mature forest will attract deer as is. When you addsupplemental deer feedingormineral sites, you can bet it will be a popular spot.
- If you find a series of deer trails that converge between feeding and bedding areas, it could be a great areafor a deer feeder. It already gets a lot of deer traffic, and you should be able togetgreat trail camera pictures there too. Just try to use a largerfeeder in these spots so you don’t have to refill too often.
IsSupplemental Deer FeedingRight for You?
If your property lacks abundantnaturalfood sources throughout the entire year, there may be an opportunity for you to use supplemental feed to help the deer herd.And if it is not legal or relevant where you hunt, try managing the natural food sources the best you can. It will definitely make a difference.
Winter Deer Feeding
