Supplemental Feeding | Buck Manager

Conditioning Deer to Eat New Foods

The new year is well underway and spring is just around the corner. That is a good thing because habitat conditions are as tough as I’ve seen them in some time and bitter cold weather really works on a white-tailed deer’s body condition. But a new year means resolutions to do new things—even when it comes to deer management. Though the supplementation of a deer’s diet is far from a new idea, I am confident that many landowners and managers will begin offering supplemental feed during late winter, spring and summer for the first time ever.

Most of that feed will be in the form of protein pellets. Regular readers of this site know that food supplementation is just a small part of an overall deer management program, but it can be an important component for maintaining and increasing the overall condition of the deer herd found on a property. This is especially true during the food stress periods that occur each year, summer and winter. Right now is as good of time as any to start, but I recommend following the simple suggestions below when beginning a supplemental feeding program for white-tailed deer.

Supplemental feeding itself is not rocket science, but there are some things you can do to increase its effectiveness. First and foremost, do not use supplemental feed as a tool to maintain substantially more deer on a property than the habitat can support. Habitat management and population management are much more important than pouring feed into a system.

If a deer manager can combine good habitat and the appropriate number of deer with a supplemental feeding program kicker, then the result will be far superior to just placing out feed and expecting quality deer to simply show up.

It also needs to be said that protein pellets should not be put into timed, spin-feeders. The unfortunate hunters out there that have tried this delivery method will attest to this advice. For one thing, dispensing “supplemental” foods from timed feeders is not really supplemental. It’s bait. And deer can not consume enough in this manner for it to truly supplement their diet.

Protein pellets contain much more moisture than corn or roasted soybeans and will sweat inside a feeder once temperatures begin to rise. It does not take much heat to make the temperature rise rapidly within a confined area. Because pellets move through timed feeders very slowly, this release of moisture will cause the feed to mold and cake-up. Use free-choice feeders.

Do not be disappointed if deer ignore your tasty offerings. Whitetail know a lot about their natural environment, but deer do not have an understanding of manufactured feeds or any new-to-them feed for that matter. Although deer are quick studies, don’t expect them to hammer your protein feeder right off the bat. There is a learning curve involved.

I’ve been contacted my numerous managers and hunters over the years that have filled new protein feeders with tons of high-protein pellets only to be disappointed when they return to their property and not a deer has touched it. In many cases, the problem is simply about timing.

Properties that have offered free-choice feeds for years know that deer consume supplemental foods in varying amounts during different times of the year. This phenomenon is especially evident during the spring and fall, when forbs and mast are abundant and readily available. This happens even on properties where deer have been supplemented for long periods of time. When available, whitetail deer prefer high quality natural foods over any supplemental food we can offer. This is why good white-tailed deer habitat is so important.

To get to the point, do not expect a lot of activity around your feeder when habitat conditions are good, such as after spring green-up or when acorns fall or during those rare years when rains continue throughout the summer. And although habitat conditions come into play, the time of year is not the only factor that can impact deer use of supplemental foods. It also depends on deer density and feeder density.

Lastly, when new foods are introduced onto a property deer must be conditioned to consume these new foods. Managers can either introduce the new food and just wait them out, or the new food can be mixed with foods that are familiar to deer. For example, if deer on a ranch commonly eat corn, then mix corn with the new feed to introduce it to them. Then, decrease the amount of corn and up the percentage of the new food. This is by far the best way to transition white-tailed deer to consume new foods.

Again, getting deer to eat new foods is not terribly difficult, but there are some factors that can effect how fast they hit new food sources. Habitat conditions, food availability, deer density, season and other deer management practices can all impact the consumption of supplemental foods. Simply keep all of these variables in mind if you plan on introducing new foods to whitetail and prepare to be surprised. Because once deer begin using their new food source you may be looking for supplemental income to help pay for it all!

Supplemental Feeding in Perspective

Hunters and landowners actively involved in white-tailed deer management know that age, genetics, and nutrition are the rule when it comes to maintaining a healthy deer herd and consistently producing quality whitetail bucks. Because it takes time for bucks to get older and because one can not change the genetics of a deer once it is conceived, a lot of attention gets placed on deer nutrition by hunters and managers on their lands.

When it comes to providing proper nutrition for deer, more than a fair share of this attention gets wrongly placed on supplemental feeding through food plots or protein pellets. I will be the first to tell you that both food plots and supplemental feeding have their place on almost every property, but all too often hunters consider the management practice of adding food to the equation as taking the place of proper deer habitat management. Wrong. Continue reading “Supplemental Feeding in Perspective”

More Research on the Supplemental Feeding of Whitetail

Spring is officially here and plants are green again, but the lack of rainfall has kept native vegetation from really taking off. On the bright side, trees, shrubs, and vines are leafing out thanks to some precipitation and warmer temperatures, and providing new-growth browse for hungry white-tailed deer.

And speaking of deer food, there is some on-going research that may shed more light on the supplemental feeding of deer and its impact on native plants. Deer managers agree that supplemental feeding, whether it be protein pellets, whole cotton seed, or some other type of high-protein food, really helps local deer populations.

However, the words “supplemental feeding” have become almost synonymous with “deer management” in some circles, and although not totally accurate, it’s not far off. Although the management of deer populations incorporates much more than the addition of free-choice protein, most landowners giving deer management an honest effort are providing some sort of supplemental food.

So as common as this practice is for the management of white-tailed deer, it also deserves further attention. By definition supplemental food is, well, supplemental. The foods placed out for deer are merely there to add to an individual deer’s natural diet, not replace it. If this were false then a property could support an unlimited number of deer as long as food was continually added to the system. This won’t work.

But some often confuse deer breeders and deer management. Yes, deer can live in pens devoid of vegetation with protein pellets and water, but imagining a ranch that looks like a deer pen would be a sad, sad sight and the deer population would still suffer from density-dependent factors. It was commonly thought that the addition of supplemental food reduced a deer’s use of natural plants — and it’s true — but maybe it all goes down a little different.

Past research found that deer provided with supplemental food in the form of free-choice protein pellets still used native plants, but the deer only consumed the most highly preferred plants available to them.

However, preliminary results from research conducted in South Texas suggests that supplemental food does not encourage selective foraging by deer. So why is it important? Well, we all know that deer prefer to browse on certain plant species. Food preference is probably a function of palatability, digestibility, and overall nutritive value.

In areas with high numbers of deer, highly palatable browse species become over-utilized, stunted (hedged), fail to reproduce, and can die. When this happens over a ranch or ranches and year after year, entire plant species can disappear. This leads to an unhealthy system with plant species after species succumbing to over-use over time.

Under the first scenario, supplemental feeding would not prevent the over-use of preferred browse species by deer, but new research may find that free-choice feeds reduce the use of preferred browse. This is important for deer managers that are interested in providing good wildlife habitat because it gives real credit to the fact that free-choice pellets really are supplemental.

Deer not only use preferred browse species, but they also use moderately and slightly preferred browse plants. This widespread use of browse species suggest that supplements can buffer the use of native plants by deer, but not fully protect them.

So regardless of what the current study finds, both scenarios end up proving that deer can not live on supplemental feed alone. Even when supplemental food is provided free-choice, white-tailed deer still desire native browse plants in their diets. Not only are these plants important for food, but also for the shelter and screening cover they provide for deer and other wildlife species. And let’s not forget that browse plants typically contain protein levels ranging from 15 to 35%. And that can feed your deer and really supplement your supplement, for a lot less money.

Deer Density and Supplemental Feeding

When it comes to white-tailed deer management we do know a lot, but we do not know it all. There is a lot that is not known about how white-tailed deer affect their habitat under different densities with and without supplemental feed, however, that is exactly what a research project initiated on two South Texas ranchesd hoped to determine — the effects of deer on native vegetation.

To accurately conduct the research, six 200-acre enclosures were constructed on both ranches. In addition, they were divided into 3 pairs — each with target populations of 10, 25, or 40 white-tailed deer. One of each pair was supplemented with a free-choice (all you can eat) pelleted supplemental ration and the other was left to forage from only native forbs and browse. To document changes in habitat condition, canopy cover and biomass were estimated annually. Continue reading “Deer Density and Supplemental Feeding”

Supplemental Feeding Versus Baiting for Whitetail

Many landowners and hunters consider supplemental feeding an important factor in deer management and a source of nutrition when native forage is inadequate either in quantity or quality. Under certain conditions, a supplemental feeding program can help keep the deer herd in better condition and help meet some of your management objectives. However, most deer feeding programs which provide sufficient additional nutrients to be of value are quite expensive.

Are You Feeding or Just Baiting?

There is a distinct difference between feeding and baiting white-tailed deer. Maintaining deer feeders from October through December is a common practice on many properties to attract deer to hunting locations during the whitetail hunting season. Unfortunately, most of these baiting efforts cease just before additional the additional feed is really needed by the deer — in late winter.

Supplemental feeding is most-beneficial during stress periods. Stress periods for deer are usually encountered when the protein content of the forage is at a low level. This is almost always during winter and summer or as a result of prolonged period of drought.

'Supplemental

As mentioned, supplemental feeding of deer is expensive, and unless properly done it may be of little or no benefit to the deer. The most efficient means of insuring adequate nutrition is through a good habitat management program that provides sufficient cover and a variety of browse plants as well as forbs. This is done by reducing deer numbers and domestic livestock numbers to levels that allow the plant communities to recover and remain in good condition.

Before Supplementing Deer…

A common mistake made by many managers attempting to develop a habitat management plan is to disregard the number of animal units of deer present when calculating use of the range. If deer are present, they will also be using available forage and must be considered as part of the stocking rate. If large numbers of deer are desired, domestic livestock must be reduced to prevent damage to native plant communities.

This also holds true for farmlands. There is plenty to eat during the growing season, so the limiting factor for deer occurs when food sources are low following the hunting season in the winter.

Under good habitat conditions, white-tailed deer and cattle do not compete for food. However, deer, sheep and goats are in direct competition for the available food supply. When habitat is in poor condition, deer and cattle will compete for forb and browse plants.

True Supplemental Feeding Has Benefits

The supplemental feeding of deer may be beneficial if the herd is harvested adequately each year and the habitat is maintained in good condition or constantly improved through management practices. Only under managed conditions will supplemental feeding benefit the growth-rate of a deer’s body and a buck’s antlers.

The benefits of a supplemental feeding program may be more quickly realized when feeding is done within game-fenced areas that allow the manager to closely control the white-tailed deer population, but most of us are managing and hunting under free-range conditions. Feeding can work just about anywhere, but it takes proper implementation and a higher level of manager involvement to be effective.