Deer Feed Question

[aharley1]

Here's in Florida, it's legal to feed as long as you do it continously for 6 months prior to season. Question. My trail cam shows several deer feeding on corn. I switched to pellets (mixed maybe 25% pellets to 75% corn). The deer eat the corn but won't touch the pellets. So i was told to use flavored pellets. I mixed some flavored pellets in and now I see no deer. I have seen lots of coons, a bobcat and a coyote eating at the feeder. Is it just coincidence, being extremely hot and Summer? Or is it the pellets?

[Southern Man]

From my experience, deer seem to be kind of finicky when it comes to feed. They'll eat corn big time but will be wary of anything else. I have been told to gradually mix another feed with corn and slowly wean the corn out. Like 25% feed & 75% corn, after a couple of times mix 50% feed & 50% corn. Gradually take the corn out and they should eat the feed once they get use to it.

[aharley1]

Like I said, I'm using 25% or less pellets mixed with the corn. The corn will be gone but the pellets are still there.

[Southern Man]

Sorry bout that, it's kind of early yet. I didn't read properly. What kind of feed? Specialy for deer?

[timberghost]

It's possible that the bobcat and coyote are keeping the deer away.

[aharley1]

I've been using two different brands of deer pellets, neither seem to apeal to the deer, but I was wondering the same thing -if the coytoes were keeping the deer away. I've heard pros & cons on that.

i'm not sure about any of it.

a side note though. i read an article about feeding deer corn. it was a study done by the biologist in wv. it seems there are different grades? for lack of a better word, of corn. the corn we eat, the corn cows eat, and what is called deer corn. now it seems there is a fungus that will grow on corn and the deciding factor of what eats the corn is by how much fungus is on the corn. deer corn having the most. it seem that this fungus is hurting turkey reproduction. with less eggs and fewer hatching. so if this is true as wv biologists say it is folks may want to feed cow corn instead of deer corn.

[aharley1]

After further review: ‘Deer corn’ article revisited « Woods and Waters

Is some discussion on deer corn vs. cow corn

so its important to know the levels and keep it dry. interesting stuff

[Southern Man]

Doan know about yall but the "deer corn" around here sells for about $4-$5 a bag more than "cow" corn at the feed store. No question of which one I buy I really always thought corn is corn. The deer corn was just in a Deer Corn bag.....