Supplimental feeding

[wooly]

Alrighty boys and girls, pretty sure I know everyones thoughts on baiting here in NY durring the open hunting season. I'll assume we're all on the same page there and it should remain as it is, ILLEGAL. What I'm wondering is how you all feel about bait stations durring the off season....still illegal, but I think many take a whole different stance on it when it's not being hunted over. (myself included)

Sooooo, hypotheticly speaking of course ....who feels it would be ok to supply additional feed this time of year and who thinks it would only lead to the mass spread of CWD or worse. ???

Pros......cons.....don't care either way???

[nyantler]

CWD is a possiblity, but I'd be more worried about upsetting the natural feeding habit

[WhiteTailBuckDeer]

CWD is a possiblity, but I'd be more worried about upsetting the natural feeding habit

+1

[Santamour123]

In areas around my home it is nothing to have 4' plus snow on the ground.  I feel that I can help  some to make it through the long hard winter. Then I will do just that.  Now where I set my supplimental station is 1 mile back off the road.  So no car issues arise.  Hypotheticaly of coarse!!! ;D  As for CWD I only have 6-10 deer using it!

[nyantler]

Yeah after thinking about those heavily snow covered areas.. I think suppplimental feeding might be ok there... maybe clearing the area of snow for the deer to be able to get to a food source would be better... tough call... I'm not a fan of supplimental feeding unless its a last resort

[wooly]

In areas around my home it is nothing to have 4' plus snow on the ground.  I feel that I can help  some to make it through the long hard winter. Then I will do just that.  Now where I set my supplimental station is 1 mile back off the road.  So no car issues arise.  Hypotheticaly of coarse!!! ;D  As for CWD I only have 6-10 deer using it!

That's kinda my take on it too. Probably a better chance of spreading disease where deer congregate around a wintering plot. Hard to believe a few handfulls of hypothetical corn would disrupt their feeding patterns.

[nyantler]

yeah I agree now.. I was thinking offseason meaning during summer months as well.. tough call this time of year though

[Santamour123]

I saw in sportsman guide a year back they were selling poster that read " This food pile is designated for tweety birds and other such small critters for the viewing enjoyment of the land owner.  All others are not invited"  I wonder how that would hold up in coart?

[wooly]

yeah I agree now.. I was thinking offseason meaning during summer months as well.. tough call this time of year though

Well I suppose you could take this one step farther into the spring and summer months and allow the use of mineral blocks and such.

[letinmfly]

http://www.farmanddairy.com/columns/feeding-corn-to-deer-could-be-death-sentence/14324.html

[Four Season Whitetail's]

I leave about 5 acres of corn standing through the winter for the critters and by spring its been well hit...

[Santamour123]

I leave about 5 acres of corn standing through the winter for the critters and by spring its been well hit...

I agree. How many farmer miss some corn or even corn that is picked and the deer feed on it all winter.  I fail to see a good meal being a bad thing

[wooly]

Don’t feed the deer! Corn is what most wildlife lovers offer deer, and even if it’s labeled “deer corn,” feeding corn to deer is about the worst thing you can do. Unless you’re trying to kill the deer.

Ummmm....what if the deer are primarilly feeding on corn? ??? 

You can't tell me when I see 50 deer chowing down in the same cut corn fields all winter long for hours on end that woodsy browse is the vast majority of their winter diet. :-\

But I suppose by this link it would be acceptable to feed apples if one was inclined enough to do so with less tragic results.

[letinmfly]

Matt.

If the deer have been eating corn the whole time it wouldn't matter.  The problem occurs when corn is suddenly introduced to them as a supplement.  Their digestive tract doesn't catch up quick enough to properly digest the corn and thus the results can be detrimental.

Being that feeding is illegal in NY we don't need to worry about it. 

When it was still legal to feed the deer I would buy the deer feed that was sold at Agway.  It had a good blend of oats, grains, corn and molasses.  It wasn't unusual for me to put out 2-3 thousand pounds of food in the winter and I would stop feeding them the end of March.

[wooly]

Oh yeah I've read about all the down sides to it and fully understand what the researchers are saying.....in some instances. The way some of the authors of the articles come across as if we're throwing Alka Seltzers to seagulls. :

[G-Man]

the best way to feed the deer is create browse/leave a crop field standing/cut down unwanted trees and let them eat the tops over the winter and cut up the trunks for firewood in the spring. of course this has to be done every year. if you just put out a pile of grain and you stop feeding in march the extra deer you helped thru the winter are putting a lot of stress on the natural browse that is maybe just starting to green up the herd health will suffer more than if you didn't feed at all.

[Dave]

Letemfly, i have read an article about feeding deer corn and they agree if they are not eating corn as part of their diet it could kill them. But if it is no problem with the digestion of the corn. If they are not in an area of corn fields then the best thing to feed them is called sweet corn. It's a mixture of corn, oats, barley, grain and molassas.  They have no problem digesting the sweet corn. You can get it at any feed store about $7-$8 bicks a 50# bag. Remember the DEC say's they are concerned with CWD and feeding deer could spread it, but the deer that contacted it were penned up not from wild deer.

Dave

[Fletch]

I would have to say I am against it. The reason being is you are expanding the deer herd above the carrying capacity of the land in some places. So if you stop feeding then the deer completely wipe out their other sources and the deer populations drops off the map. I would encourage planting things they like to eat like blackberry, wild grape and honeysuckle. Stuff that improves the land and is there even when you are not.

Is a little gonna hurt? No, but where do you draw the line or enforce? Say you put out 200 pounds a week and so are 200 other people in your town. Now your talking 40,000 pounds!!

[backstrapper]

If it's about CWD then I say no baiting or feeding. If it for any other reason and the deer are being feed properly not just corn then I say ok.  Not everyone can afford to plant a food plot or has access to orchards, farms etc.... and there's a ton of stress put on the herd during bad winters especially if there's been a poor acorn harvest.

[First-light]

Turnips in my food plot still untouched- they must be feeding on something good!!

[backstrapper]

Turnips in my food plot still untouched- they must be feeding on something good!!

try this  ;D ;D

• 3 cups diced peeled turnips
   
• 1/4 cup water
   
• 1 cube chicken bouillon
   
• 1 tablespoon butter, or more as needed
   
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
  
•       Directions 

1. 
    
2. Place the turnips into a skillet with the water and chicken bouillon cube over medium heat, and simmer until the water has evaporated and the turnips are tender, about 15 minutes. Stir in the butter, let melt, and sprinkle on the sugar. Gently cook and stir the turnips until the butter and sugar cook into a brown, sticky coating on the turnips, about 10 minutes. Serve hot.
   

[First-light]

Turnips in my food plot still untouched- they must be feeding on something good!!

try this  ;D ;D

• 3 cups diced peeled turnips
  
• 1/4 cup water
  
• 1 cube chicken bouillon
  
• 1 tablespoon butter, or more as needed
  
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
  
•       Directions 
  • Place the turnips into a skillet with the water and chicken bouillon cube over medium heat, and simmer until the water has evaporated and the turnips are tender, about 15 minutes. Stir in the butter, let melt, and sprinkle on the sugar. Gently cook and stir the turnips until the butter and sugar cook into a brown, sticky coating on the turnips, about 10 minutes. Serve hot.
    

That is funny! Thanks for making me laugh, it's good medicine!

[nyantler]

Yeah.. there is a reason the DEC doesn't let us supplimental feed

[Dave]

Yeah.. there is a reason the DEC doesn't let us supplimental feed

I think the big picture is to reduce the deer herd. If DMP's don't work then they get to starve to death.

Dave

[nyantler]

UH OH.. Not another conspiracy theorist in the group...YEP.. I'm sure the DEC relishes in the thought of huge winter kill... Come ON!