If you ask the question you can be sure a deer biologist or two have as well, and they have found the answers through research. The big question is “can a supplemental feeding program increase the size and score of the bucks on my property?”. For the point of this article we will focus on supplemental feeding. Habitat, food plots, and supplemental feeding are all management efforts we as deer managers can continually improve it seems.

Age is simply managing your trigger finger and the ability to age deer on the hoof accurately, leaving nutrition as a 365 day a year obsession. Age and nutrition in particular are what we as deer managers can actively manage. It is widely known now that age, nutrition, and genetics (in that order) are the important factors that determine antlers and a buck’s score. The number one reason for interest in supplemental feeding is always centered around the obsession of antlers…at least for the most part. The Results of Supplemental Feedingįor the more advanced deer managers and deer hunters, supplemental feeding always looms in the back of the mind. The well-being of the wildlife and deer should always be taken into consideration first before your wants and needs of either supplementing nutrition or for simply observational purposes. This also is true for properties and programs where supplemental feed is already taking place. The corn maze of states in the Midwest such as Indiana, Illinois, and Iowa have so much corn readily available (either standing or left behind from the combine) during the winter months that the deer’s rumen and microbial population is adjusted for feeding. However, concern over acidosis is waved throughout the Midwest and in areas where deer are already consuming corn.

Five of the twelve deer found dead due to winter feeding in N.H. Dehydration as a result of the buildup of lactic acid can be fatal in 24-72 hours. With a sudden intake of grain, an increase and change in the microbial population in the rumen causes a fatal increase of lactic acid. A deer’s diet during the winter consists of high fiber woody browse, not low fiber carbohydrates. Acidosis occurs when ruminants (deer) consume large quantities of carbohydrates that are low in fiber, also known as corn toxicity. Have you heard of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD)? That’s one of the big ones! However, another more likely concern that often goes unknown to the person supplying the feed is called acidosis. Some of this concern undoubtedly stems from the possible negative outcomes of gathering large numbers of deer in one place…diseases being the concern. This is why states all across the northern stretches of the country restrict or outlaw the use of bait and feeding of deer. Intervention in the form of a couple hundred pounds of “deer corn” can spell disaster for deer.

On time gravity feeder