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i think the mineral licks are the way to go. deer can never get all of it. but they can dig it up and keep small amounts of the minerals they need in their systems rather food is plentiful or not. i might be wrong on this. any one have other findings or thoughts on this? i havent researched it, but i know they will dig craters in the ground in search of the minerals.
They are great in spring and summer. Late fall and winter it's all about calories.
 
Minerals....agree. I keep multiple mineral stations on my properties year round. I don't hunt over them, rather put them where I can hunt the property legally (distance). Cameras don't lie, they hit them every day. Some more than others, but they definitely hit them all the time. Antler hardness, bone structure, and overall healthy animal with the nutrients the body requires.
 
I get a kick out of this debate every year. Im not sure if people dont read, or understand what is being said here. There is always that guy that says " I saw 25 deer in a corn field last night, they must of been all committing suicide hehe". No you jackwagon, the point is that deer that are not feeding regularly on corn most of the year are the ones that can not properly digest corn, that is suddenly introduced to there diet (post season inventory) etc. Before I was aware of this I did in fact learn the hard way. Where I hunt in VA there are corn fields but the deer on my property "resident" deer do not go to corn every night. Corn is not a regular part of the deer on this particular propertys diet. Will they come to a pile and eat sure they will. But if they gorge themselves results can be fatal. What the heck is so hard to understand about that?
 
I live in northern WI. The high today was -8. We have 120 acres of corn next to the house that the farmer didn't get to before snowfall and I certainly don't see deer falling over dead and I doubt I will. North of here where there isn't corn or logging and the snow is deeper many deer deer just plain starve or freeze.

So for the 'holier than now' folks that say "DON'T do it" yea ok - is it better for them just to starve?

I think in harsh conditions a little supplemental feeding isn't going to hurt. Deer cams show pretty clearly if you put out both corn and hay they eat both this time of year. The deer seem to know or sense they can't fill up completely on corn. A bellyache from too much corn beats death.

Can't say I've ever come across a winter kill with a belly full of corn.
Holier than now? Just people warning of the dangers. Archers helping archers, right? I'm not real sure about it, but I think I take more stock in professionals and biologists and herd managers that say don't do it then rely on the pros here on AT. You guys obviously know way more than they do. You guys are really, really smart.
 
I get a kick out of this debate every year. Im not sure if people dont read, or understand what is being said here. There is always that guy that says " I saw 25 deer in a corn field last night, they must of been all committing suicide hehe". No you jackwagon, the point is that deer that are not feeding regularly on corn most of the year are the ones that can not properly digest corn, that is suddenly introduced to there diet (post season inventory) etc. Before I was aware of this I did in fact learn the hard way. Where I hunt in VA there are corn fields but the deer on my property "resident" deer do not go to corn every night. Corn is not a regular part of the deer on this particular propertys diet. Will they come to a pile and eat sure they will. But if they gorge themselves results can be fatal. What the heck is so hard to understand about that?
Its not hard to understand IF you have some initiative to do some research, have an open mind and realize you don't know everything. Too many self proclaimed professionals that know more than you do - haven't figured that out by now? They are everywhere here - it's not just the corn debate. It's just about everything here.
 
Minerals....agree. I keep multiple mineral stations on my properties year round. I don't hunt over them, rather put them where I can hunt the property legally (distance). Cameras don't lie, they hit them every day. Some more than others, but they definitely hit them all the time. Antler hardness, bone structure, and overall healthy animal with the nutrients the body requires.
I find the deer in PA don't seem to bother with mineral in the late fall/winter. Now in the spring and summer they love it.
 
i dont bait and never have, but some farms around here have corn laying around and they eat it 24/7..im not doing a bunch of google.com tonight but i know that in southwest Va deer eat corn 365 days a yr and it dont kill them here..has anyone on here ever experienced a deer dying from eating too much corn?
 
i dont bait and never have, but some farms around here have corn laying around and they eat it 24/7..im not doing a bunch of google.com tonight but i know that in southwest Va deer eat corn 365 days a yr and it dont kill them here..has anyone on here ever experienced a deer dying from eating too much corn?
Case and point.
 
Bad idea. Deer switch diets during the winter and excess corn ingestion causes too much acidity in the rumen limiting or ceasing the deers ability to digest any of the food they eat.(acidosis). Many deer have died during the winter with bellies full of undigested corn.

Many articles have been published warning good intended people of this condition. Many of those same articles list alternative ways of providing deer proper nutrition during extreme winter conditions.
Very good post!!
 
I get a kick out of this debate every year. Im not sure if people dont read, or understand what is being said here. There is always that guy that says " I saw 25 deer in a corn field last night, they must of been all committing suicide hehe". No you jackwagon, the point is that deer that are not feeding regularly on corn most of the year are the ones that can not properly digest corn, that is suddenly introduced to there diet (post season inventory) etc. Before I was aware of this I did in fact learn the hard way. Where I hunt in VA there are corn fields but the deer on my property "resident" deer do not go to corn every night. Corn is not a regular part of the deer on this particular propertys diet. Will they come to a pile and eat sure they will. But if they gorge themselves results can be fatal. What the heck is so hard to understand about that?
You nailed it!
 
I find the deer in PA don't seem to bother with mineral in the late fall/winter. Now in the spring and summer they love it.
Yep....mix corn with alfalfa or cracked oats, put out in moderation....50lbs a week...they'll be fine...trust me Ben doing it for years....a bale of alfalfa, while not necessarily cheap can last the entire winter when used this way....I ususually take a few handfuls in a 5- gallon bucket, fill rest of bucket with corn, maybe top with cracked oats, trace mineral,or dried molasses. 1-bucket per site spread out, maybe I site every 5-10 acres...you could do more per site or more sites per acre, but it does get tough both on your wallet and your back hauling it all over...

Joe
 
So for the 'holier than now' folks that say "DON'T do it" yea ok - is it better for them just to starve?
Hmmm... At the risk of sounding "holier than now", you've missed the point. The deer you're talking about have been constantly exposed to a certain amount of standing corn. Yeah, here in north central Wisconsin we left a lot of corn unharvested this year.

It's not like someone just dumped a truck load of shell corn on the frozen tundra. Those deer are just fine with a steady albeit slowly declining diet of standing corn. The question is whether we really help stressed deer by dumping large piles of corn where it previously didn't exist.
 
On a side note, it's interesting to talk with loggers who cut pulp wood in deep snow during mid winter. Those deer are so dependent on the tender browse of tree branch tips that they respond to the sound of chainsaws like a ringing dinner bell. Some loggers claim that occasionally deer are nearly hit by falling trees.
 
we live where corn & beans are everywhere, that's what farmers grow. We are blessed to live where we have deer frequent our yard next to a large timber. We don't feed the Deer but we do have 7 bird feeders & throw out 3-4 cups of corn for the bushy tails (as many as a Dz at a time). Lots of critters visit (crows too as they know we toss scraps out they like) & the Deer come once we have snow & clean out the bird feeders 1st & then any corn if the Squirrels left any. I watch the Deer browse in the woods but eventually they come hit the bird seed & then corn. We had 7 here today just b/4 dark. We figure it's just a handful per deer at most & just enough to keep them in "not so hungry" mode.
 

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On a side note, it's interesting to talk with loggers who cut pulp wood in deep snow during mid winter. Those deer are so dependent on the tender browse of tree branch tips that they respond to the sound of chainsaws like a ringing dinner bell. Some loggers claim that occasionally deer are nearly hit by falling trees.
good stuff right there. and helps put the conversation in a nut shell. these deer would get constipated to the point of no return on a load of corn.:dead::sick:
 
ik your not doing it during the season but i think of it if i want to get a deer i want to beat it i want to work to get it not train them to have food then take it away durning hunting season if i wanted to kill something that bad id feed a cow in my back yard and shoot it with a bow trust me 150% better feeling to pattern a deer by spending times in the woods and beat it at its own game by makeing a quick clean kill but just my opinion
 
ik your not doing it during the season but i think of it if i want to get a deer i want to beat it i want to work to get it not train them to have food then take it away durning hunting season if i wanted to kill something that bad id feed a cow in my back yard and shoot it with a bow trust me 150% better feeling to pattern a deer by spending times in the woods and beat it at its own game by makeing a quick clean kill but just my opinion
I agree 100%.
 
Bad idea. Deer switch diets during the winter and excess corn ingestion causes too much acidity in the rumen limiting or ceasing the deers ability to digest any of the food they eat.(acidosis). Many deer have died during the winter with bellies full of undigested corn.

Many articles have been published warning good intended people of this condition. Many of those same articles list alternative ways of providing deer proper nutrition during extreme winter conditions.
This is why the nj deer population has decreased. We are the feed them corn capital of the deer hunting world.
 
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