Hey folks
I'm thinking about feeding the deer on my property corn and hay for the winter. I typically have between 5-10 deer on my hobby farm all winter long. Could this potentially help or harm them?
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Hey folks
I'm thinking about feeding the deer on my property corn and hay for the winter. I typically have between 5-10 deer on my hobby farm all winter long. Could this potentially help or harm them?
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You are probably best not to feed them, if you can drive around on a snowmobile or tractor and knock down the deep snow that will help them but feeding them means they are dependent on you.
http://www.ofah.org/wp-content/uploa...terFeeding.pdf
One thing you can do to help deer over winter is to control yotes on your property.
Plant soya beans and leave standing all winter. It’s a natural food source that is good for deer. I planted 2.5 acres for 23 years on my farm and watched deer year around.You’ll learn a lot about deer feeding patterns
Far more harm than good. There are web sites that explain proper feeding process to get them through the winter.
+1 on this. This is exactly what I do and it helps deer, turkey, squirrel, grouse etc survive the winter without concentrating them or making them change their normal behaviours.Quote:
Originally Posted by Greenhorn
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A number of years ago in the Western States, they found dead deer with full stomachs of hay , they had starved to death during that fierce winter, even though they were fed hay.
Hay is not a feed for them, they are browsers, you would be better of by partially cutting brush, young trees , bend them down so they can browse/feed on them.
Thanks for the feedback. I guess ill plant soy bean in the spring. Thanks again!Quote:
Originally Posted by Gregoire1960
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What I do every year is trim my fruit trees and throw the clippings on large piles - I have a lot of fruit trees that grow water suckers each year that have to be trimmed - this provides a lot of browse for them during the winter when fruit trees should be trimmed - I can see from the prints in the snow the eaten ends of the clipping that the deer really like the browse
If you have sumac growing around your farm trim them so young shoots come up deer love these.
Soybeans where originally grown for forage crop to feed cattleQuote:
Originally Posted by cousineauwill
If your going to plant I would plant some in May June and late July longer season varieties likely be the best RR varieties being easiest to keep weeds down
Hinge cut a few trees and let them lay over winter.deer will come a long was to browse.
I have a mixed stand of 100 acres .Should i hinge cut over a wide range or concentrate in 1 spot?Quote:
Originally Posted by dutchhunter
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I just look for damages trees that will be cut for firewood at a latter date. Near bedding areas is ideal as deep snow is tough on deer so the less trailing Thu have to do the better
MNR fed deer successful for over 50 plus years in places like Loring, Shawnaga, etc. They used to pack down trails for them too. You only emergency feed with alfalfa and other mixtures but you must continue until spring and only in an emergency. I laugh at all the armchair folks who have never fed deer but have an opinion based on something they have read published online by some self serving fiscally and possibly politically motivated government agency.
I have piece of property in an area that was hit real hard for a couple of winters in a row. I would see the deer starving with their sunken fuzzy faces gathering under cedar trees where their was less snow. With no food and deep snow they were dying and fast.
I fed them ($400 plus a year out of my pocket) and so did some of my neighbors until they disappeared in the spring. Guess what? I still have a lot of deer while other areas around me have none. Just remember most areas in Northern Ontario have very poor habitat for deer. There is limited cutting (logging) now going on and most areas with a deer herd population have now exceeds the habitat carrying (food) capacity because of the mature timber. Please don't forget we also now have areas closed off to wolf hunting, wolf tags and due to the past cancellation of the spring bear hunt, we have a larger predator base. You must also throw in cohabitation competition with a growing moose herd in the muskokas (elk some areas) to make things tougher.
Yes cut down browse and help them out. I grew up hunting in the late 70's and early 80's when there were no deer. The anterless deer tag system, MNR and private supplemental feeding and some milder winters certainly helped. We hunted wolves and shot lots of bears. I believe MNR even used to encourage trappers to catch wolves in the deer yards. Some areas even had bounties. This all resulted in an excellent deer population in the 90's and early 2000's in Ontario. Extended seasons (archery, ML, Control Hunts, etc.), surplus tags etc. Why and what has changed in 2017? I been there and don't want to go back to the deer herds of the 70's and 80's.
People will now play the CWD argument. If deer get too close to each other they transmit the disease. That late in the season I don't believe their is any validity to that argument. Deer are a social animal and count on herding in the North for their survival. When it comes down to do or die, I don't believe it doesn't matter. If they have CWD, they already have CWD. If they all starve the result will be the same.
Hell I live in a city where lots of people feed deer and they routinely attack our bird feeders - lol. The deer population is actually a bit of a problem at times. Explained that? Shouldn't they all die with bird seed in their bellies?
All the Northern States employ some emergency feeding in times of dire need. Not Ontario anymore. Here is a link to Minnesota.
http://www.wideopenspaces.com/emerge...minnesota-dnr/
I recall about 5 years ago one of the states was even giving deer feed free to landowners to help the starving deer. It may have been Wisconsin - not sure.
Anyway that is my rant. Do what you want, but I have a healthy deer herd on my property and in the area to prove it makes a difference.
Next......................lol
Ive owned my proerty for 17 yrs now. But ive only been hunting for 4 yrs. Each spring i just see gaunt skinny deer on my own property and neighbouring properties. All i want to do is help as much as i can. Ive read all the stuff on line about winter feeding, but would prefer to hear from more experienced hunters. I really appreciate the feed back from everyoneQuote:
Originally Posted by Muskyhunter
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You can also remove the body wood from the trees you cut down, for fire wood. All of the food the deer and moose can use is in the fine tips of the tops. Cut the top up a bit so the deer can reach them . They will strip them off. The brush will grow up in future years for feed. The deer will eat all the new growth off the small trees each year. The ministry used to feed a mixture of whole, corn and oats. From what I can remember. Keeping trails open , will help as well. old243
Just an observation - not to cut down mast bearing trees like Oaks.Quote:
Originally Posted by dutchhunter
That a why we cut damaged trees.ment for firewood.tind of elms iron wood.soft maples .
Right on. I have aspens,firs,spruce,red maples(mostly for syrup[emoji2]),alders,birch.Also on the last day of rifle wide 8 pointer winded me. Thought that was it for the season, but was able to harvest a 4 point. Not the biggest but for my first deer im happy.Quote:
Originally Posted by dutchhunter
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Deer really like browse - around my house are fields that are planted by the neighboring farmers - they generally grow soy beans, corn, wheat and potatoes - so there is always plenty of food for the deer even after the fields are harvested - in my yard a large old apple tree was blown over a couple weeks ago - I checked it out yesterday and noticed that the deer had eaten every bud on all the branches - so it seems that even with all the other food laying in the surrounding fields they still want to eat browse - I would think that they would be eating this during the winter when the other food was harder to get but I guess not
The #1 most important thing to remember about feeding deer is they will become dependent on you. Feed them ONLY if you are prepared and able to do until fresh growth is available well into the spring.
If you stop, and a late season blizzard comes in before new growth is available they will more then likely die. Their fat reserves will be gone, and they will have nothing.
Dead on. Winter logging is one of the best things you can do for deer. I skid the trees whole onto the landing, cut off the tops and branches and push them into a pile, then skid the trunks to the other side. By the time March rolls round, they are so used to the process (and so hungry) they barely lift their heads when I go by them with the skidder.Quote:
Originally Posted by JoePa
If I'm not logging in one of our bushes, I'll go in a couple of times a month during the winter and cut down a few cull cedars to give them some browse.