A Primer on Feeders

Feeding wildlife has become a major industry with millions of dollars annually being spent on feeders and feed. This runs the gamut from an inexpensive backyard bird feeder to extensive feeding programs on high-fenced, managed white tail deer and exotic animal ranches costing tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars annually. Supplemental feeding of wildlife, however, is only one part of any good wildlife management program. Before you buy a feeder and a sack of corn, take the time to design a wildlife management program for your particular situation -- and implement as much of it as your time and monetary budgets will allow.

There are many things in a well designed wildlife management program besides feeding. Some of them cost little or nothing. Others are "budget busters". Doing a "deer count" doesn't cost anything and can guide you on whether or not your buck/doe ration is ideal and whether or not you have too many deer for the habitat. Thinning a herd that is too large or reducing harvest numbers if your herd is too small are tools that anyone can employ.

Overgrazing by livestock has been shown to not only be detrimental to the wildlife but to actually decrease revenues from the production of domestic livestock. With hunting lease revenues increasing, many smart landowners are beginning to manage their land not only for domestic livestock but also for wildlife.

In some locations predator control is helpful but may have unintended results. In some areas ranchers have aggressively reduced coyote numbers to protect young livestock. The unintended result has been an explosion of rabbits which eat lots of vegetation. The increase of rabbits has also provided an increased food supply for everything from rattlesnakes to hawks and bobcats. The latter two predators happen to be aggressive quail predators. Care should be taken when "messing with mother nature".

Clearing cedar and other overgrowth can help native grasses grow. Both cedar and mesquite consume large amounts of ground water and their removal can increase ground water levels, helping wildlife. The other side of this is that cedar and mesquite provide cover for all manner of wildlife and the mesquite beans are an important protein source for deer. A mixture of open spaces and dense cover is probably ideal. Some clearing can be accomplished at little or no expense by anyone with an ax or chain saw. Hiring a bulldozer to clear large areas can exhaust most budgets.

Another tool that can be quite expensive is high fencing. This certainly allows one to control a deer population and manage exotics but the cost is high and this is not a practical thing for hunters who lease the land they hunt on. It may be the only answer for situations where your neighbors all have 5 deer blinds on their 50 acre ranches. Of course the other alternative in this situation is to move your hunting operation elsewhere.

Another frequently overlooked part of the equation is water. Many areas have abundant surface water. Many areas don't. Building ponds, putting in wells or constructing " water guzzlers" can all help. Specific watering systems for quail can be employed in some areas, being especially helpful in drought years.

Something that is within the reach of every hunter is some sort of feeding program. A program can be designed to fit any budget.

Before investing lots of money in a feeding program, it is best to develop (and subsequently follow) a feeding strategy that is likely to produce the results you want.

One of the best ways to help wildlife populations is by planting food plots and grain fields. This may be the "best bang for the buck" but it is very labor intensive and seasonal. Whenever possible this should be part of every wildlife feeding strategy.

If your goal is to attract young whitetail deer to a feeder near your hunting blind then a timer operated broadcast feeder that is filled with corn is the best bet. If your goal is to grow big deer with big horns, a year round, on demand protein feeding system is the best. If you want to promote and support turkey and quail populations then small grains are ideal.

The next thing to consider is your budget. If you buy good feeders, this should be a "one time" cost. If you buy poorly constructed feeders, plan on spending lots of money over the years buying new ones.

Once your feeders are in place, figure your annual feed budget and how best to spend it to implement your feeding strategy. Most people cannot afford to have unlimited on demand protein feeders every 150 acres along with timer run broadcast feeders at each blind along with supplemental quail and turkey feeders filled and operating year round. While on demand feeders are the most desirable in terms of increasing game populations and things like body weight and antler growth, controlling costs is difficult. Timer operated broadcast feeders can be set to feed a known amount of feed each month and thus you can insure that your budget will last the entire year.

The next thing to consider is can one feeder fill several needs. A timer operated broadcast feeder can be used to feed not only corn but any mix of grain and protein. One strategy is to feed a varying combination of protein (pellets and/or soybeans), small grain (milo and/or wheat and/or oats) and corn to supply supplemental food for deer, quail and turkey. The mixture can be varied during the year so that corn can be a major ingredient just before and during hunting season to attract the whitetail to your blind. After hunting season the amount of corn in the mix can be reduced (or even eliminated) and the amount of protein can be increased. It is during the January through May season that protein feeding is felt to be the most important for increasing body weight and helping the deer survive the winter when natural forage is limited. Continued protein feeding through the summer months will help the bucks grow the biggest horns they are genetically capable of. The addition of small grains year round supports the wild bird population.

There are several things considered desirable in any feeding system:

1. Simplicity- The feeder should be easy to operate and one should not need a degree in electrical engineering and electronics to program a timer.

2. Ease of use- The feeder should be easy to fill with feed.

3. Safety- The feeder should be safe to use.

4. Sturdiness- The feeder should be well made and last decades. We think that there are too many feeders out there that last one or two seasons and do not hold up to normal use. A feeder should be something that lasts for years, can be moved from place to place and lease to lease – and then passed on to the next generation of hunters.

5. Efficient- The feeder should do what you want it to do. If you want to feed quail then the feeder should feed quail, not raccoons and mice.

6. Reliable- The feeder should work. If wildlife populations depend on a feeder as a vital source of nutrition, when it doesn't work, the animals suffer. If a hunter depends on a feeder to attract game and the feeder doesn't work, the hunt is ruined.

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