Deer feed question?

[wildwindom]

My wife picked me up cracked corn instead of whole corn. Has anyone used cracked corn before for deer feed???

[fletch]

I have a feeder filled with a mix of cracked corn and sweet feed (horse feed) and they don't seem to mind. They don't have to chew as much.

[brayhaven]

Don't think I'd feed pelletized feed. Chewing stimulates saliva which helps prevent intestinal impaction.
Greg

[fletch]

Just to clarify the sweet feed is not pellitized, it is just run through a roller mill to crack the corn and then mixed with molasses.

[wabi]

Doesn't seem to matter much to the deer whether it's cracked or whole, but the birds & small critters like the cracked better. I use whole (shelled), but if they happen to be out I buy cracked. I've even thrown in a bag of wild bird food or a few sunflower seed just to add some variety. Been thinking of adding oats, but haven't tried yet.

[brayhaven]

Now if you can just teach em to come in about 10 AM so you can sleep late, and feed them near the freezer so you don't have to drag em...
Greg

[Pete]

Because I work in agriculture, I can get a bit of everything (corn, soybeans, wheat) but until this year I never thought to throw out soys.
It seems the deer like them quite well, maybe better than corn.

In 1998 I got lucky with a 12 pointer on November 14th. Standing corn everywhere and this fella had a belly full of soybeans. I was pretty surprised but until this year I hadn't done much about it.

At about $2.50 per 56 lbs (bushel) of corn, I don't doubt that many farmers would sell corn cheap if you got there at the right time.

Also, I know one fella who takes 2 apples out with him every time and squishes them into the ground where he needs them. Sounds logical to me.

Pete

[Golden Eagle]

That is all that the Mother -in -law feeds is cracked corn and they come a runnin. They love it. There were 17 deer in her back yard this evening and her and the father-in-law were 60 yards away cleaning ice off the driveway and they didnt even look their way..They have become almost pet like down there with this cold spell and no food in the woods.

[209x50]

I work in a feed mill, so I have access to all different kinds of feed. Corn sells for $8 per bag (40kg). Microbeans (cooked and rolled soybeans) are really a fav. of the deer, and not many other creatures touch them, but they are expensive at about $16 per bag (I haven't checked the price lately, so that is a guess). Oats would work well also. Mixed grain, or scratch (corn, barley, oats) works well cause we put Molasses on it. Try them out.

[wildwindom]

Thanks alot fellas for the info i put 50 lbs of the cracked corn out tonight see how it goes. I can get the cracked or shelled corn for 6.00 dollars for 50 lbs. Im gonna check on the soy beans for next year i hunt some soy bean feilds i know they love that just never checked into getting it. Me and dad gonna try it next year.

[wabi]

Bought 200# of corn last Wednesday, and put the last in the feeder tonight. This snow & cold sure made them hungry, but I haven't managed to be there when they were
I found a little feed store out on a back country road, (about a 20 mile trip for me) that has shelled corn for $2.75/50# bag, about half what I was paying in town! I'm going to pick up more tomorrow or Thursday, and I'm going to add some oats if the price is reasonable. Tried the roasted soya beans, and the deer ate them, but didn't really seem to like them any better than corn? Could be because everyone around the farm I hunt had soya beas out this year. Did kill one bean fed doe during gun season, and she was tasty

[GaryL]

wabi stated "Did kill one bean fed doe during gun season, and she was tasty"

Bet it was, I been muching on a corn fed doe for the last two days as I been a making jurky strips and smokys did a batch of cracked pepper 'N Garlic and a batch of Inferno Blen... yep a little on the hot side but GOOOOOD