Deer Feeders

[JeremiahJohnson]

I don't have much property, but I am in the country and like to watch the deer passing through my property. I have a tower for practicing archery and have used that area for feeding deer and turkeys in the past, but haven't the last few years. Over the weekend I bought a Wildgame innovations game setter hopper style feeder (about 80 bucks from Rural King) and set up a game cam, trying to get a closer look at what's walking through my property.

The setup was a real pain...




Not all the holes are pre-drilled, the battery does not come with it, they didn't have 6V rechargeable batteries with the feeders only 12V batteries and chargers, AND the legs come in 5 sections each for a total of 15 pieces and they don't lock or stay - they're loose and I end up looking like a three stooges episode trying to get the thing to stand up by myself.

Finally got it all put together, loaded, a 6V disposable lantern battery (to get started) installed and the feeder programmed:




We'll see how it goes. I'll update on the progress. Some time this week I think I'll pick up some lock pins from the hardware store and fix the legs to stay put (like they did for ladder stands a few years back). Maybe soup cans on the bottom to keep the legs from sinking in the ground.


Anyone else use feeders? What are your experiences?

 

[mom45]

I just put the corn on the ground. I end up with deer, turkey, squirrels, coons, possums, bunnies and a variety of birds visiting my back yard. I also have salt blocks and a water tank for them as we have no ditches or ponds on our property. I have one of my cats that even goes and eats the corn, but I think he is just baiting his breath so the mice will come to him. I was just getting ready to go out and do some weeding but there are too many deer in the back yard and I didn't want to scare mama and her fawn so I'll wait till they move on.

 

[GodFearinGunTotin]

We used to just throw the corn on the ground, out at the back of the "back yard". A game camera would be a nice adder because after dark, we never knew what all was going on out there.

What's a 50lb bag of corn going for now?

 

[JeremiahJohnson]

We used to just throw the corn on the ground, out at the back of the "back yard". A game camera would be a nice adder because after dark, we never knew what all was going on out there.

What's a 50lb bag of corn going for now?

I think I paid 7 or 8 bucks...something like that. Rural King is usually pretty good on prices, just wish that feeder had been a little better quality for installation. Makes me worry what else is going to go wrong. Hope nothing. I've got a couple wildgame innovations trail cams, had them about three years now, no issues so far.

 

[JeremiahJohnson]

We used to just throw the corn on the ground, out at the back of the "back yard". A game camera would be a nice adder because after dark, we never knew what all was going on out there.

What's a 50lb bag of corn going for now?

You know I've made home made feeders with 4" pvc pipe and put them in the deer woods over summer to get an idea of what's in the area. I still have three of them out, but haven't loaded them this year. Really cheap easy way to go. Also very easy for varmints to steal your corn.

 

[JeremiahJohnson]

My PVC pipe feeders look a lot like this one:

 

[GodFearinGunTotin]

I think I paid 7 or 8 bucks...something like that. Rural King is usually pretty good on prices, just wish that feeder had been a little better quality for installation. Makes me worry what else is going to go wrong. Hope nothing. I've got a couple wildgame innovations trail cams, had them about three years now, no issues so far.

I used to buy mine at the Mitchell feed store. It was just plain old shelled corn and the cheapest they had but the deer liked it just fine .

I built a PVC feeder like that -- only with one outlet instead of 2. I found it was just as easy to broadcast it. Like you and Mom mentioned, we did it just to get a view of the wildlife in the area.

That snow storm we had on Christmas Eve, in 2004, when we got that 24" of snow, we were the deer's best friends for about a week.

 

[Landon]

This is a serious question, whats the purpose of feeding? Are you doing it so you can see what is on the property or is there some value to the flavor of meat by feeding them corn?

 

[GodFearinGunTotin]

This is a serious question, whats the purpose of feeding? Are you doing it so you can see what is on the property or is there some value to the flavor of meat by feeding them corn?

We did it just to enjoy seeing the wildlife around us.

 

[JeremiahJohnson]

I don't think they eat enough of anything I feed them to make a difference, but the feeders I put in my hunting areas are there for the summer to let me know what's around so I'll know whether or not to hunt that area. At the house I'm using the feeder to see what's around my house for the enjoyment of watching and it serves as a testing grounds for my trail cams - see if they're working correctly and play with the settings.

 

[mom45]

I buy shelled corn at the local feed store for $7.50 a bag. I remember paying $3 to $4 when we had our chickens years ago.

We initially fed them only during the winter when it was extremely cold and they were having a hard time finding food under the snow, but now we do it just to see how many deer and turkey we have around. We had so many hunting near us a few years ago that the herd was significantly reduced. I like providing them a "safe zone". We have 90 acres that is mostly wooded and I am sure they spend a lot more time eating under my fruit trees than they do at the corn piles but they come and visit regularly. I have a few that I see very day and others that are just occasionally in the yard. They come up for their corn even when I am out there weeding or working in the yard as they have gotten used to us and know we aren't going to bother them.

I have trail cams out to seeing who is visiting...four legged and two legged alike. It is amazing the things that have popped up on my cameras. I now have them in the driveway and aimed at the house in various locations as well as the outbuildings that I can't see easily from my window. It is a bit disturbing to see a flashlight being shined around in your back yard at midnight.

It also is a good way to provide proof of visiting dogs in the event you have to contact a neighbor to keep one at home.

 

[Bfish]

I've got a PVC feeder that looks a lot like the one you pictured above in the back yard, that is there only to see the deer back there once in a while. I've never really considered one like you purchased honestly I just have planted food plots. I am friends with some guys down south though that use what you purchased with great success, but I think they do it to bait pigs more than feed deer. I am interested to hear if you get a lot more traffic than before.

 

[JeremiahJohnson]

I've got a PVC feeder that looks a lot like the one you pictured above in the back yard, that is there only to see the deer back there once in a while. I've never really considered one like you purchased honestly I just have planted food plots. I am friends with some guys down south though that use what you purchased with great success, but I think they do it to bait pigs more than feed deer. I am interested to hear if you get a lot more traffic than before.

Currently the deer have completely moved to travel Gullets Creek instead of crossing where I have the feeder. Once in a great while one will walk through on the trails just out of frame of the pictures and I'll see the sign. It's been a few years since they commonly used these trails. I'll be checking the camera often to see if and when they change their patterns to feed on something easy.

 

[Bfish]

Currently the deer have completely moved to travel Gullets Creek instead of crossing where I have the feeder. Once in a great while one will walk through on the trails just out of frame of the pictures and I'll see the sign. It's been a few years since they commonly used these trails. I'll be checking the camera often to see if and when they change their patterns to feed on something easy.

Awesome! Sounds like putting out a lot more volume like this should get them coming your way then! Good luck!

 

[two70]

This is a serious question, whats the purpose of feeding? Are you doing it so you can see what is on the property or is there some value to the flavor of meat by feeding them corn?

I feed for about a month after hunting season ends to see what survived for the next year. It also increases the odds that the bucks will drop their antlers nearby when they shed them. I use protein pellets instead of corn though. It is a bit more expensive but better nutritionally for the deer and not as attractive to birds and varmints.

 

[Bosshoss]

I had a 30 gallon tripod feeder and it didn't have anything over the funnel and feeder plate. The stupid coons climbed the legs and shoveled it off the feed plate and on the ground. They emptied the barrel in 2 or 3 days. Put a screen over the feed plate to keep them from reaching the corn. If yours doesn't have a screen covering the feed plate might want to rig something up.
The deer are smart also we watched a doe throw her hips into one of the legs and some corn would fall off the feeder plate. She did this several times every time we saw her under the feeder. She figured out how to get more corn out by shaking the feeder.

Careful where you put salt blocks as they melt in the rain and the deer will paw the ground to get to the salt. They will did a BIG hole in your yard. My neighbor has a hole 2 feet deep and 4 x 10 feet wide and long. There hasn't been a salt block there in 5 years and it is still full of deer tracks.

 

[mom45]

I had a 30 gallon tripod feeder and it didn't have anything over the funnel and feeder plate. The stupid coons climbed the legs and shoveled it off the feed plate and on the ground. They emptied the barrel in 2 or 3 days. Put a screen over the feed plate to keep them from reaching the corn. If yours doesn't have a screen covering the feed plate might want to rig something up.
The deer are smart also we watched a doe throw her hips into one of the legs and some corn would fall off the feeder plate. She did this several times every time we saw her under the feeder. She figured out how to get more corn out by shaking the feeder.

Careful where you put salt blocks as they melt in the rain and the deer will paw the ground to get to the salt. They will did a BIG hole in your yard. My neighbor has a hole 2 feet deep and 4 x 10 feet wide and long. There hasn't been a salt block there in 5 years and it is still full of deer tracks.

I have the salt blocks setting on top of stumps. The only one they dig around is way at the back of the yard so if they dig, it won't bother me at all. My lawn is not exactly perfectly manicured back there anyway since we live in the woods.

 

[JeremiahJohnson]

 

[ghitch75]

need to build a stand for it.....this is a feeder i made that is gravity feed no motors.....it works good but the coons and squirrels get easy access...