I know that this subject has been discussed multiple times but I'm some what new to the forum so my appologies up front if you beat to death over the subject but I need some advise.

I just recently put a half a ton of cotton seed out on the ground at the ranch and its been a week and no activity on the pile just yet. I put some deer attractant out as well to draw them in but as I stated no activity. What did I do wrong?

What I have gathered from posts the deer have to get used to it and if something more palatable is available they go there first. It may be one of those late season when not much else is available food sources.

Whole cottonseed is tough to get deer to eat. It is oily in touch and in taste. What county is this in? If they have never seen it before it might take several months for them to eat it. You might have to take a bucket full of it and mix in some corn with it and make a new pile under the corn feeder.

A neighbor feeds it. He takes non climable wire and ties it in about a 2 ft. circle and fills it with cotttonseed. They eat the heck out of it.

We tried the cotton seed thing also. No luck it still there a year later. This is in west Texas with minimal food sources available.
Heck I can barely even get them to eat the corn. Alflafa has worked best!

mix with buck crack

I put out a pile of cotton seed next to my feeder and they haven't touched it. I am about 75yards from a cotton field that I see tons of deer in. Even after they stripped it they didn't touch the cotton seed. Guess I have picky deer. They sure love corn though.

Put it in next to our feeders in the small non climable wire feeder method. Nothing touched it for 2 months. All of a sudden we cant keep enough out there. (Burnet Co.)

Also heard of people mixing C'Mere Deer in the pile, never tried it though.

just put the cotton seed there. they will turn onto it like they are addicted. we used to feed sheep the cotton seed and couldnt keep the deer away so it now has to rationed daily so the sheep get their cotton seed and the bucks get their protein feeders.

works great for us

wtd are concentrate selectors- $10 word for picky.. It will take a while for them to get used to something new, but they will do great on cotton seed, plus coons and other critters won't eat it This has been a tough year to try new food sources due to the number of acorns this year.. just my 2 cents worth God bless!!

A word of advice to anyone thinking about feeding cotton seed on ranches that may hold Fallow deer...Don't!
It doesn't affect WT,Axis,Blackbuck,Aoudad (nuthin affects aoudad lol)or any of the other exotics,but is deadly to the Fallow. Jus Sayin.

looking into it, but based on this study if you feed them CS be sure to remove it about 6 weeks prior to the rut, gossypol builds up in their systems while eating CS and the researchers believe that it could cause reproductive problems in WT. Levels decrease rapidly after it is removed from their diet, but it apparently needs to be gone well before teh rut.

Anyone know where I can get some Cotton seed near Houston or Austin? Please PM me.

Just some thoughts...

Alfalfa is approximatley 50 percent higher (not cost prohibitive), but they eat that stuff instantly and it is always good for them (even in rut)...

I don't know how long cotton seed remains good (nutritious) laying out on the ground through rains and all.

Hogs will eat alfalfa also, don't know about cotton seed..