Aproximately, how many hunters on 3200 and 4000 acres?

of course there would be no reason for you to spend that much on protein or any feed. Our place is 9000 acres and 12 hunters who split the feed cost. We have 25 plus protein feeders and 30 plus cottonseed feeders. It can't hunt to try one feeder on your place and see what results are but I would not get my hopes up. And the results will not be immediate - also if you have hogs or cattle then you need to pen the feeder off which will run you another $250-300 - best of luck to you

of course there would be no reason for you to spend that much on protein or any feed. Our place is 9000 acres and 12 hunters who split the feed cost. We have 25 plus protein feeders and 30 plus cottonseed feeders. It can't hunt to try one feeder on your place and see what results are but I would not get my hopes up. And the results will not be immediate - also if you have hogs or cattle then you need to pen the feeder off which will run you another $250-300 - best of luck to you [/quote]

No hogs, yet! LO has cows but I already have pens around all of my corn feeders with plenty of room at each to put in a protein feeder if I so choose. So, the only, and I say only in jest, expense is the feeder and the protein. Thanks again guys for the info.

When paying hunters are there we'll have between 8-12. Multiply that by the 60 days of General Deer season and it adds up to quite a few. Not every day has paying hunters, but nearly all weekends except for Opening weekend, Thanksgiving and Christmas will have paying hunters. Many of the weekdays will as well.

Last count I heard on just whitetail does was around 80 taken off of the property this year.

A good example of how protein feeders help the herd.






Protein feeding is one of many tools in deer management and like everything else in deer management; it should be part of a long range plan. A single feeder for a 1500 acre property is bit short of ideal but it can be beneficial to your herd. Go ahead and place your feeder and when your budget allows, add a second, third, etc. Put a camera on the feeder and get an idea of what traffic it generates. When you decide the location for your first feeder, keep in mind that you may eventually place more feeders, so locate it with that in mind.

And yes, you definitely need to fence it. Cattle can clean out a 1000 pound feeder in the blink of an eye. I would recommend regular wire panels rather than hog panels because cattle can jump the hog panels. You may be lucky but all takes is one cow to “almost” clear the hog panel and the wreck begins. I use cut-outs on the top of 4 of the 10 panels around the perimeter to make it easier for the deer to access the feed. Once they learn the game, they go straight to the cut-outs and I have never had cattle harm a pen since going to the taller wire panels. Learned the hard way with first pen which used hog panels plus hog panels are more expensive.

All my pens use 10 panels arranged in a circle. Several posts about that subject in the archives. Bigger is better and so is rounder. At least, I works for me!

Spin feeders for protein are like ^ ^ ^ ^ in the ocean. Free choice is available around the clock to all the deer and a dominant animal can not hog the goodies.

I began my program several years with a single feeder and have gradually added more as the budget allows. Made a few mistakes and have learned as I go. My start-up costs for a feeder, 10 panels, 20 t-posts and camera run about $1000.