East Texas and Protein Advice

Assuming one sees the same bucks year after year would it be benifical to feed protein in E Texas? Would a good quality protein have a major effect on antler growth when there's already so much for them to eat? The area has excellent cover/bedding and year round natural water supply.

Any thing you can do to improve the deer will help however I doubt you will see a major growth in antlers. Bucks in east Texas just need to reach the age to grow big horns. Long term yes protein Is good just don't expect to put out a few sacks and have monsters everywhere

They say 20% antler growth the 1st year after feeding protein, so that would make a 130 deer a 150

Protein makes a big difference if you feed it year round if you only feed a few months it will not. A lot of guys only feed in #300 barrels and they run out fast and go back a month later and fill them again and don't see results that's b/c they ran out in 2 weeks that does nothing you have to keep them full. If you feed get the number of acres plus a deer count then get the right amount of #2000 pound feeders and keep them full. Just as in idea I have 5 #2000 feeders on 1000 acres placed in sections of the ranch.

I hope my year around feeding contributed to this fella's growth!!! I feed corn/protein mix in off season!!!

I've lived in east Texas all my life, and the only people I've known to be successful with protein feeding are the ones that A) have a large tract of land and B) stick with it for a number of years. We just have so many options for these deer to graze/browse on that it takes a while for them to get used to coming to protein. We've done it, but for 2-3 years they only came to the protein feeders occasionally. Eventually they'll start using it more, but it can take some time. Build a really solid and big pen too...hogs love the stuff!
My 2 cents...

I have found that getting east Texas deer to eat protein takes some doing. I had to mix corn with the pellets in a free choice feeder to ever get them to try it. Another option is a corn/soybean mix that you can put in your feeder to sling out. The best bang for your buck that will be less expensive, especially if you can't get to lease to fill feeders very often, is to put in some food plots.

I hunt on 2 different properties in Rusk County that are both MLD 3 and both feed year round protein. On one of them a 2000lb feeder full will last 2 years. On the other one 2000 lb will last a month or two. I'm not really sure why other than the deer numbers are very different for the two properties. The property that uses the least protein grows the larger bucks year after year.

can "they" prove this with science?

I hope it proves out. I just talked the wife into a #1200 protein feeder based on that post. Lol. Told her her 120" buck would have been 144" And 30 lbs heavier. I'm not so confident but I'm going to give it a shot. 588 acres with hunters on all surrounding properties. Maybe it will prove out long term.

Well worth the time and money if this is accurate.

I hunt in Polk county and have fed 16% protein for the last 2 years. The deer picked up on it quickly, but alot of people on our club feed protein, 300# usually lasts about a month. You can usually tell the bucks that eat alot of it because of the mass that they posess, and game cameras.

Heck, they add 15-20% just by getting a year older. Rain matters more than any bagged feed formula.

I can't get the deer in Melrose to eat it regardless of brand or what it's mixed with, can't even really get them to eat sweet feed off the ground. The ones in Chireno will tear up anything you feed them, but those are pets (have watched them eat skittles my wife poured out and popcorn).

yeeyee

One of the big issues with feeding protein is the amount of other foods that they eat. Some deer eat more than others but most will only pick at it and then move on to other lower protein native foods as the go through their day. They do get some higher protein for the average in their diet but it is tough to figure how much.

We fed protein for several years on our place (3300 acres high fence) and are unsure of the results. When we first high fenced the property most of the bucks on it we're just like the bucks in the rest of the area, young. As we started changing the age structure and buck doe ratio through harvest, we saw huge improvements in antlers, but also older bucks. We have not fed consistent protein for a few years, just some behind the Ranch house in the spring and summer to watch them, and have taken our largest bucks each year. With the rain this spring and summer we have seen and taken more and bigger bucks than ever.

Protein is only part of it. As mentioned by others, letting them age and available natural forage are other key factors that need to be present.

Supplemental feed means it is there as a supplement for when the deer need it. If you keep it out year round the deer will go to it when they need it. Most people who feed it do attempt to manage their numbers and habitat first before starting to feed it. They fail then blame the feed on their failure to do the most important parts first. Supplemental feed is not a bandaid for poor management. When it is combined into a great management plan it becomes very successful. The results will speak for themselves.

As a low fence smaller acreage property we do the best we can to attract and entice deer to call it home. That includes copious amounts of corn, protein, and water. We have no data from before protein, but I think when it really pays is during the dry times, deer are healthy, fat even, and raise fawns/twins ever year.

Under a great mgmt plan, the habitat should be providing everything the deer are needing making supplemental feeds less desirable.


(Which is why I'm not concerned about not seeing deer eating out of ours.) The Ligustrum sinense is in full bloom. And they are eating the mess out of it)....

The numbers are different you mean in total population? Wonder if the natural food sources are more available or a higher quality at one than the other.

Yes, the total numbers are way different. As far as food sources, they are pretty much the same. On the one place they just won't touch protein. We tried mixing it with corn and they still will not touch it. I guess they just don't need it. I just find it odd that the place where they won't eat it produces better deer every year.

But you still try to get them to eat it by your own admission. In the back of your mind there is that voice asking "how much better would the bucks be if they ate protein when they needed it?"

Age is the best antler improvement. I fed protein til it broke me and saw little results...deer were healthy but the cost of protein was not cost effective for me.

Not to hijack the thread but, my dad and I hunt on about 1500 acres in West Texas all to ourselves. We are surrounded by 15--20,00 acre ranches with extremely little hunting pressure. As far as I know, no one protein feeds on the other ranches. There are more deer than probably should be there and unfortunately we are not under an MLD. We strive to take only mature bucks. I have 4 corn feeders scattered throughout my lease. Rain is few and far b/w. Only water on the place is from 3 windmills with tanks connected to them. Deer are religious with the corn. I feed it year round & that has been the case for the past 8+ years. I have had thoughts of buying "one" 1,000lb protein feeder to supplement with and run year round. Food plots are totally out of the question due to lack of water and equipment. I know its not gonna hurt anything but will it truly help anything long term to the point to where I'll see an increase in antler size and mass. I reckon it would be best to have 3-4 protein feeders but that's a huge expense I don't want to pay. Is one protein feeder gonna produce results?

That's not what I'm thinking when I initially went to the feed store and bought the contraptions to pour it in.

Does this happen to be the place with a lot less deer also?

Yes, the place with less deer produces better bucks. With the amount of protein they eat at the other place it seems they would produce better antlers but they just don't. The body weights are pretty much the same for both places.

Less deer = more native food.They probably have everything they need.

Does the feed label show any genetics added into the ration?

It does say Record Rack and it has not produced that so I may try to get about a $10,000 refund.