I have been doing some research into these Alfalfa cubes and was wondering if anyone has used them before? some say up to 18% protein and they seem to be less of a mess and possibly easy to feed but they are very hard. i was wondering if anyone had any insite.

Alfalfa pellets or cubed alfalfa hay? It depends on where you hunt and your deer. Most places I have tried them they would not eat them. Out around Del Rio and north and west from there I have heard of success with both of them.

I'd kinda like to know about them too. My feed guy sells them, going there Friday to pick up protein. Might get a sack and see how the work.

either or probably cubed though. It would be around the Eldorado area. They seem to love they hay bails as i will be new to the lease but they have fed the hay for a few seasons now just figured i would see how these would do and if they possibly lasted longer.

Axis love them, Mule Deer can eat them with time and effort, you can train whitetails I would bet to eat them if range conditions are bad and they are hungry.

Alfalfa pellets sometimes are made from lower quality hay that has been rained on and they grind it and pelletize it. You might have to mix it with corn to get them on it or some kind of top dressing attractant. The cubed is much tougher yet to get whitetail deer on it since the stuff I have seen is a large cube of about 1" square.

I figured axis would love them considering there just good looking cows haha. I figured with the cubes a gravity box feeder could be made and maybe considering its concentrated alfalfa leaves there would be less waste and a constant high grade protein source for 9.99$ a bag i believe

You need to experiment with baled alfalfa and the pellets or cubes for cost comparison compared to waste. Weigh a bale of alfalfa hay and put it out and then gather up what is left over and weigh that and then factor that into you cost of a bale to get a cost per lb. Then compare to pellets or cubed alfalfa per lb. The only thing that alfalfa is lacking is mineral. By the time you factor in that in your mix a pelletize ration might be cheaper to you.

That was my thinking too. I know that the cubes are very hard and not all deer would go through that work but in conditions lacking nutrition i am hoping they would give them a try and this would be a new stand location with around 200 acres to myself and water near by.

Side note, mineral blocks will last around a full season (being one of the lease members).

Have also had great success with the vitalrack protein blocks.

I fed alfalfa this year around feeders just to see what happened. They would pick around it, til the corn was gone then eat all of it. It also seemed to keep the hogs away, until it was all gone. But if you are buying low quantity bales, it's not cheap. ($20)each. I am also interested in the cube to feed in the hog-proof protein pen. I think I remember Keith what's his name advertise it.

Youll have to let us know how they do it may just be a location and a preference to your deer. maybe try a game camera and see how they react. hopefully my plan when i get a chance

Hogs are no problem out there at the moment... thought of this idea just looking up protein ideas

Hay in the winter get get high as heck, but if you can buy it in 1000 lb bales it can be really a cheap way to feed it. For the price of about 4-6 small bales at your price you can get a large bale. Just a thought for you.

i was actually thinking about the 1000 lb bales but how long do they last in the elements (rain/on the ground)?

If you can keep the string on them so they stay tight they will shed some moisture but not all of it. You can buy it and tie a piece of plywood on top of it to help shed water off. You can build a shed roof over it also but will cost you some money. Put it under a large canopied tree will help also. Or you can only put out what they will eat and store the rest.

I like the idea of the 1000lb. i have yet to try it i do know the deer on the other side of the road (lease split by a road) use alfalfa square bails with success (2-3 bails). if i where to use the large bail it would have to last without rot.

Start with small bales now and when they really start to eat it then go with the larger ones. I do not think it will rot if you can keep the hay covered and you have around 10 deer or so at your feeder that can eat from it. Even if some does go to waste you could loose half of a big bale and still be feed and money ahead in savings over other feed and small bales. What area do you hunt?

Cows will be tearing down your pen to get to them.

Eldorado area south of san antonio. at other stands they will sometimes pass up corn for alfalfa (from a fellow hunter during hunting season) so they seem to love it. It has been managed well for a few years now so a large population is there

Eldorado is south of San Angelo that I know about. Check out www.livestockweekly.com in there classifieds for alfalfa hay there in that area at good prices. Lot of hay is raised in West Texas and then further north so the pricing will be cheaper the farther west you go on hay.

If you need a truck load..may have a few truck loads available .

I just did a little search and found last years prices where around 110-170 1000lb bails so not to bad. Currently they pay 11$ a bail in eldorado

We have used alfalfa cubes with some success. Some whitetails will eat it, others leave it lay. Yes Axis love alfalfa! A deer trying to eat the cubes is very funny! Its looks like a young kid with the old 50 cent Jaw breakers in their mouth's!!

i think its something i may try but not waste my time with much maybe just a 50lb sack and see what they do with it