Planning to add a protein feeder to the pen. Any recs on a feeder? Thinking gravity for the protein, but open to suggestion. Other folks on the lease run em, but figured I'd see what other folks are using. Thanks in advance.

Hands down, All Seasons timed for me. Worked great this season, the first year I used it. You loose zero to coons, setting it to go off at sun up. Deer hit it hard as an attractant, I dispensed about 7-8 lbs per day. In the first year you'll pay for it on no loss to coons or weather. On most of the gravity feeders deer knock a lot of feed on the ground and they don't seem to eat protein off the ground, especially if it gets rained on. The timed feeder protects the feed from the elements and it falls into a covered, perforated trough. I think I fed a total of 1200 lbs starting around September.

First, how many deer on the lease? What is your buck to doe ratio? Are you going to feed year round? How much of a budget are you going to put into feeding each year? Do you live close to the lease? 10 deer can eat 15-20 lbs per day under normal conditions...wetter they will eat less and drier they will break the bank. at 15-20 lbs per day you need a 450-600 lb capacity feeder to make it one month under normal or average rainfall conditions. It gets dry they may empty that feeder in 10-14 days. What are you wanting to accomplish with a feeding program? More deer? Hunting the feeder? Bucks only? Do you have the tags to control the numbers of deer needed once you start to feed or even before you start to feed? Lot of questions need to be addressed first before starting a feeding program. If it is on a tight budget, distance is involved, limited tags, etc then I would look at a timered protein feeder vs a free choice. Timered feeders are budget friendly, easier to keep full(you know when you need to go), can target bucks mainly if you have a tight buck to doe ratio(if you feed at night during summer heat) and can be fed year round. Feeding year round is a huge plus late season and post rut to draw bucks back to their home range.
In this short video I had just purchased 4 of the AS timed trough feeders. I had set them to feed about sundown and right at daylight. Then also one to two times after dark and before daylight. I set them at 15 minutes after daylight and then sundown for hunting season. I do not like to hunt protein feeders and do not recommend it but in my situation I do not shoot into the feed pens. I shoot on road corn only. It works for me very well.

Go to Texas Hunter and be done with it. Those molded plastic ones are durable, easy to move around, protect against rain, cost effective and we do not lose much to varmints.

Outstanding advice from STx, as usual. Hes smarter than me but Im smart enough to know when someone knows what they are talking about.

I've had All Seasons for a decade now and they are well built and durable. Unless you live close I would go with a 1K feeder. I would have no reason to go with another brand.

Thanks for all the thoughts STX, great insights. I really like the feeder in your video. It's similar to the corn feeder we're already running. Mainly adding protein because the others folks on the lease we joined this season run protein in the off season mainly and we want to do our part to contribute. Your advice on feeding later is super helpful.

It's only our first year on the lease and so still working out the buck-doe ratios, but based on what we saw, it seems like we may have more bucks than does at the moment. Albeit the majority of our bucks have at least a couple years to go before they're mature enough to even consider. At least that's my opinion. Either way, I think y'all have swayed me on the benefits of the timer for the protein vs. the gravity. Will definitely help on the wallet in the long run and make sure it's not wasted.

As for what we're hoping to accomplish, 1.) pull our weight on the lease, 2.) the school of thought from our crew is that the protein helped with antler growth post shed and through the summer on our lease this past year. I'm not a biologist, but figure it can't hurt post rut and post shed.

Decide on how much your budget is to feed per day/per month. This feeder in the pics is a 600# model, but I can tell you it will only hold 450 lbs of protein. Nowhere near 600 lbs. I can go daily if needed so it is not issue, but if you live a ways away then the 1000# model may be better for you. I like the antler clearance better on the 1000# model more than this one but the price was very good on the 600# model. It was the best price on the market at the time. They have gone up now though. At 450 lbs per feeder per month that is 15 lbs per day. I have 4 of these feeders. So 60# day is more than I want to feed most of the year.

Im not saying yay or nay on protein or what feeder but i will comment on one of your comments. Im not sure its possible to quantify how/why yall saw an increase in antler growth this year. Maybe protein, maybe not. Lots of non protein feeders perceived an increase in antler growth this past season. A lot of the state had great antler growing conditions due to timely rains and that could of been yalls situation. Also, we have an abundance of older age bucks on our place simply because of the fawn crops 5 and 6 years ago. You may have had more older bucks and they werent so much bigger for their age class but it just seemed like lots of big stuff running around. Hard to ever say with certainty WHY stuff happens in a non controlled environment. Lots of "gray" and not so much "black or white."
Having said that, I would definitely give it a go, if for no other reason, to be part of the "team" on the lease.

Thanks free, definitely gonna give it a go. And stx gave me a ton of things to consider in terms of frequency and cost. We'll have to weigh the options and figure out what makes sense. Like I said, I'm no biologist, but feeding them something that supports health and development can't hurt em!

I appreciate y'alls input, you've given us a lot to think about and for that I'm grateful.

https://www.trophyfeeders.com/

These are the best feeders I have seen and used.

No rust
Easy to move
More bucks will eat at one time
Less waste to non target animals

Message me if you are interested.

Outback Feeders.

I have two free choice 2000# protein feeders that have been working flawless for 21 years.

Good Luck!