If you are feeding cottonseed, is it as a attractant or a form of protein?

Both but it’s lack trace minerals

Timed protein is a better attractant … then any thing free choice

In my experience, corn is a better attractant than timed protein or cottonseed...other than an acorn, I am not sure anything is more tasty to a deer than a simple corn kernel. I do believe that cottonseed is absolutely an attractant - at least at my place. It took a while for them to warm up to the offering, but once they tried it they liked it like I like a Snicker bar.

I often find myself confusing the issues of supplementing and attracting. I want to supplement all the time and I also want to attract all the time - it is just that sometimes it is nice to attract them at or around 6:30am and 5:30pm.

As far as putting them in a certain spot at a certain time, definitely. But free choice will pull more deer to the area, because they know even after Big Bill eats his fill, there will still be some for them. That's not always the case after the first couple of deer clean up at a spin feeder.