Supplemental Feeding

     Supplemental feeding has become a major factor in the management of white-tailed deer in Texas within the past decade.  More and more, we are seeing the dramatic effects of supplemental feeding of deer: growing larger antlers and heavier body weights.  But with feeding comes an abundance of unknowns.  We have been researching the variables associated with supplemental feeding through the years and hope you will gain from our experiences, our mistakes, as well as our successes.

     FOOD PLOTS are one way to establish locally adapted forage to provide supplemental food during critical periods of the year.  Food plots can also be grown to attract species for viewing or harvesting. The shape, size, location and percentage of total land area devoted to food plots should be based on the requirements of the targeted species.

     Depending on your goals, food plots can be a wonderful management tool for you and your deer population.  But like many things in life, the effort put into food plots often dictates your output.  Careful evaluation of how much time, energy and money you feel you can put into a food plot program should be evaluated prior to the first tilling of the soil.

     Often times in Texas, when we need supplemental food, such as in the time of droughts, we are unable to produce food plots without substantial irrigation.  Conversely, when it is easy to grow food plots in times of good rain, food plots are often not necessary.  So look at your goals and resources before to spend a lot of time and money.

     PROTEIN FEED has taken on a life of its own in Texas deer management.  We have seen some great successes with this type of management as well as what we would describe as tragedies to the land and the wildlife that live there.  We feel that protein feed can be a remarkable tool if used responsibly.  This means keeping your deer population within the capacities of the habitat, surveying the population annually, and implementing aggressive harvesting to balance the affects that this feed often has.

     Our research has come up with a variety of options for supplemental feeding which include feeder types, designs, pens, density, non-target impacts, and types of feed.  

  Contact us and let us know your experiences with supplemental feeding. We look forward to discussing any issue you may have  so we can better serve our customers.