Corn baiting?

[gaylord]

I'm trying to figure why people feed corn. The South Carolina study comes up with the same thing I am finding out in Northern Wis. It takes 3 times the time in the woods to get one deer and the deer that are fed corn are 25 times more likely to be nocturnal...
We have went to feeding mineral and by the second year the 120 to 140" bucks are spending as much time eating during the day as at night according to my trail camera. You have to quit feeding corn and feeding mineral 3 years before the 160+" quit being nocturnal. We have young bow hunters that are feeding corn and don't see any deer the whole bow season. And I go in with mineral and in a couple weeks they are starting to see the deer. I am surprised on the articles in the deer magazines as if there is some advantage in feeding corn and what I am seeing is that it is making the deer numbers go down and not the big racks. Which in my book the corn is not healthy for the deer.

[eagle eye]

This is and always will be a very controversial subject. In some states supplemental feeding is legal during hunting season and in others you can supplement in the off season. Is it a mineral supplement, a food plot, a pile of sugar beats or bags of corn? All of the things are frequently done throughout different areas of the country, all in the endless pursuit of deer. The question is what to use and how does it effect deer behavior. As it relates to corn, the facts of the matter are that corn is processed mainly as a carbohydrate and is of very little long term benefit to antler growth or as a source of minerals and vitamins.
 
It has been my experience that you will get a much better benefit from creating mineral licks and food plants on your property for much more sustainable benefit and the main thing is that you will be aiding in the health of the heard as well as giving you and your family more opportunities to see animals in a natural setting.
 
Read and understand your state regulations as it relates to baiting, and ask questions. There is a wealth of knowledge related to this subject we just need to be willing to listen to experience

[gaylord]

But do you see that kind of information in the deer magazines...My question was then why do people still feed corn. I have a neighbor who has been doing food plots for many years and it wasn't till i taught him how to do mineral feeding that the deer quit being nocturnal.
The only reason I know that people feed corn is because the people that are making money are promoting it...The people that have been feeding corn are selling their bows because they say their are very few deer left...And I wonder if the ones that are feeding mineral are keeping their mouths shut so the corn feeders don't get mad at them when they find out that the deer are leaving the corn fed areas and going to the areas that are being fed mineral.

[Wolf River Hunter]

What is it about corn that makes them go nocturnal? I'm not doubting your findings but it seems kinda strange that deer could be "fed" apples, brassicas, or minerals just fine but as soon as corn is introduced they go nocturnal. I'm guessing they don't have any studies from the ranches in Texas.

[gaylord]

In almost 40 years of feeding cattle, too much corn in the diet will cause sore feet. Now when you feed steers, you feed a large % corn but we are talking of sending them to slaughter before they reach 24 months of age. So the nocturnal I am talking about is when they get to be over 4 years of age and especially when they get over 6 years of age they get such sore feet that they don't move very many acres. When they do move they are going to move at night when they have the least survival pressure. The South Carolina study also was done with year around feeding. What about just feeding from hunting season in the fall during the winter until green up in the spring? I have not done that research and I have thought of doing that except for one reason. In cattle when a cow is not producing milk and gets to much energy which is what corn is, it will produce fatty liver. That cow will rarely live longer than a year after that. So corn is hard on bucks in the summer and hard on the does in the winter. I read articles on the forum where they debate how many does to shoot. We have 20 acres of woods behind the house here and the last 10 years we have always shot every doe we saw. Last hunting season there were at least 13 deer in that woods, which I think is too many and 2 miles away a friend is selling his bow because he doesn't see any deer. What! A mile and half away they are feeding corn and didn't see any deer all of the 3 months of bow season. I am talking about Northern Wisconsin where the forums talk about there are no more deer left because of the wolves. There again if the deer have sore feet, its going to be harder to survive. It may be different in other states. What about Texas... first of all, within the last 6 months there was a fellow here from Texas and paid over $200,000.00 for deer that were raised within 5 miles of here and hauled them down to Texas. I don't think they are raising their own deer it isn't as important what they feed them. My passion is for the teenage bow hunters that they have a chance to shoot at a trophy buck. Those of you that have all the answers I have no argument.

[FlDeerman]

I've never seen deer here go nocturnal when we feed them corn or anything else.Of coarse our winters are short with little if any snow so they have plenty to eat else where.Corn is just a snack.

[eagle eye]

This is a great time of year to focus on the acorns and use the corn when there is no other sources available. It is good if used in modersation and not concentrated to one specific area