New Thread about Food Plots

[BCinVT]

Just wondering? Don't know if it's been done or not,or if it even has anything to do with this website.But I was wondering if there would be enough interest to start a Food Plot thread/board.Since I always hear the old saying"cut trees grow deer"I was hoping that alot on here would have good info about food plots.I know that after I've logged an area on my land,I will be replanting some type of plants.I'd rather get my info for planting from people on here that are actually doing it,than from a seed co. website.It'd be also handy to know what grows well where.Let me know what you guys think.

[Jeff]

 The topic is of interest to many of us, myself included, and new topics I'm certain would see discussion, but it just would not warrant a dedicated board.  When we create a new board, its because we see the need because of many many instances of topics of a common theme being posted on the Forum. That just doesn't currently exist with food plots.

There is plenty of room in the Forestry and Logging board for discussions of this type and a good fit for them. Or even on the outdoor board where there are lots of hunting threads.

[stonebroke]

All I know is that deer just love intensively grazed pastures and would rather eat that then just about anything else.

Stonebroke

[WDH]

The mistake that most people make is that they create food plots that are too small.  The biologists that I have talked too say a very good size is 5 acres.  Anything under 2 acres, they consider to be small.  They have also said that a good strategy is to maintain at least 5% of the area in dedicated wildlife openings/food plots. 

[Jeff]

That's actually old school thinking on minimum food plot size. We have a food plot guru up here in Michigan that has gotten National Recognition by the name of Ed Spinazzola. He is one that has changed his tune on that as well.  Quality Deer Management recognizes food plots as small as 1/8 of an acre as a valid tool.   Smaller foot plots connected by trails, (which can also become food plots) are excellent ways to keep bucks on your property for longer periods. They can't just stand at the end of the 5 acre plot to survey all their does that way. 

[BCinVT]

Thanks for the info about the thread Jeff.I will be asking many questions about colder climate food plots on here.
Also good to know that smaller plots can be just as important as larger ones.I have already picked out a few spots for some small one 1/8-1/4 acre,maybe even a little smaller.Also have about an 1 1/2 acre spot up behind the house for a larger one.Will be interested to hear what grows best,and draws deer to these.I already have a few deer on the property,but would like to keep these and draw in a few more.Any info on what grows best up north will be appreciated.Thanks

[Jeff]

I think asking what grows up north is way to generalized.  You are going to need to know what grows best in your area with your soil types. That may be far different then what grows at the same latitude in a different area.

[Magicman]

This map shows land that I own, red, and lease, yellow.  95% of the open land is now planted with SYP and oak.

Our main food plot is the brown spot in the center of the property.  I plant wheat and oats here.  This plot has about 5 acres of open pasture North of it.  I do not allow any hunting on the land South and East of that plot.  That is 150+ acres for undisturbed bedding.

Another plot is in the top left corner inside the red.  Wheat and oats are also planted there.  This year we added another one 200 yards West of the cabin.

All plots in the timber are planted with rye grass, because of the shade.  We have found that wheat and oats don't work in shaded plots, but rye grass does.
 

[brdmkr]

A food plot of any size can be warranted.  Much depends on your management objective.  If you want to use the plot to facilitate harvest, then small plots may do the job.  If you want to enhance overall habitat, then I think the larger plots often get the nod as they help keep some area in a permanent opening and create more edge.  Much also depends on the conditions of the surrounding area.  The targeted species will also play a role in food plot size. 

[beenthere]

BC
How do you plan to work up the ground for the food plots, and what will you use to do the planting?

Interested in doing similar here in WI.

Glad you started the thread.

[BCinVT]

beenthere,
I'm probably going to buy a 4x4 wire harrow.Was looking at the disc type,but I don't think I can get it up to a couple of my spots.Going to get a hand spreader for the lime and seed.Did a small plot at my camp in Maine with a old mattress spring a couple of years ago,and it seemed to work the ground up enough where the seed took pretty well.The plots I'll be putting in here are at my home,so I'll be able to do more upkeep on them as well.Still new at this,so looking for any and all info.Good luck

[Qweaver]

Our deer lease in W.Va. is 1200 acres and this is the first year that we have constructed food plots.  I'm not sure of the exact number of acres that we planted because most of the property is very steep woods and we simply tilled up and planted in almost every spot that was flat and clear enough to plant.  We ran the bush hog first and then a 5' rototiller.  We had 2 guys planting and rolling over the plots with a four wheeler  and we ended up with very thick growth.  We were able to plant the entire lease in one long day.
The effect on the deer was amazing.  We saw and killed more deer this year than ever before.  The deer were constantly seen on the plots.  I know that there are many things that can affect the deer herd but I feel pretty certain that our new plots were the major factor.  My broken hip kept me from hunting but the other guys sure had fun.  

[beenthere]

Quinton
What did you plant on these food plots?

[chevytaHOE5674]

My dad tills up just about any opening in the woods that his tractor and 7' tiller will fit in. Then seeds them with a broadcast spreader and ATV and drags with bed springs. The plots come up well and the deer really love them after the crops are harvested out of the fields in the fall.

He plants clover, rye, alfalfa, some deer mixes depending on the soils. He has also been planting buckwheat and tilling it in to build up sandier soils.

[beenthere]

I found this link to answer questions on how to get started. For what it's worth.

http://www.monsterbuckfoodplot.com/General%20Food%20Plot%20Planting%20Instructions.doc

[Wudman]

Be sure to get a soil test before you do anything to identify nutrient needs.  The soil test will identify the amount of lime, fertilizer, and micronutrients that you may need to add.  It is cheap insurance.

Wudman

[chain]

We usually have designated log yards of about 1-1-1/2 acre. Our logger is to cut flat any stumps and push aside debris , push out a water hole, level and fill in deep holes. This operation can save lots of cash. Next, liming, lite disking then, firming soil , plant rye, wheat, sew in red clover in stubble following early spring.

The other option, we may have a 1 acre clearcut in middle of large timber, usually on a higher point or ridge, logger also pushes debris to sides for small game cover. Push out water hole. Interseed wheat, rye on 1/2 of area. The other half is allowed to grow up for a couple of years in natural cover, i.e. forbes, briars, sprouts, then bush-hog down to about 12". Some natural wild grass and legumes will begin to take over. Good for turkey, grouse, quail, deer.

[Hans 1]

Timber work and TSI are a hobby to me food plots are the bulk of the work that we do. We are located in southern iowa so i don't know if what works here would work there but for us turnips-brassicas are the way to go for small plots in a cold climate i know i few websites that have good foodplot discussions but  think it would be cool here.

[CLL]

I live in center of Missouri, we plant mostly turnips, chickory, and clover. This year we planted some sugar beets and the deer ate them before they could get very big. Most of our plots are from 1/2 to 2 acres.

[DonT]

We have 300 hundres acres,it is a natural funnel,we have found creating sanctuaries that the deer know they will not be bothered in has paid huge dividends.we also try and create as much edge habitiat as possible connecting small bushes with connecting corridors.Wild raisan and high bush cranberry have done well.alot of our openings are grown in with juniper,after they are removed(brush brute)we disc and plant buckwheat,after the buckwheat comes up and is about 6 inches high we disc it back in,do a soil sample and usually apply lime and then plant.it has been my experience that if you have a limited budget,spend more on lime and less on fertilizer,but every property is different.great thread look forward to getting some great tips here for use.

[chain]

We have 300 hundres acres,it is a natural funnel,we have found creating sanctuaries that the deer know they will not be bothered in has paid huge dividends.we also try and create as much edge habitiat as possible connecting small bushes with connecting corridors.Wild raisan and high bush cranberry have done well.alot of our openings are grown in with juniper,after they are removed(brush brute)we disc and plant buckwheat,after the buckwheat comes up and is about 6 inches high we disc it back in,do a soil sample and usually apply lime and then plant.it has been my experience that if you have a limited budget,spend more on lime and less on fertilizer,but every property is different.great thread look forward to getting some great tips here for use.

  Don, You've really touched on something in your edge habitat, nauturally an area critters love to browse and hang-out. We call it edge feathering, cutting back or culling out larger trees along the edge, then managing for your understory shrubs, legumes, grasses and whatnots. I was amazed at the variety of birds that began nesting, a very good system for pulling in all wildlife!

[BCinVT]

Getting some great info here guys.About the soil test.Can you get a kit and do your own,or do you have to bring it somewhere?As far as edge habitat,some of my land,about 40 acres was clearcut back in 80',so it's just now started to get back up to larger trees.As far as the other about 18 acres,it was to rugged to cut,so part of it has softwood(hemlock,cedar,and spruce),and the rest is alot of Beech.They just cut about 200 acres 5 years ago right next to me,and as you know that's growing up nicely now.So I think I have enough cover for the deer.
Been hearing alot about the clover blends out there,and also the brassicas,turnips,and winter wheat for late season.What about planting perrenials vs. annuals?Do you mix them together,or use them together?Don't know if I'd be better off with a bunch of smaller plots,less than an 1/8 acre,or try to clear some area,and have maybe a 1/4 acre plot.Like I said in an earlier post,my big plot will be about an 1 1/2,because that's all the space I have in that area.Thinking of maybe doing a clover blend there,and maybe some annual blends in a couple of the smaller plots.

[SwampDonkey]

The farmers around here plant all kinds of food plots, but not their intended purpose. Moose love soybeans, bears love oats and corn, deer love oats, crows like taters. 

[chevytaHOE5674]

Our local state extension office will perform soil tests for you. Shovel some soil in a bag and drop it off. They will provide you with a little report of what is good and what is lacking.

[SwampDonkey]

Not to distract from the thread and the purpose behind the wildlife food plotting ideas. It's a shame it's not practiced much in these parts. Food plots are mostly a novel idea up here, mostly consists of baiting more than an actual crop. There are no hunting leases either per se for native game, but there are pheasant preserves for hunting. Up here a landowner does not own the wildlife and has no right to it. If you post no hunting, you can't hunt there either as the land owner. About the only plot I'll come across in the woods are those that get harvested in late summer, dried and distributed in little bags for cash, and that sadly enough, will never change. 

[chevytaHOE5674]

As landowners we don't individually own the wildlife. The wildlife is property of the people as a whole.

[chain]

As landowners we don't individually own the wildlife. The wildlife is property of the people as a whole.

..Sort of like here in Missouri until wildlife do damage like deer eat our young soybeans. Had to replant along USDA -private wetlands holdings, about 11/2 miles of damage out to about 100'. I could get a permit to shoot the deer, but don't think you would see me anymore, [may not be a bad thing]very, very serious hunters here. They want their deer, particularly the trophy bucks, even if they feed on our crops, then return to their private deer clubs on wetlands in fall after crop harvested. Tough situation, little help from pros. In row-crop country deer are glorified goats!

[SwampDonkey]

Where's the coyotes? 

I wonder if food plotting instigates a license for a varmint deer license outside the normal hunting season?

[chain]

You've mentioned coyotes, we've found that 'yotes and bobcat, grey fox, will also be attracted to food plots, especially if some of the plots are devoted to thick natural cover; grass, briars, legumes, etc.. The more I've studied and applied natural food plot practices, the more I like them. Amazing how much natural food will come forth sprouting and seeding from opening the forest canopy for sunlight to do its thing.

[isawlogs]

  I opened up some old fields that had over grown with brush and alders , spent most of last spring and early summer doing that . I planted oats , white & red clover and some mixed seed ( clover , timothy grass, and some other that I dont remember that was in the mix , here it is called " B " mix . I will be resowing this coming spring the same plots with the same " B " mix and will be cutting it for hay . The deer where eating out of the oats as much as out of the B mix fields .. So being just north of you I would recomend oats and white clover , white because it will take much more abuse at grazing then red clover . The oats act as a cover shied for the clover while it takes root . 

[jeffreythree]

I plan to work on creating a deeper forest edge on one of my property lines this year.   It backs up to a hay field and goes straight from mature hardwoods to grass field.  Talked to the other property owner and he is going to plant 2 food plots(I have no ag equipment at all) for me in exchange for getting the deeply shaded property line back into hay production.  At least one is going to be millet since I have ducks winter on my pond and seasonally flooded hardwoods.  The other will probably be a plot for the deer to browse.  I picked up a book last year called Wildlife and Woodlot Management by Monte Burch that had some pretty good info on food plots and woodlot management such as creating forest edge and mast trees.  I also planted 100 elderberry plants on the back of the dam for the turkeys and me.

[SwampDonkey]

Talk about elderberry. They grow anywhere that a road is built with bulldozed mounds on the sides into a forest stand, along with pin cherries. Plant them? Hmm

[jeffreythree]

Talk about elderberry. They grow anywhere that a road is built with bulldozed mounds on the sides into a forest stand, along with pin cherries. Plant them? Hmm

We just get blackberries that way, wanted something different and I have 660' of dam and a 600' section of decommissioned railroad that needed something other than Johnsongrass and blackberry brambles.

[WDH]

I was reading a book on quality natural wildlife plants.  The book states that one of the very most beneficial naturally occurring plants for wildlife is the genus Rubus, which is the blackberry family.  But, that may be a Southern thing  .

[Tom]

I'll bet mustard would be a good general crop too.  I'd eat it. 

[SwampDonkey]

If the ground ain't rolled up along the roads then raspberry as tall as 8 feet grows. Sometimes raspberry grows in the rolled up stuff too if birch, aspen and cherry don't take over. Real hard to get good survival in plantations they put in along the road following slash burning. Not real pleasurable working in it with a brush saw either. Raspberry clasps your pants like Velcro. Some ground that had complete crown closure for decades, then harvested, will result in raspberry to when there is no natural regen established. My plantations have raspberry most everywhere, worst along the road and field edges not so bad elsewhere.

[thecfarm]

I'm claiming back a grown up pasture.Mostly white maple for hard wood.I got a little behind on cutting the suckers off.Come to find out I wasn't that far behind.The deer was keeping the suckers short for me.That's my food plot.

[chain]

If the ground ain't rolled up along the roads then raspberry as tall as 8 feet grows. Sometimes raspberry grows in the rolled up stuff too if birch, aspen and cherry don't take over. Real hard to get good survival in plantations they put in along the road following slash burning. Not real pleasurable working in it with a brush saw either. Raspberry clasps your pants like Velcro. Some ground that had complete crown closure for decades, then harvested, will result in raspberry to when there is no natural regen established. My plantations have raspberry most everywhere, worst along the road and field edges not so bad elsewhere. 

 You need some show-me State saw-briar to go along with your raspberry. :DI'd even throw in some 'shoe-string' vines...mother nature's trip wires...but we luv it don't we?

[SwampDonkey]

Oh, but I have a couple sections of black berry briers to rip up the pants and rain gear.

[WDH]

The blackberry briar barb is a perfect design of nature.  That curved hook is perfectly suited to grab and hold.  Just ask DanG.  Customsawyer was driving Tom, DanG and I around his property when a long blackberry cane interceded on DanG  .  It was not a pretty sight  .

When I was growing up, we always went out and picked blackberries in the late spring/early summer.  There was a constant vigil for rattlesnakes, for they loved to lay in the blackberry thickets  .

[BCinVT]

I also have quite alot of blackberry bushes up here.I intend to leave some of them when clearing for my plot,because the deer up here really seem to enjoy the leaves.So hopefully between the blackberries and the plots,I'll be able to hold some deer on the property.Still haven't decided what exactly I'm going to plant,but leaning toward a clover blend perrenial,and maybe adding some kind of late annual early in the summer.

[Qweaver]

Quinton
What did you plant on these food plots?

I'm not sure of exactly what we planted.  Someone else selected the seed.  I do know it was a mixture designed just for food plots.  Sorry

Due to the poor natural food production this year, I did decide to set up a gravity animal feeder.   It is being used by deer and lots of birds including our chickens and geese.  I then read several articles saying that feeding is not such a good idea.  A game warden then told me the same thing.  But he said that once I started feeding that I should not stop.  I have a farmer friend in Ohio that  feeds and manages his deer herd. His brother is a vet and both are avid hunters.  So I quess it is OK to feed if done properly.  He helped me set up my feeder which only supplies feed as it is eaten.

[SwampDonkey]

Yeah, feeding wildlife is far worst to cut them off during the tough times. Ween them off in the warm season if your going to stop feeding the wild animals.

Just a for instance, a local farmer always piled corn outside in an old gravel pit, which might have been spoiled or something and the ducks would stay all winter around that, even in a blizzard. This year he kept it covered so they don't stay. If he had cut them ducks off in the middle of the last two winters they would have perished. Wasn't too bad this winter, hardly any snow. Ducks don't naturally stay up here unless they are fed. Too cold, frozen water and neck high snow.

[isawlogs]

 Queaver ,
 any chance at geting pics of your feeder and how it works ?

[thecfarm]

I've been feeding the deer and any critters here through the winter months for 10 years. I put out grain for them.I can not get them to eat the grain when it warms up in April or so.The food just stays there so I stop feeding them.This is right behind the house.Wife says there was 17 behind me when I came home on the tractor.Most we have seen at one time.But they will eat the suckers off from the white maple.Turkeys just came back the other day.Have not seen any since Dec.

[gary]

If you are not in an area that has corn there all year long. The worst thing that you can feed deer in the winter is corn. In the fall the deer switch from being able to digest corn to being able to digest browse. The best thing to do in the winter as to cut some trees down so that they can feed on the tops.

[chain]

I'll stay with naturally grown deer foods. However, one year I built a manger type feeder, I got the idea from when I was in service in W. Germany as they have mangers and feed grasses or hay. I put alfalfa hay in my feeder manger but never could tell the deer ever fed on it. I do know deer love green alfalfa in fields.

[tughill]

I was talking to a friend who comes and hunts my farm (whitetail deer), and he and I both had come to the conclusion that the limiting factor up here in snowy upstate NY is that the limiting factor for deer is not the available food/browse in spring summer and fall, but the lack thereof in the winter.

Meaning, that all the food plots in the world won't keep the deer from being starved out in the winter, or just moving on to 'greener pastures' so to speak.

I live on top of a plateau, and it seems that there are very few deer tracks in the fields, woods or brush, whenever there is snow, but I have seen lots of deer down in the valley about 5 miles away, where it's more protected, less snow, probably more for them to eat.

I have been considering planting some corn to leave standing for winter feed, although I don't necessarily want to attract deer to much, as I'm trying to grow a fruit orchard.

Any comments on how to keep the deer around in winter, for those of us in the snowbelt?  Not that they disappear, but the definitely seem to migrate toward where there is more food and shelter/cover.

Great thread, BTW

[SwampDonkey]

Yes they certainly migrate. Even 50 years ago when industrial forestry never had roads to the majority of New Brunswick's interior regions that they have now, thus the wide spread clear cuts. The clear cutting removed old growth softwoods that supported deer in winter. It could be cedar stands, or spruce - fir forest. They don't stay in hardwoods up here, too cold (no thermal cover), snow too deep. My grandfather used to go into his camps 50 miles from settlements, following a narrow road kept up by the NB Power Corporation, to shovel snow off camp roofs. There was not a sign of deer in winter. They migrated down along the main river in early winter. During the warm season they were everywhere. Here, I see the odd deer in the summer now and again, but come winter the deer leave my area, not a track. Not many deer to begin with because of the moose, lack of wintering grounds and not being able to get at the food, it's buried in snow. I have way more moose. I also have a lot of coyotes, not thick but I can find them if I want to.

[Qweaver]

 Queaver ,
 any chance at geting pics of your feeder and how it works ?

Here is a picture of my feeder.   It's a piece of culvert with 2 slots cut in the bottom.  They are used to put over water valves for freeze protection.  It cost about $30.  Larry used the chainsaw to cut 2 T shaped slots in the top and bottom piece of 1/2" ply for the steel posts to pass thru'.  We set it on a pallet and drove the stakes about 1.5' deep. To fill just pull the top off and it holds about 3 bags of feed.  It has both rained and snowed but the feed has stayed dry.  The animals eat any wet feed at the outlets everyday and it never clogs.
Larry has several of these on his farm.  It took him about 15 minutes to put the whole thing together.  It's a little down and dirty  but it's cheap and it works.  Larry gave me a grain mixture recipe that cost $120 for 1000 lbs to be made up.  At the present rate of use I will use about half of that before I quit feeding this spring.  The geese, chickens, birds and other wild critters are probably eating as much as the deer.  We like it.

[BCinVT]

tughill,
I live in northern VT.,and I'm in the snowbelt too.The deer around here seem to need to yard up in the winter.I don't try and feed them anything in the winter,cause iIthink it might be better for them to yard up,even if it isn't around here.They always seem to come back toward spring.And I do have a few deer that don't stay in the yard.They like to come and eat the tops of the trees I've been cutting.If your area is anything like mine,we're only talking about 5-10  total deer anyway.And this winter was fairly mild.Got the big snow in Dec.,but didn't really get hammered again till last week(21").

[isawlogs]

 Thanks Queaver ,
 
 I will try one of those here , but I can see that our friendly bear just might have a snack and some fun opening this up .

 Jeff ,
    Can you put a pick of those five gallon pails with a chain you have up in the U.P.  I just dont remember how you put it together   
 
 

[Jeff]

I dont have any photos of those, but I can describe them.

5 gallon Pail Bump Feeder
1. Take a 5 gallon pail with lid. 
2. Epoxy a 3/4 inch washer to the center of the bottom on the inside of the pail.
3. Drill the hole out in the washer.
4. Drill a hole in the center of the lid.
5. Attach a small eye bolt to the lid, with the eye on the inside of the pail.
6. Seal the eyebolt hole with silicone.
7. Get 6-8 feet of chain in a size that will easily pass through the 3/4" washer, but not to easily.
8. Attach one end of the chain to the lid, and pass the other end through the hole in the pail.
9. Attach a weight to the end of the chain. We have used large fishing drop weights, big hex nuts, or even a chunk of hardwood. 
10. fill the pail with corn or pellets, place the lid, putt the chain tight.
11. Hang via the pail handle or better yet, strap to the tree or a post so the bump weight is about a foot off the ground. Higher when you have snow.
12. Be sure to check even 100 yards out when the pail comes missing, because a bear will take them quite some distance. 

[tughill]

I'm not looking to stir the pot here, but I'm curious what people think about the ethics of setting up feeders.  I myself am unsure.  Here in NY feeding deer is illegal, with some fairly harsh penalties.  Not that that means it is unethical, mostly means to me that we have too many laws.

I am assuming that most are not setting up a feeder 25 feet from the deer blind/stand, just trying to grow the best deer possible, which doesn't seem too bad, but I can see how it could be abused.

I definitely have talked to some....uh...unscrupulous hunters who set out a pile of corn a few weeks before deer season right next to the treestand, and to me that seems like shooting ducks in a barrel.

I guess my real question is how does using a feeder fit into a QDM (quality deer management) program?  I've read a couple articles books on this...but nothing that mentions specifically the role feeders may or may not play.

Thoughts?

[isawlogs]

 I have no more issues feeding deer here then I do feeding my horses .     Now with feeders like those shown and mentioned , not only deer can have acess to the food , I rather have a bear or raccon eat the corn/pellets then have him/her tear up my bird feeders here at the house or take my garbage box for a round or two , wich they always win . If deer or a turkey come in and have a bite or two , fine with me , many little mice and squirrels with appreciate the free lunch also. 

[Jeff]

Our U.P.feeders supplement the natural food for all our wildlife.  Being from Tughill you should understand how the extremities of climate can adversely effect local wildlife.  We do the best we can to help out all of our critters except that of the wild canine variety.

What makes a hunter that puts out food unscrupulous unless it violates the laws of the land? Hunting for sport and hunting for food may equate to two different things.

[Qweaver]

We had a huge black bear come through here this fall but I have not seen any sign of him this winter.
Larry said not to let the feeder get empty because the deer are capable of kicking the culvert over when there is food left inside that they can not reach.  Ours is working great.  I had to put 2 more bags of grain in today.
BTW, we do not shoot deer at this feeder.  It is in our back yard.  But the deer can be sighted all over the property almost everyday even before we put up the feeder.  We have so many deer in this area of the state that hunting is pretty easy.  You don't need feeders.  We just want to help them make it through a hard winter.

[SwampDonkey]

Hard winter? I could see if it was Michigan, Maine, Vermont or up state New York, then I could swallow the hard winter line. Deer ain't that helpless, otherwise they wouldn't have a chance in New Brunswick.

[CLL]

In Missouri you have to make sure there is no sign of baiting, feeding, or whatever at least two weeks before hunting season, be it bow or gun. They will absolutely fry you if you get caught baiting. The agent that I know here found a tree stand with apples, corn and sweet feed around it, he waited three weeks to catch the guy. Result, the guy lost a $700 bow, his stand, license for one year, and a $1000 fine. 

[Qweaver]

I guess whether it's a bad thing or a good thing depends on where you live.  I hunt in W.Va., Texas and Ohio and it's OK to have feeders in all three I think.  We always had them in Texas.  My friend in Ohio has feeders but we don't usually shoot deer at the feeders.  We have never had them on our club lease in W.Va. but could if we wanted to.  We did plant food plots.  I have not shot a deer at a feeder in years but I would not feel bad about doing it.  We eat 2 to 3 deer every year and if the season was nearly over and I didn't have my deer, I might get one coming to the feeder.  But that is not a problem with the current number of deer that we have.

[thecfarm]

We only feed them in the winter.They just stop coming to the fed on their own.Had 17 come up to the house the other day.The deer was here long before I built a house here.They always had a beaten path in the winter time a couple 100 feet behind the woods.They like the acorns up and down the driveway and right behind the house. I know they would get by without my help,but we enjoy watching them come up to eat.It's interesting to watch the differant ones come out.Most don't stay much longer than ½ hour.Than that group moves on and a few minutes later another group will come up.They always have to pick on the rut and try to drive them away.No wonder they are small the bigger ones won't leave them alone.