I have a camera setup on the drive at my cabin mainly to be notified anytime a vehicle comes up the drive.
But as a secondary I get a ton of great pictures of the deer and a few other critters here and there, mainly fox and bear.
Used to get a ton of coyotes but I am guessing some of the neighboring properties did a
mass culling because I haven’t gotten a single shot of a coyote in over 4 months.
A couple weeks ago I dropped a mineral lick near my camera and I have probably tripled the amount of deer I am getting on camera.
I stopped at Bucee’s on the way home from the cabin today to grab some fuel and a sliced brisket sandwich. I noticed they had All Season EZ Feeders with 600 lb hoppers for $475. This is an all self contained solar setup with easy load 600 lb hopper and varmint guard.
That got me thinking I would love to put one of these up in the woods. I have a perfect spot for it. I have a pond and a spring on the property so plenty of water and cover.
I am curious how much 600 lbs of corn would cost and how long it would last?

The Bucee’s near me sells 50lb bags for just under $10 per bag. About double what it was a year or so ago.

Just fyi….deer feed might be a better option as deer are susceptible to founders disease from a diet too rich in corn…..makes them lame and they die a slow death

A unit like that should most likely have a somewhat automated and programmable feeding mechanism. You can typically set the times and quantities you want to drop.

I’m not familiar with that large amount of corn. My concern would be how well the unit is sealed as to prevent the elements from rotting/molding the corn.

Deer will travel very far and let friends know about free food, 600lbs should be enough to start a frenzy.

You’re going to get some great pics!!

-Jeff

Before spending a bunch of money on a feeder...
My nephew made a couple of his own from PVC pipe and swears by them. Real simple looking.

Search on YouTube for... DIY PVC deer feeder... or similar will return many results.

And you would want to feed deer because?

quote:

Deer will travel very far and let friends know about free food, 600lbs should be enough to start a frenzy.

The deer population is pretty well regulated.
Do you want to create welfare deer?
Or just a little occasional feed for pictures?

quote:

Originally posted by hrcjon:
And you would want to feed deer because?

He needs a reason? enjoying wild life is good enough for me considering alot of people use them to lure Deer in to kill them.

Of course you need a reason because mostly feeding them is bad for the deer and bad for people and the environment. In many suburban areas there are few natural predators and and more food is more deer. More deer above the natural rate is starving deer when you stop feeding them. Feeding deer is generally not good for the deer. In New England deer are the main source of many serious tick diseases when in abundance. Many people get hurt with deer collisions with cars like in the millions. Deer destroy forests when too prevalent, etc.
One should not add any food to the eco system for any wild animal.

It isn't legal to feed deer here. We have to plant feed crops meant to let them graze.

The reasoning is they think that they spread disease at the community feeder. We used to plant indian corn and some other stuff and just let it grow.

A little corn goes a long way. I have about a dozen white tail come in daily for a snack. I do keep a mineral block out all year and I think that is a major reason they show up. I put a medium size pan of corn out daily spring through fall, and a little more January through March when the frigid weather arrives.I think 80 lbs of shelled corn is around 12.00 here. If they show up before I put the feed out, they will come to the window and look in to see if I am there.

I’d suggest starting off with a single fifty pound sack and see what you end up with. Six hundred pounds is… ambitious.

Better option: put up a salt lick.

Don't feed the deer, especially because you want to get pictures of them. You'll bring enough in for photos with the salt block.

quote:

Originally posted by chellim1:

Do you want to create welfare deer?

Exactly! Feeding deer corn has always been a bad idea. Here, take a look: LINK

Here in Missouri the Conservation Department is very concerned about Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), which is highly contagious, and a corn station like you are talking about would be a prime vehicle for spreading the disease.

It's always best not to fool around with Mother Nature.

Corn weighs 56#/bushel. Bushel is $4.70 today. Grab some barrels and head to the elevator. Make sure you use containers you can seal else you will be feeding other wildlife.

quote:

Originally posted by Ronin101:

quote:

Originally posted by hrcjon:
And you would want to feed deer because?

He needs a reason? enjoying wild life is good enough for me considering alot of people use them to lure Deer in to kill them.

I stand corrected

“Feeding deer artificially concentrates them in one location for extended periods of time,” says the NYSDEC. And that is bad because it creates a greater possibility for the transmission of diseases such as Chronic Wasting Disease.

Please don’t feed the deer.

Why people want to watch giant rats eat next to each other is beyond me, but the damage done to the deer population due to CWD has been proven over and over again.

quote:

Originally posted by Xtbone97x:
A unit like that should most likely have a somewhat automated and programmable feeding mechanism. You can typically set the times and quantities you want to drop.

I’m not familiar with that large amount of corn. My concern would be how well the unit is sealed as to prevent the elements from rotting/molding the corn.

Deer will travel very far and let friends know about free food, 600lbs should be enough to start a frenzy.

You’re going to get some great pics!!

-Jeff

Yes, the unit is fully timed and automated.
I had planned on feeding so that 600 lbs would distributed over 6 weeks.

I had not thought about the feed molding.

quote:

Originally posted by cparktd:
Before spending a bunch of money on a feeder...
My nephew made a couple of his own from PVC pipe and swears by them. Real simple looking.

Search on YouTube for... DIY PVC deer feeder... or similar will return many results.

This style would be emptied out by the coons in a few days.

I am only able to make it down every 4-6 weeks to refill.

quote:

Originally posted by Bassamatic:

quote:

Originally posted by chellim1:

Do you want to create welfare deer?

Exactly! Feeding deer corn has always been a bad idea. Here, take a look: LINK

Here in Missouri the Conservation Department is very concerned about Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), which is highly contagious, and a corn station like you are talking about would be a prime vehicle for spreading the disease.

It's always best not to fool around with Mother Nature.

I was unaware of this. Feeding deer corn is super common around here.

Guess I will just add a couple more mineral blocks around the property.

If you are in an area, or are close to an area (50 miles) that has CWD, I would highly recommend against feeding deer. Common feed points spread the disease.

Besides CWD, the other problem with "deer" feeders is they tend to feed feral hogs. Deer damage pales in comparison to what a sounder (aka herd) of feral pigs can do in one evening.

Responsible land owners install fences (e.g. solar power electric fences) around deer feeders to keep out the hogs. Fence is short enough the deer fawns can jump over but tall enough to keep out feral hogs.