Midwest Whitetails are Cold and Hungry!

Although none of us at www.LandAndGame.com ever claim to be biologists, it doesn't take a degree in anything to know that it's dang cold out there!  This year the Midwest is turning out to be one of the snowiest in a while and it's beginning to take it's toll on your herd regardless of where your property lies.  Now is the time to lend a helping hand.  It always amazes me the comments I hear from otherwise trophy crazed whitetail hunters when I mention or ask if they are currently running cameras or doing any supplemental feeding.  The often strange look on their faces and quiet responses range from "I just don't have the time" to "I don't have money to lay out right now for feeding deer."  As full time managers for some of our landowners who purchase land through us and that have implemented the Advanced Habitat System™, the winter supplementation projects are as important to the long term success of our system as spring food plots!

On many of the properties we do not manage full time for our clients and on new properties we are looking at to list during this time of year, it's painfully apparent the loss of body weight that some of the whitetails are experiencing.  The exception are those properties with adequate food supplies left over from farmers that weren't able to make the fall harvests before the snow began to fly.  It's important to remember that at this time of the year, the overall health of your entire herd is the basis by which your trophies in the future years will be born from.  Just as a man is concerned for the health of his wife during preganancy, you should be equally concerned for the health of the does on your property to the same extent as you may be concerned about the antler growth for next fall.  Although all of our AHS™ properties are well prepared for Midwest winters with ample bean, turnip, and corn supplies, there are other elements of nutrition that must be met to ensure the highest possible antler and fawn production for the coming year.

At www.LandAndGame.com, we feed several types of supplements in addtion to just plain corn at the winter feeding stations, depending on where the properties are located that we are managing.  Often times we work with local feed stores to help us create custom blends that seem to provide the best benefits.  Additionally, with the custom blends, we usually utilize cracked corn as opposed to the shell corn in the blends.  There is an upside and a downside to the use of cracked corn.  First the upside.  Because wild whitetails will often shift to the feeders as the prominent source of food during this time of year, there is less chance with cracked corn that dental issues could arise over time and it's naturally easier to digest because of it's size.  The downside is that cracked corn can cause some issues in gravity type feeders if moisture is allowed to gain access to the stock inside the feeder.  For this reason, we have been utilizing the feeders shown in the pictures included with this blog.  They are made by a small company here in Southern Iowa that operates under the name Lick Creek Enterprises, Inc.  Unfortunately, they don't currently have a website, but you can contact the owner, Jim Mathias direct at 319-498-4736.  Jim offers three different sizes for the feeders and on most of our properties we utilize the 500 lb. capacity feeders.  They even come complete with a bungee system to potentially grab some of the antlers that may be ready to fall as some of your bucks visit the station.  Additionally, Jim manufactures some killer blinds in a variety of custom sizes and with custom windows and doors.  We've found that although you can buy blinds from a variety of sources, the issue with the expense of shipping them often makes it more economical to use a local supplier such as Lick Creek Enterprises in Birmingham, Iowa.

When it comes to the ingredients in our feeders...well, that's a trade secret!  Just kidding!  Feed and supplements are only one very, very small part of the equation in the successful development of your trophy wall.  So, we'll share just this one part of the equation with you today.  Simply put, all we are trying to do with the late winter supplemental feeding is provide them with the things that they can no longer find in nature during this time of the year.  There's no special vitamins or growth homones we include in the feed.  As the son-in-law of a deer farmer, naturally when I started supplemental feeding, I turned to him for guidence on what's proven to make the most impact on his own deer herd of 100+ head at Mrs. Doe Pee's Buck Lure.

The first thing I learned, was the value of utilizing cracked corn on animals that are relying on the supplemental feeding as a primary source of nutrition.  The next most important thing I learned, was of some of the dangers associated with over feeding grain to whitetails.  "Grain overload" or "acidosis" can occur if too many carbohydrates are introduced into a whitetail's diet without a balance of other nutrients.  As a result, the bacteria in the rumen of a whitetail increase and large amounts of lactic acid are produced.  This causes the PH level of the rumen to below 5.  If you plant your own food plots, you may recall from your PH soil tests that this is an acidic indicator in the PH scale.  This causes some of the microbes that are essential in processing food to be destroyed.  In drastic examples of pen raised deer, this can lead to conditions such as diarrhea or ulcers.  Those of you that hunt in cold weather environments out west know the importance of staying hydrated.  Now imagine a case of diarrhea and the health concerns you would be facing in the wild under dehydration.  Additionally, conditions such as Founder can occur as a result of too many carbohydrates.  Founder is complication that is happens when there is a slowing of blood flow in the hoof and it often leads to seperation of the hoof wall from the lamina and is a common cause of lameness or dramatic increases in the length of the hooves.

Although the above is unlikely to happen, it is a real possibility.  That's why we add not only protien pellets to the feed, we also add additional mineral to diversify the foods that our winter herds are ingesting.  As a general rule, we'll add a 60# lbs. of Antler King Trophy Deer Mineral to 400 lbs. of cracked corn and 600lbs of Antler Max Deer 20 from Purina.  I like Antler King's mixture because it balances 27 different minerals and includes a yeast culture to aid in digestion and absorbtion.  You can order from them direct by following this link www.antlerking.com/products.aspx.  To find a Purina supplier, or learn more about that product, click on this link wildlife.purinamills.com/products/ECMD2-0017343.aspx.

All in all, not many can deny the need for adequate late winter food sources.  Even if you think your hunting area isn't lacking food right now, this is the time to provide some additional or at least alternative food choices.  In some areas snows can become so deep that finding food can be very exhausting and as the weather changes, icy conditions can make it difficult for deer to access normally used food sources.  Remember, healthy herd management on your property, regardless of your acreage size, is truly a year round responsibility if you intend on reaping the rewards come next fall.  Plus, you get to keep and retain more deer on your property if food is available, which can lead to gathering even more information to help you on your quest to expand your trophy wall and increase your shed pile!