Deer feeder grain mix options & Feed store questions

[Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow]

Tuesday I bought 900 lbs of feed for my deer feeders from Coffey Grain, Inc. (grain co-op) in Calumet, OK (northwest of El Reno).

The mix I ran with is 600 lbs of whole corn, 200 lbs of whole oats, and 100 lbs of alfalfa pellets. $127 out the door for everything, including bags, bagging, mixing, and 12 lbs of molasses.

Is this a good mix for deer feeders, giving them both fat, protein, and other nutrients to help grow antlers and survive hard winters?

The oats were more than the corn of course, and the alfalfa pellets were way more pricey.

My other choices besides these 3 were Wheat, Milo, and Barley. Prices per 100 lbs are as follows:

Wheat $7.60
Milo $7.65
Corn $7.99
Barley $9.93
Oats $12.88
Alfalfa Pellets $18.49

Other questions:

1. What other mixes should I consider, to get the best bang for my buck, in light of the fact that Milo and Wheat are the same (low) price as corn? Do milo & wheat have higher protein content than corn? Other valuable nutrients? Will they feed through a deer type feeder? Will they be more, less, or the same attractiveness to deer? My theory is that if you have *just one* thing, corn is the most attractive among the cheaper items, but perhaps corn plus X% of one of these others would be even more attractive to deer than plain corn, to give the them fat/taste of corn, but be attractive as containing another needed nutrient, too.

2. Which of these, if any, will absorb moisture to the point that they won't feed through a deer type feeder? Or are any of them just too big or too oblong of a shape to feed through?

3. Any other considerations to look at? I know most people just use pure corn. Any other ingredients I should try to find elsewhere and mix in, for health of the herd, and antler growth? I've heard of using cracked corn, rice bran, soybeans, and sunflower seeds, too, but they didn't have any of these, that I saw.

4. Any other feed stores near metro OKC with very good prices like these, and/or more selection? What about further from OKC in outlying counties? I've heard good about the feed store just outside the James Collins WMA in Pitt County - what's the deal with that one - why so good?

5. How long will this grain last before going bad in my house or garage, assuming I can keep the mice and bugs out? 6 months? 9 months? 1 year? 1.5 years? 2 years? More?

6. The good folks at Coffey said spray the bags with "Tempo" to keep the bugs out/off, if I don't use within a couple of months - what's the Lowe's equivalent of this product?

Not a farm kid here (to my chagrin). Thanks.

 

[Oklahomabassin]

Soybeans will have the highest protein of the grains.

 

[Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow]

Yeah - Hmmm, that *may* have been on the other side of the menu, too - but wouldn't soybeans be very expensive like alfalfa pellets? I'm mainly curious about the wheat, milo, & barley as a supplement to corn. But how much per 100 lbs does soybeans usually run at a feed coop?

Thanks.

 

[Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow]

dennis, don't you have some wisdom for me here?

 

[dennishoddy]

I've always said that if corn were grown in one field, and milo grown in the other, the deer will head to the milo.
In my feeders, I'll do a 75/25 mix. Mainly corn, as the milo will just run out the feeder hole if its in too high of a concentration.
I buy my corn in bulk, so there are sometimes stalks left in there that will plug up the feeder.
I've got soy beans planted now in a food plot.
with antler growth starting, the deer need all the protein and minerals they can get.
Purina makes a supplement that is really high in protein and minerals that should be fed from about mid May to The end of Sept if one wants really good antler growth.

The guy at the feed store was pretty much right on when he said to spray the bags with tempo to keep the bugs off. There is no substitute that can be purchased at Lowes.
Tempo has a long lasting residual effect that will kill bugs for quite awhile.
Its kind of expensive, but it is OK for use in food preperation areas according to the lable on the bottle.
I have to buy Tempo at the COOP elevator.

I'm guessing if you can't find Tempo, Sprinkling 7 dust on, around, and inbetween the bags would be better than nothing at all.

 

[Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow]

You are DA MAN, Dennis!

 

[EFsDad]

Bump for some more discussion because I'd like to know too!

 

[Deer Slayer]

What I am reading here is an OK winter mix for deer. Corn has approx 6% protein. The reason to use corn in the winter is because the deer need the carbohydrates to keep warm. I feed 22% protein pellets (alfalfa) during the 2 stressful periods in the whitetails life. They are the time period from late July until late September and mid December until late February. The reason is that the food source is woody/stemmy and low in protein during the heat of the summer and dormant during the coldest part of the winter. Right now my whitetails have finished fawning and are chowing down on hybrid clover that runs around 25% protein. The clover is mowed every couple of weeks then watered in order to maintain the highest protein possible with the new growth and also to contain the invasive grasses. The whitetails harvested off my foodplots look more like angus beef because of all the fat.

I am monitoring 1 family unit right now that consists of 2yearlings from last year, Mom and 2 speckled butts that were born approx 1 month ago.

 

[notime]

u can get tempo at estes inc in downtown okc just east of penn off N.W. 5th or 7th couldn't remember the actual street #.

 

[big-triple-d]

I love this topic some of my hunting buddies thought I was crazy when I started mixing sweet feed in with my corn. It took me a couple time to get the ratio right (to much sweet feed on cold winter days will plug up a feeder). Farms Grain in Edmond is worth a call they the best price on corn the last couple season I don't know if they do custom mixes but I am going to find out.