To much corn?
08-13-2010, 03:09 AM
#11
Fork Horn
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: MN
Posts: 342
If you start feeding corn now, acidosis shouldn't be a problem. Deer have plenty of other food to eat, so they will not eat only corn. If you start feeding corn and do not stop feeding corn, acidosis should not be a problem. Corn is not the most nutritional food for a deer, so corn should never be their only food source. Oats grain, for example, is a much better food choice for deer if it is available.
08-13-2010, 05:42 AM
#12
Typical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Coffeyville KS USA
Posts: 931
08-13-2010, 09:54 AM
#14
Boone & Crockett
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Comance county, OK
Posts: 11,409
For many years we have used corn in the feeders on our places. Over a period of several years the quail population on one of those places has been declining, despite the fact that quail are not hunted there and the habitat is ideal for quail.
We have switched to using blackeyed peas and cattle feed pellets in our feeders. Most of the deer corn we get in OK is old, very low quality stuff that is full of dust and mold. Some of it is labeled to contain aflatoxin. Aflatoxin is a quail killer.
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/outdoors/stories/020710dnsposassercol.3b0db39.html
We have switched to using blackeyed peas and cattle feed pellets in our feeders. Most of the deer corn we get in OK is old, very low quality stuff that is full of dust and mold. Some of it is labeled to contain aflatoxin. Aflatoxin is a quail killer.
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/outdoors/stories/020710dnsposassercol.3b0db39.html
The poison that Cox refers to is aflatoxin, a substance produced by fungi that grow on corn and other food staples. Aflatoxin rates in wildlife corn caused a stir in the 1990s when biologists became concerned about potential damage to deer and other wildlife.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration does not allow grain that tests more than 20 parts per billion of aflatoxin to be fed to dairy cattle or used for human consumption. It winds up as wildlife feed. Several studies have indicated aflatoxin can weaken and even kill wildlife.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration does not allow grain that tests more than 20 parts per billion of aflatoxin to be fed to dairy cattle or used for human consumption. It winds up as wildlife feed. Several studies have indicated aflatoxin can weaken and even kill wildlife.
08-13-2010, 03:46 PM
#15
Fork Horn
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Northeastern Oklahoma
Posts: 286
The corn i get from a feed store is clean good quality corn. What type of cattle feed do you feed your deer? Is it beneficial for antler growth during the summer or just something for them to eat?
08-14-2010, 09:00 AM
#16
Boone & Crockett
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Comance county, OK
Posts: 11,409
Is it beneficial for antler growth during the summer or just something for them to eat?
Antler growth is not an issue on two of our places. Big bucks have been killed on both those places. One drop tine 12 point buck was nine years old and in decline when killed: He scored 186 points as a non-typical and 168 points as a typical.
