Encouraging deer to a chosen spot?

[Akeld]

Of course a "pheasant feeder" placed strategically couldn't possibly be baiting deer.

David.

I certainly see more deer around feed hoppers than salt licks

 

[Erik Hamburger]

After my comments ('It is illegal to bait deer and than shoot them on that baiting station' ) I spoke to two others in our DMG, one a professional pest-controller, and they both agreed that they also think it is illegal, however one of them felt that with 'baiting', in relation to deer, the word was used to indicate using a food attractive laced with drugs.
The bottom line is that it is so easy to confuse legal with illegal; right with wrong, best practice or not, and moral with immoral.
Ambiguity all around.

 

[JTO]

I've tried an Aniseed flavoured salt lick and roe don't seem interested in it. I've got an Apple flavoured lick out at the moment and there' isn't any evidence of deer around it, even thought I have seen deer within yards of it at night with thermal imaging. As I've mentioned before, we are very near the sea, so the forage/browse might have a fair amount of salt on it. I am going to try planting some swedes next.

 

[Bilbo]

As alreday mentioend I think the confusion over whether baiting is legal (or not) has arisen from the wording in the Deer Act 1991 as follows

Offences Relating to Deer

Section 4 - Use of prohibited weapons and other articles.

Use of prohibited weapons and other articles.
(1)Subject to sections 6 and 8 below, if any person”
(a)sets in position any article which is a trap, snare, or poisoned or stupefying bait and is of such a nature and so placed as to be calculated to cause bodily injury to any deer coming in contact with it, or
(b)uses for the purpose of taking or killing any deer any trap, snare or poisoned or stupefying bait, or any net,
he shall be guilty of an offence.

Only applies to England & Wales - so not sure if there are any different rules in Scotland

I suppose you could argue that by placing the bait underneath a high seat it is "...calculated to cause bodily injury to any deer coming in contact with it..."

 

[Bavarianbrit]

We also use sugar beets just lay them out at a chosen spot and split them once with an axe and the sugar will draw them in also.
The colder the weather the better it seems to work.
Martin

 

[FrenchieBoy]

Most horse feed places stock molasses I would think black treacle would work

I was thinking the same about Black Treacle, so much so that I have just made a few "Treacle Deer Licks".
What I have done as a "bit of an experiment" that I thought was wirth trying was to use a mixture of a couple of recipes from Youtube to make my own:
Ingredients used were:
1 full 454g tin of Black Treacle
1 full 340g of Peanut Butter
1 bag (1kg) of Table Salt
1 full (500g) bag of Raisins
1 cup of Porrige Oats
1 cup of Water.
(Total cost - Under a fiver)

I put the cup of water into an old pan that the wife was going to throw out (Not clever to use one of the wife's best pans) and bought it to the boil.
Next I took the lid off the tin of treacle and stood it in the pan of boiling water to thin it out enough to get it out of the tin more easily.
After a few minutes I poured the treacle into the boiling water and stirred it wel.
Once it was properly mixed and simmering I added the full pot of Peanut Butter and then stirred it in till it was mixed properly.
Once it was simmering again and well mixed I added the full bag of Raisins and 3/4 of the bag od Salt. Again I made sure that it was well mixed in and starting to thicken nicely. At this stage it needed constantly stirring it to stop it catching on the bottom of the pan.
When it all started to really thicken into more of a solid mass I got a couple of foil trays with lids (The ones you get your Chinese or Curry in) and poured half of what salt was left into the bottom each tray.
I then transfered the (almost solid) mix into the trays and left them to cool down enough to handle then and then put the lids on them.
All I have to do now is to allow a day or two for the "Treacle Licks" to really solidify and then put them out near where I want to try setting up a feed station (I have chosen a spot in a clearing just off one of the main deer runs through the wood where I have well concealed and elevated "viewing position" (about 100 yards away and accessible without the deer being aware of my presence) and wait and see if these "Black Treacle Licks" manage to attract any deer.
I'll let you know how things go in a week or so!
Another thing that might be worth trying is to use Molasses poured it into holes drilled into felled tree stumps (There's a good few of them in the clearing that I have chosen) as that is surposed to act as an attractant for roe deer - Might be worth a try also!

 

[Southern]

Instead of baiting them, how about tilling up a little spot and planting some hardy high-protein foods for them?
There are good winter clovers, etc. Anything you know them to be raiding from a winter garden would be good to plant. In the Spring, plant some oats, for example. This food will help them make it through the winter and create a healthier herd. Put out some salt and mineral blocks, too.

Then plant some cover lines or cut some lanes which will let them approach the food with a feeling of safety, and give you several angles of set up for different times of day and wind directions. Don't shoot them at the food or in their bedding or watering spots. Ambush them at different points along these travel lanes, so they don't pattern you.

 

[Dama]

Simply cut down any greenery (at this time of year you are probably limited to ivy) and heap it somewhere. It will be a magnet.

Most deer take time to adapt to new food souces but will be quick to feed of naural browse. See how quickly ivy is stripped from a fallen tree. There should be plenty of those about after this weekend.

 

[FrenchieBoy]

I think we have got it sorted now. Many thanks for all the advice, hints and tips!
I had a very good friend come through today with some bags of corn and a feeder. Before we sited the feeder we had a good walk around the woods, studied the deer tracks and most importantly of all we checked for the best spots available to shoot from with the safest backstops.
We have set the feeder up where I can get the best vantage point and viewing/shooting position what a safe backstop no matter what direction the wind is blowing. and a position where I can get more corn etc to top up the feeder as and when needed without too much trouble. We've also spread some molasses and corn on and around the tree trunks and stumps in that general area and also spread some loose corn and chopped carrots to start attracting the deer into that part of the woods. I appreciate that it isn't going to happen over night and that I will have to keep "baiting" the general area for a while till the deer get to know that there is a ready food source available for for them in that area, so for now it is just a matter of wait and see!

 

[Mungo]

I have nothing to add on the subject of atteacting deer.

I can, however, give THE garunteed way to ensure NO deer ever appear somewhere again...


...put up a high seat.

 

[paul o']

I have nothing to add on the subject of atteacting deer.

I can, however, give THE garunteed way to ensure NO deer ever appear somewhere again...


...put up a high seat.

 

[slider]

would have though any of the energy tubs for sheep or cattle that you can get at your local agricultural store would do the job.

 

[FrenchieBoy]

I have nothing to add on the subject of atteacting deer.

I can, however, give THE garunteed way to ensure NO deer ever appear somewhere again...


...put up a high seat.

Then maybe it's just as well that I have no plans on putting up or using a high seat then!

 

[SaOsborne]

I tried apple pulp from this years cider, it is still where I put it, not touched (and amazingly still a bright orange brown) 1 1/2 months later. I have even got a Roe hoof print in 1 pile where they just walked through it, but they don't seem interested at all, so much for apple? I suspect the acidity is too high as I had too many sharps this year!!

 

[deerly departed]

What are favourite foods of deer. I believe roses often take a bashing. One of my shoots has a nursery and they have an issue with deer topping out trees they buy in and they also feed in the nursery itself. I will ask what stock always guarantees a hit. We tried salt like and nuts and a whole range of foodstuffs and all we got were very fat squirrels

Horses for example, go mental for wild mint.......

Do deer like mint or other herbs like Thyme or Rosemary or basil etc......

 

[Southern]

Deer, cows, horses, goats, will all go after high-protein crops like oats, barley, milo, soybeans, but these are all for warm weather, to attract them to your land. In the winter, you can see them through with high protein things like some of the hardy clovers which will grow there, not just in your climate, but your soil ( pH, etc). Like cattle, you can supplement their protein and nutrients with some toss out morsels like Range Checkers.

Can you buy any of the food plot seed mixes there, like we have in the USA? I can send you some recipes of seeds which go together for various climates and seasons.