Feeding Deer to Clearings

[Sandy25]

Hi All,

My dad and I have just taken over a large estate, with high populations of Muntjac, Roe and Fallow. We currently have no intention of culling any Roe off the ground.

We have high seats across the ground, and have also cut rides and clearings throughout the woodland. I was wondering what the views were on feeding deer out onto rides and clearings where they can be culled from?
The muntjac are often in cover and unshootable, while the fallow are normally in the centre of large surrounding arable fields at 300m plus, so feeding them into the edges and rides on the woods would be extremely beneficial in terms of meeting cull targets!

Also what feeds do people find work best and are most attractive to the different species?
Are salt/mineral licks more successful?

Many thanks in advance,

Sandy

 

[Tim.243]

Hi All,

My dad and I have just taken over a large estate, with high populations of Muntjac, Roe and Fallow. We currently have no intention of culling any Roe off the ground.

We have high seats across the ground, and have also cut rides and clearings throughout the woodland. I was wondering what the views were on feeding deer out onto rides and clearings where they can be culled from?
The muntjac are often in cover and unshootable, while the fallow are normally in the centre of large surrounding arable fields at 300m plus, so feeding them into the edges and rides on the woods would be extremely beneficial in terms of meeting cull targets!

Also what feeds do people find work best and are most attractive to the different species?
Are salt/mineral licks more successful?

Many thanks in advance,

Sandy

The fallow we shot on an estate that used to go to the pheasant feeders and sugar beet the keeper put out, not all but they did go to the feeders. Some just crossed the rides the slots will tell you, I have a Hik remote camera which gives some good idea of what is around. Any animal will go to the best easiest safe food source, that way in those fields they can see what is coming.

 

[Sandy25]

The fallow we shot on an estate that used to go to the pheasant feeders and sugar beet the keeper put out, not all but they did go to the feeders. Some just crossed the rides the slots will tell you, I have a Hik remote camera which gives some good idea of what is around. Any animal will go to the best easiest safe food source, that way in those fields they can see what is coming.

Ok, will look at putting some feeders out then. Did you find that they preferred the wheat over growers pellets, or not much difference?

 

[pendle]

Before feeding . Make sure there are no forestry grants for [ SSSI etc ] on the land . If there are you are enticing deer to those areas of forestry . These grants then might have to be paid back in full

 

[Tim.243]

Ok, will look at putting some feeders out then. Did you find that they preferred the wheat over growers pellets, or not much difference?

Not my estate but it would have been wheat as I know the keeper, I did open a couple up and they were full of wheat.

 

[Sandy25]

Before feeding . Make sure there are no forestry grants for [ SSSI etc ] on the land . If there are you are enticing deer to those areas of forestry . These grants then might have to be paid back in full

Thank you! That was not something that i have ever considered, but will go and check!

Lifesaver

 

[pendle]

Thank you! That was not something that i have ever considered, but will go and check!

Lifesaver

It includes rock salt or licks.
My conditions on my contract state this and if any grant re payment has to be made . I have to pay it back in full not the landowner.

Don't forget deer are wild if not fenced in. Your there to control not entice

Hopefully all is OK.

Try not to shoot on feeding sites get them as they are travelling to and from.
But each to his own ways

 

[Sandy25]

It includes rock salt or licks.
My conditions on my contract state this and if any grant re payment has to be made . I have to pay it back in full not the landowner.

Don't forget deer are wild if not fenced in. Your there to control not entice

Hopefully all is OK.

Try not to shoot on feeding sites get them as they are travelling to and from.
But each to his own ways

Thank you, will bear that in mind.

Yeah, the plan was to put in feeding sites to try to pull the deer onto the rides etc, so that they can be taken when they are on route to the feeding sites. The other thinking was that it might just make them hesitate on rides if they stop to take a sniff or nibble, thus giving us that shootable window.

Sandy

 

[Greenmist]

Definitely pheasant feeders for muntjac, mine were filled with wheat

 

[Donkey Basher]

Muntjac are drawn to pheasant feeders - you don’t mention if there’s a shoot on the ground or not, but if there is then feed rides should be productive. However, not sure the keeper will appreciate you pinging muntjac on his feed rides & disturbing his birds!

Fallow also like pheasant feeders but you’ll need to know when they’re going there & don’t expect to be able to sit & ping them one after the other - one shot & the odds are they’ll be off like the starters at the Grand National!

Personally I’d put some time in finding out when & where both species are going to be & then siting your seats to maximise the chances of getting successful shots at them.

To get 300m out into a field the fallow must have come out of a wood somewhere - find where that is & wait for them. Ditto in the morning they’ll head back into the woods so find out where & wait for them.

Good luck, especially with the fallow - my favourite!

 

[Freeforester]

There's a reason why deer stick to cover and not so much to open ground, they are after all a prey species, and instinctively avoid becoming prey to predator species. As has been suggested, it's probably going to be more successful longer term to intercept them on their way to or from feeding sites, which can all too easily become danger sites for those deer who saw what happened to the last couple which stepped out of cover to the feeding station/killing field.

 

[willowbank]

Here my 10p worth... have been using feeders now for upwards of 10yrs and learned as the seasons/years rolled along.

Best feed mix is beef nuts which contain molasses, wheat and whole maize. (3/2/1 ratio)
Keep the legs of the feeder high enough away from Badgers, they stand on their back legs.
I’ve developed a drum feeder with a ‘wobble bar’ using a Wright feeder with the bottom cut off.

These feeders and the mix have been thoroughly tested overtime and proven to work.
I’ll find some pics to post.

Willowbank

 

[SimpleSimon]

We use aniseed-smelling powder in our pheasant feed on my little rough shoot, this seems to draw a few deer in.

 

[baguio]

Why have you decided not to cull the roe? There will be poor and old animals amongst them, just like with any other species.

 

[Sandy25]

Muntjac are drawn to pheasant feeders - you don’t mention if there’s a shoot on the ground or not, but if there is then feed rides should be productive. However, not sure the keeper will appreciate you pinging muntjac on his feed rides & disturbing his birds!

Fallow also like pheasant feeders but you’ll need to know when they’re going there & don’t expect to be able to sit & ping them one after the other - one shot & the odds are they’ll be off like the starters at the Grand National!

Personally I’d put some time in finding out when & where both species are going to be & then siting your seats to maximise the chances of getting successful shots at them.

To get 300m out into a field the fallow must have come out of a wood somewhere - find where that is & wait for them. Ditto in the morning they’ll head back into the woods so find out where & wait for them.

Good luck, especially with the fallow - my favourite!

Yeah, so we have sited the seats on rides/ clearings that were either existing, or ones that we have cut and cleared. The deer there will cross the clearings, but normally very quickly, and the cover around is so thick and dense that you can’t see the deer, especially muntjac, clearly enough to take a shot. The thinking was that the feed might concentrate them in certain areas and make them a bit more accessible to shoot.

Will definitely go out and a have a good recce about where the fallow come out onto the fields, as often there are groups of 40+!

 

[Sandy25]

Why have you decided not to cull the roe? There will be poor and old animals amongst them, just like with any other species.

The roe population in the area is between 10 - 12, and so far we have seen mature and young does, a lovely 6 point buck, and then a couple of very young yearling bucks, plus a couple of does with young.

The bucks we have seen are either too young, or too good to shoot, and to be honest, the population there isn’t causing large amounts of damage in comparison to the fallow and muntjac. If there is an animal that needs culling then we will take it, but it’s nice to see them around, and hopefully we can get the numbers up and then keep it at a healthy level.

 

[jall55]

The roe population in the area is between 10 - 12, and so far we have seen mature and young does, a lovely 6 point buck, and then a couple of very young yearling bucks, plus a couple of does with young.

The bucks we have seen are either too young, or too good to shoot, and to be honest, the population there isn’t causing large amounts of damage in comparison to the fallow and muntjac. If there is an animal that needs culling then we will take it, but it’s nice to see them around, and hopefully we can get the numbers up and then keep it at a healthy level.

Fair enough - i understand why your policy was questioned as in the OP you stated high number of roe too

 

[Sandy25]

Fair enough - i understand why your policy was questioned as in the OP you stated high number of roe too

Yeah, reading over it that was an error on my part for not clarifying!

 

[baguio]

A salt lick from your local tackle/horse supplies shop fixed on a really sturdy post on a ride within a couple of meters of cover will entise them out long enough to take a shot. It will need to be sturdy though because fallow will try to push it over.

 

[willowbank]

Salt licks.... if you can cut a 4”-6” dia tree leaving about 4ft with a slanted cut, then using saw cut a 1/2” downward spiral channel. Secure the salt lick (hymalayen pink horse blocks with a hole) to the top of the pole.

The rain will ‘drizzle’ the salt down the channel, I also pour liquid molasses over and into the salt block for good measure. Fallow love this setup, spending hours licking the post.

Willowbank.