Well it would have caused less confusion if you'd replied to his post, not mine
Feeding deer
- Thread starter Jimbob39
- Start date
so we feed animals to stop nature doing its job, and next year we nee more feed to feed more animals to prevent nature doing its job, and the next year..........you get the drift.
That's not respect IMHO, that's a lack of respect for natural processes
shakey jake
Well-Known Member
where do people that feed draw the line? hares need a hand? leaving out food for fox cubs? extra pheasant poults for a healthy tawny owl family
Feeding pheasants is bad enough
Jimbob39
Well-Known Member
Do you get out much? As you can probably see from the sensible and constructive comments from others this was a valid question that prompted discussion. Cheers for the input.
shakey jake
Well-Known Member
StephenToast
Well-Known Member
If you don't like other people's opinions, don't ask.
Jimbob39
Well-Known Member
Didn’t say I don’t like peoples opinions? No, I ask and I listen. You seem to just enjoy an argument.
The person who owns the land likes his deer and, due to stopping Pheasant shooting, there is no longer a supplemental food supply, so he is wanting to add additional feed to support the population.
It's his land, his choice, and the benefits of diversionary feeding of Haylage, Fodder Beet, Wheat etc may prevent damage to cash crops, it will help keep the herd healthy, and in turn the quality of harvested carcases should be better, and there is active deer management taking place to control numbers
To start calling folk idiots because they give a Sh1t about the animals that live on their land is crass, why let deer die from starvation when it has been caused by taking away an unnatural source of food and it can be avoided?
Yes we have a deer problem, this may be due to the fact that we have no apex predators, and a lot of land is stalked by people who shoot a very occasional deer for the freezer and don't put in the hard yards to manage the population, but that doesn't mean we have to all be hard hearted killers that don't give a toss about animal welfare in bad weather.
Disappointed by some responses on this thread, it stinks of "if it's Brown it's Down", or "If it's Red it's Dead".
If we don't respect our quarry then deer stalking for anyone other than paid professionals is doomed.
It's his land, his choice, and the benefits of diversionary feeding of Haylage, Fodder Beet, Wheat etc may prevent damage to cash crops, it will help keep the herd healthy, and in turn the quality of harvested carcases should be better, and there is active deer management taking place to control numbers
To start calling folk idiots because they give a Sh1t about the animals that live on their land is crass, why let deer die from starvation when it has been caused by taking away an unnatural source of food and it can be avoided?
Yes we have a deer problem, this may be due to the fact that we have no apex predators, and a lot of land is stalked by people who shoot a very occasional deer for the freezer and don't put in the hard yards to manage the population, but that doesn't mean we have to all be hard hearted killers that don't give a toss about animal welfare in bad weather.
Disappointed by some responses on this thread, it stinks of "if it's Brown it's Down", or "If it's Red it's Dead".
If we don't respect our quarry then deer stalking for anyone other than paid professionals is doomed.
Jimbob39
Well-Known Member
Exactly this. We shoot plenty but the reason we have the stalking rights is because we work with the estate owner to ensure a healthy population and quality is worked towards. We pay nothing and he pays us nothing for the vermin and deer management we carry out. The estate receives all of the money we receive from carcasses. I felt asking about supplementary feeding was a valid question.
It is a perfectly valid question, Beef nuts, Wheat, Maize, Wuzzles or Haylage will support the herd during hard weather, just be a bit wary of cereals as Rattus Norvegicus are also rather partial to free food, the suspended feeder looks perfect
Ignore the numpties who advocate shooting everything as the answer to the issue, in some cases it's can be the only solution, but in this case, IMHO, it isn't.
Bo Diddley
Well-Known Member
Yes, an estate next to one I shoot on has feeders out to help pull deer onto their land, all with high seats nearby. They feed wheat and sometimes a shovel full of beet.
Bo Diddley
Well-Known Member
It's amazing how a species is regarded differently within the space of a century or so, even decades, the Royal parks had deer aplenty and the servants were to guard and preserve them for the elite to hunt, anyone found poaching a deer would have a grizzly time if caught, miles of incredibly well-built brick walls entombed the land to protect those deer.
Even a few decades ago people such as Phil Drabble from "One Man and His Dog" fame purchased a few acres of forestry commission land and turned it into a wildlife haven, he even cut radiating rides from his house so he could watch the deer as they crossed the rides, some of which became very tame and he hand fed them.
Now in the first few decades of a new millennium, it seems as if even some stalkers are treating them as though they are a huge problem... are they really such a problem, Or are we making a fuss about something relatively minor in the big scheme of things?
Even a few decades ago people such as Phil Drabble from "One Man and His Dog" fame purchased a few acres of forestry commission land and turned it into a wildlife haven, he even cut radiating rides from his house so he could watch the deer as they crossed the rides, some of which became very tame and he hand fed them.
Now in the first few decades of a new millennium, it seems as if even some stalkers are treating them as though they are a huge problem... are they really such a problem, Or are we making a fuss about something relatively minor in the big scheme of things?
cutty sark
Well-Known Member
If your going to feed deer then feed the females, find out what minerals your ground is lacking and supplement them with mineral blocks, don’t waste yer time just randomly feeding deer unless your using it as a culling strategy, been there, done it seen it, as the saying goes.
Once watched a program about reindeer and one of the herders was feeding his herd bales of haylage.
If your deer are used to wheat it's probably best to stick with that. There's plenty about, the price is cheap and you can easily carry it in small bags. Just put a few sheep troughs where the pheasant feeders were. Maybe mix a few oats in as well, I've seen deers eat them out of our sheep troughs and oats are a bit kinder on ruminants digestion.
If your deer are used to wheat it's probably best to stick with that. There's plenty about, the price is cheap and you can easily carry it in small bags. Just put a few sheep troughs where the pheasant feeders were. Maybe mix a few oats in as well, I've seen deers eat them out of our sheep troughs and oats are a bit kinder on ruminants digestion.
Twice you’ve mentioned quality now, what defines quality??
Have you actually got anything to add to this discussion or. as usual, are you just being an argumentative @rse?
All in favour of mineral blocks, they make a difference, but how do you selectively feed females in a wild herd?
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