What are ya'lls experience as far as how often self choice protein feeders need to be re-filled? We are trying to decide between 1000 and 2000 lb feeders. We are near Ballinger, TX. I have no idea on exact density but I know its pretty high.

We have ten 3,500# feeders on 4,200 acres in San Saba County. During the summer times they get emptied out pretty dang fast.

In Ozona we have three 55-gallon drum protein feeders on 300 acres. They get emptied out so fast that it seems we are filling them with bags of air.

We are looking at putting 2 on 635 acres.

I agree with FS, can't keep ours full. We only use 55 gal feeders, 3 on 130 acres, but they can empty all 3 in a week when they are hitting them hard. I am in the process of building a 1-2K feeder or two so we can keep up with them and won't run out when they need it.

Our 300#ers last about 5 days from now until September.

In Llano county, we had 4 2000#protein feeders on 1100 acres
filled with protein and 11 300# feeders witha 50/50 mix of corn and protein as we fed year round.The protein lasted about 3 months and the small ones about6-8weeks.

Hal-
Timed feeders or free choice for the protein?

My density is approx 90 - 100 mature deer on 855 acres.

I have 6 - 1,000 lb protein free-choice feeders

Three weeks is too long ( 3 or 4 will be empty ) and 2 weeks interval requires about 2 tons to refill.

Avg mature deer weight for us in S. Duval county may be higher than yours and so our consumption may be a little higher per head.

Feeders that size makes me nervous. If you get some moisture in that you can ruin the whole thing.

We have 4 300lb feeders on 400 acres and they will be emptied every 5-8 days

Allow me to make a suggestion. There is a company in el campo called Lamco feeders. They have some interesting products for example timed feeder with a trough. I would interested in have multiple small valve feedings to try to eleminate me feeding the coons and possums free choice too

Our protein feeders are filled 7-8 months out of the year. All together we probably have about 9 or 10 feeders that hold up to 1000#s each. Those last us about a month.

Gig'em

Our 2000# protein feeders were free choice gravity fed, and yes moisture is a litte bit of a problem but overall worked well.

500lb lasts anywhere from 6-11days. Right now its lasting 6 days with Whitetail, Axis, Sika and one escaped bull elk.

Guys on our place with 1000lb feeders last about 10-14days with the longest I have seen lasting about 3 weeks.

This is in Concan, TX for a point of reference.

[This message has been edited by ttha_aggie_09 (edited 5/26/2011 10:09a).]

I'm refilling 300 pound self-feeding feeders every 7 days.

Gill:

I second Aggie O5's rec, of timed-trough-feeders.

There have been some studies that have proven them very useful.

Key is to focus on Protein as a supplement.

Gravity feeders feed the "feed hogs" out of the herd, as well as the varmints.

A timed trough feeder can help eliminate these issues, as well as give you a predictable time table. Not to mention, the ability to control that time table.

If consumption is too high , shoot more does. There are several manufacturers out there, Lamco, as mentioned, is one.

Any recs on protein feeders? Not a massive 1000lb one

I'm interested in knowing more about 50/50 corn protein mix. I've never fed protein before because of the expense. Could I run that mic through a regular feeder?

Any advise on my question above?

Yes, you can run the 50/50 mix through the feeder. That's what I run during the season.

I've used 3 1000 lb All Seasons feeders for the past 15 years. Very high quality feeders. Never had one problem.

400 acres of land and if filled to the top with protein they last roughly 2 months in the summer time.

A little longer other seasons.

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Yes, you can run the 50/50 mix through the feeder. That's what I run during the season.

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How many seconds do you let the feeder go off for?

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Yes, you can run the 50/50 mix through the feeder. That's what I run during the season.

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How many seconds do you let the feeder go off for?

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That all depends on the setup you're running. Things like motor type, battery power (12v vs 6v), distance from the funnel to the spinner plate, and even the type of funnel used in the barrel can potentially impact the rate at which feed is dispersed.

My recommendation if you want an exact amount:

Take a bucket or tub of corn and weigh it at home on a scale
Fill it to the desired amount of feed you want to throw per feeding and mark the line on the bucket
Take a 50lb bag of corn (or large bucket) and place around and under spinner plate
Test feeder while trying to trap all corn/protein
Pour contents into your measurement bucket or tub and adjust accordingly

it will not be 100% accurate, especially if you have varmints, but it will give you a pretty good baseline.

The thing you need to be concerned with is moisture. if that protein gets wet it will clog up that feeder in a hurry.

ttha is correct. My setup is a 6V Texas Hunter, I let it go off for 5 seconds twice a day. I couldn't tell you how much exactly comes out but the 300 pound feeder will last me roughly 2+ months.