When do you usually start feeding corn? How many feed year round?

A lot of variables here but I will first answer with generic reply, on how we feed on a low fenced 3500+ acre property in the hill country:

1. Corn - start feeding in September, about a month before bow season, to help the deer pattern the feeder (this doesn't take long for the deer to do). Stop feeding in March-April, when I usually run out of deer corn (order in bulk and we almost always have leftover to carry us through March).

2. Protein - start in January/end of December and feed through end of August. If it's a real bad winter, particularly with an early freeze coupled with a dry year, I will start feeding right around the rut.

I feed corn year round but slow down amount. Protein start in late January then feed thru September into October. Prefer for protein to be out 2-3 weeks prior to rifle season. Don't bow hunt yet otherwise would stop protein earlier.

We feed corn year round and do spring and fall food plots instead of protein. We flow down on the corn after hunting season though

Everyone on our place feeds corn year round now. Feeders are set lower after the season and turned up about a month before rifle season. A few of us started doing this as soon as we got on the place and the rest followed a few years after when there were consistently more deer at the feeders that were set year round.

We feed corn year round on our little place east of San Angelo. During hunting season, our feeders go off for 4 seconds, three times a day. 7 a.m., 12:30 p.m., & 5 p.m.

After the season until the end of August they are set to go off once a day for 5 seconds at mid-day.

We feed protein from February 1 - August 31.

This is about to be our third year of doing this and we have noticed an increase of deer at our feeders. Now just waiting on the head gear to start getting bigger.

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We feed corn year round on our little place east of San Angelo. During hunting season, our feeders go off for 4 seconds, three times a day. 7 a.m., 12:30 p.m., & 5 p.m.

After the season until the end of August they are set to go off once a day for 5 seconds at mid-day.

We feed protein from February 1 - August 31.

This is about to be our third year of doing this and we have noticed an increase of deer at our feeders. Now just waiting on the head gear to start getting bigger.

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Do you protein feed at your deer feeder locations?

I know this is controversial, but we do at our place (mainly because it's so dang hard to drive t posts for new pens) and the deer never leave the area unless water is scarce. That's why we don't corn feed year round.

Just curious about your timing of the feeders as well.... If you have identical feeders, with IDENTICAL set depth of the timer box, with identical spinner plates, and identical varmint protection, you should have the same amount of corn usage. If not, the variations I see from feeder to feeder indicates that it's less about a general run time and more about the time in relation to that specific feeder. Are you seeing the same thing?

We do have our protein feeders (free choice) by our corn feeders. I suggested we have them in different spots but my dad and uncles overruled me and said to have them together for ease of filling.

We have 5 of the exact same setups (feeder wise), 5 500# HCR feeders with the same guts (spinners, ammo box, & "The Timer") and five, 1.5 ton Uvalco free choice protein feeders. They all run out of feed at relatively the same time.

As I said earlier, this will be the beginning of our third year year to do this feeding regiment. Back when, we only put out corn during the season. We have definitely seen an increase in the deer that hang out on the property if that is what you're asking.

Is there anything wrong with having the protein feeder right next to the deer feeder? We have cattle on the property so if we moved the protein feeder into a different shooting lane we'd need to build another feeder pen.

Secondly, we feed protein from Jan - Aug, and corn from Aug - Dec. (some protein and corn overlap)

I'm assuming that's good, but am I missing anything?

My dad has a little experiment place he's been feeding for the last few years. He's been feeding protein/corn mix from roughly May-August, lightening off of the protein into hunting season and going straight corn. The place has produced some good deer in years when other places seems to not be producing, but this year has been an aberration.

Roughly! What does it cost per feeder on a monthly basis for corn as well as protein?

I'm in Grimes County.

I feed corn year round but do adjust the feed rate seasonally.

I have both fall and spring food plots planted for year round feeding as well.

Feed Purina AntlerMax protein too.

Acorns trumped everything here this year.

I'd really like to feed protein, but I'm on a less than 1,000ac low fence place with 3 other guys. None of the other guys will commit to protein in the spring so I figure it's pretty much pointless to go it on my own.

I am considering spinning corn year round this year. None of the other guys do, so will that potentially keep more deer hanging closer to my blind? Never tried it.

We feed year round. During hunting season, our feeders go off for 6 seconds, two times a day. 7
a.m. & 5 p.m.


After the season until the end of August we feed protein and they are set to go off twice a day for 4 seconds.

We feed protein from February 1 - August 31.

We noticed a significant horn mass and body size increase over the last few years of doing this.

If you take care of your habitat and vegetation, it might not be necessary other than in hard times.

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If you take care of your habitat and vegetation, it might not be necessary other than in hard times.

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I lease hunting rights on a working cattle ranch. With cattle on the property, habitat/vegetation is difficult, if not impossible, for me to manage.

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If you take care of your habitat and vegetation, it might not be necessary other than in hard times.

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I lease hunting rights on a working cattle ranch. With cattle on the property, habitat/vegetation is difficult, if not impossible, for me to manage.

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Likewise. Once season is over, the land ownwe will be putting a host of ~400lb steer on the area we hunt.

We are on our second year at an open range place in Menard county. We cut our protein off labor day and started feeding corn. (Which is what we've done in the hill country before and south texas). Well, this year as soon as we did that, we noticed that a majority of the bucks left. We no longer had the volume of bucks on camera and didn't see near as many when we hunted.
We are thinking this year we will feed protein year round but we need to put protein stations away from our corn feeders/blinds AND we need to feed the protein on a timed basis and in a trough type feeder. This will hopefully reduce waste reduce the damn coons from getting a big portion of it.

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If you take care of your habitat and vegetation, it might not be necessary other than in hard times.

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Focus on the "stress periods" which vary by your locale. Then spin some corn during deer season if you wish. Depends on your purpose. If you're feeding to "help" the deer herd then focus on their stress periods.

I feed here in Kansas in January and February just to give the deer some carbs during the uber-cold. The fawns and the bucks in particular hit the feeder pretty hard.

After that if I were to feed it would be protein in May-July. I don't feed during deer season.