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Breaking the Bank On Corn

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Mike Belt

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I keep a camera set up in the back yard and daily I put 10+ pounds of corn on the ground in front of it. In most cases the deer will clean it up between 2:30 PM and 7:00 PM. I believe they'd eat a bag a day if I put it down for them. The fawns like to bed in the middle of the scattered corn while the does mill around eating. I've seen one decent buck but can't get him on camera yet.
 
I put 50 lbs down a few weeks ago to try and get a better count of does, they had it gone in 5 days. So I put down 100lbs, went back 2 weeks later and had to shovel up, bag and carry out about 60lb of moldy uneaten corn.

The deer in TN are a strange bunch, still can't figure out how it didn't get eaten.
 
I totally quit feeding corn many years ago. Other ways are overall better, cheaper, and easier, without the aflaxtoxin poisoning risk.

Aflatoxin suppresses the immune system, which can cause deer to become much more susceptible to disease outbreak, or just catching a cold, becoming weak, and more easily caught by a dog or coyote. And when corn is fed during the spring/summer months, a buck's consumption of corn can stunt antler growth because any low-protein corn consumed may take away from the high-protein other food sources that buck might have consumed more (such as natural ragweed, clover, and other forbs).
Note: Corn is high in carbs (great in winter); but protein is needed more during the spring/summer months.

http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm352796.htm

http://www.jwildlifedis.org/content/31/4/570.full.pdf

Aflaxtoxin poisoning implications to turkey and quail
http://texnat.tamu.edu/files/2010/09/page26.pdf
 
Redfred16 said:
. . . . . went back 2 weeks later and had to shovel up, bag and carry out about 60lb of moldy uneaten corn.
Click to expand...
That corn would be presumed full of aflatoxin poison. The deer may have been able to "smell" it, and stopped eating it. On the other hand, local turkeys may have eaten it and died.
 
I had a bottomless pit for corn last year in one of my "urban" areas near an industrial park. Was putting out 25 lbs a day and next day it was squeeky clean. Put a camera up... 7 raccoons in one picture. No telling how many different ones were there nightly. Unbelievable, I just gave up and have since lost the spot.
 
Wes Parrish said:
I totally quit feeding corn many years ago. Other ways are overall better, cheaper, and easier, without the aflaxtoxin poisoning risk.

Aflatoxin suppresses the immune system, which can cause deer to become much more susceptible to disease outbreak, or just catching a cold, becoming weak, and more easily caught by a dog or coyote. And when corn is fed during the spring/summer months, a buck's consumption of corn can stunt antler growth because any low-protein corn consumed may take away from the high-protein other food sources that buck might have consumed more (such as natural ragweed, clover, and other forbs).
Note: Corn is high in carbs (great in winter); but protein is needed more during the spring/summer months.

http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm352796.htm

http://www.jwildlifedis.org/content/31/4/570.full.pdf

Aflaxtoxin poisoning implications to turkey and quail
http://texnat.tamu.edu/files/2010/09/page26.pdf
Click to expand...

I put corn out this summer, but it will be the last summer I use it. I will, however, continue using it during the post season to get pictures.
 
I'm with Wes, I quit using corn a long time ago. Mineral licks, food plots and scrapes get me all the pictures I need now.
 
I know everybody doesn't "see" it this way, but to me, the natural aesthetics of a deer picture are ruined by the presence of a pile of corn or a feeder in the pic. I can get (my opinion) much better quality deer pics without using any type of feed poured from a bag.

Here's some examples (natural deer behavior in their more natural environments) from deer trails instead of "bait" sites:





I do use salt licks during the summer, which is a form of bait site, but to me, a salt lick doesn't detract from the aesthetics like a pile of yellow corn or a big feeder beside the deer.
 
I stopped using corn in the summer a few years ago. I use mineral sites. They seem to attract more bucks and less raccoons. They are also MUCH less expensive and you don't have to revisit your site as often.
 
If I put corn out in my hunting spots , it would be consumed mostly by coons . That's what I love about Trophy Rocks , no coon pics , but I still get plenty of big buck pics. , and I don't have to worry about remnants of corn that need to be gone 10 days before hunting the site.
 

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