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Countless studies have shown this correlation in both penned and wild deer. If several months go by without high-quality forage being available, the damage can be serious.
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It’s also important because it provides the nutrition needed for the animals to reach their maximum growth in body weight and antler mass.Ī lack of nutrition during even one period of the year can severely degrade a buck’s ability to reach its full potential. It allows you to protect them from neighbors who might think a two-year old buck is a good deer to shoot. Providing food for 365 days a year is vital to keep bucks on your land all year. This is a situation as gamekeepers should desperately avoid. And they might wind up hanging from a rafter in your neighbor’s barn. If there is ANY period when a property does not offer high-quality food, they’ll simply move somewhere else to find it. This dire situation of “food lacking for wildlife” typically happens during late-winter or early-spring, however, summer can be a tough time, too. Maybe the crops have declined in nutritional value or been harvested, been covered in deep snow, or worse, been plowed under and the ground left fallow. This leaves the fourth part of the puzzle “food.” While we may think we are doing a good job there, sometimes gaps may develop throughout the 12 months of the year. Obviously on small properties or in certain situations it might be impossible to provide everything they need, but cover, safe areas, and water sources are needed. We want to offer the animals as many of their needs on our property as possible. The last two aspects of “cover” and “security” go hand in hand, and are often influenced by pressure, or lack thereof. They have no choice they must find nutrition somewhere.Īs most of us know, deer need the formula of food, water, cover and sanctuary (The “FWCS formula”) to call a location their home. When the “food plot” table is empty, the deer leave, just like the guests at the dinner table when the food is gone. They have large, energy-burning bodies that require, at times, up to 8 to 12 pounds of food per day. Unless there are other things keeping the herd there (food, cover, sanctuary), once the food is gone, the mature bucks will be gone, too. Worse yet, the field may even be plowed under and left fallow until the following summer.
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At the end of that period the food has either been eaten, declined in quality, or been buried in snow. Hunters serve up hearty portions of prime forage, but only from late-summer into early-winter, to coincide with hunting seasons. Sadly, this analogy shows how the deer population has it on a lot of properties. The food is gone! There’s no reason to stay.
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The pies are put back in the kitchen-if there are any left and suddenly, like a light was switched off, everyone scatters to other parts of the house. An hour later, everyone has stuffed themselves and enjoyed the festive meal, but now someone begins clearing the table of the carved up ham, turkey carcass, and bowls of gravy, dressing and deserts. There’s a table full of all your favorites. Picture the scene…you’re gathered around the dining table with family and friends for a lavish holiday meal.
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Airing on the Outdoor Channel | Whitetail Food Plots | On this episode of The GameKeepers of Mossy Oak we discuss the ins and outs of creating a successful food plot, why it’s important for your wildlife, and how to measure success. By providing a consistent, high-protein food source, whitetails will have their best chance for reaching their full genetic potential.
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