The deer are getting pretty hungry.

[rdln]

Early on when I bought my place ('92) I had visions of setting out covered hay for the deer during "BAD" winter periods. I guess I just dont live far enough north since I've never seen a need. Just northeast of me about 30 min. They received 12" overnight from Lake Huron lake effect.

 

[Bob_Skurka]

<font color="red">
I used just about the same amount of a similiar fence to protect my smaller apple trees. I see now that I'll have to really increase the size as they get older </font>


penokee & Chris, this year I got fed up with wire fencing to protect plants and tried something new (new for me). Gemplers sells a very lightweight plastic fence/netting that is easy to handle & is supposed to be durable (I plan to reuse it every year like I did for years with wire fence). Instead of fencing around each individual tree, I fence around groups of trees that are in close proximity. Just a thought, but I started doing that a few years ago with wire fencing and it seemed to work better at protecting the trees. I just find the plastic easier to work with than wire.

If you are interested: Gempler's 4'x50' plastic utility netting

 

[Chuck52]

Bob,

I wonder if that's the same stuff I bought a couple of years ago that was called deer net. It's about as thick as monofilament fishing line. I used it to cover some new blackberries, and it did keep the deer out. However, the weeds grew up through it and it tore easily when I tried to take it up. I saved it, and I might drape it over the berries when they get bigger, or maybe use it to cover my cherry tree when the birds discover it, but it is a pain to deal with it when the weeds can grow through it.

Chuck

 

[Bob_Skurka]

Chuck, I don't know. I would say this is thicker than monofiliment fishing line. They have a similar product that comes in 7' and 15' wide rolls, that might be what you used? I drove "T" posts into the ground and attached this stuff with zip ties. I did some of it on a very windy day and it was blowing around, got is snagged on a few of the posts, but it never tore. I don't know if that will change after being exposed to the UV rays of the sun or the weather? I guess I'll find out this spring when I take it down. I just know it was easy to work with and it has been effective at keeping the deer away from my plants.

 

[BigGary]

Jim,
I'm just down the road a peice in Brookfield.
I have it from an expert that you would be doing the deer a big disservice if you start to feed grain or corn and then stop because of cost or bother. Their digestive system has the ability to change in some way to be able to digest the different feeds that they encounter. Once you start feeding this rich in protien feed they will become quickly accustomed to it and if you stop they will be under high stress.
I do not know this as fact but the game bioligist seemed to know what he was talking about.

 

[fishman]

The forage situation is obviously much different in MA as compared to TX, but here the practice of supplimentary feeding is quite common. I doubt you could find a game biologist in the state that would discourage feeding.

Corn is actually much lower in protein as compared to most browse. If you wanted to feed a good quality food, protein pellets are the preferred alternative. Spring and summer is usually the time when protein is fed, the goal being to improve fawn growth rates and build antlers.

In a cold winter when the deer are starving, corn would be a good choice imho.

 

[Bob_Skurka]

To nobody in particular, but to anyone who would feed deer . . . I don't really want to sound heartless here, but in my area the deer are so overpopulated that I'd never consider feeding them to keep the populations up. We have constant battles between car bumpers and deer. Crop damage is an issue. Deer in the suburbs getting lost in the housing tracts and busting through windows that reflect trees. Our deer populations are probably 10x the historical highs, there are very few predators to cull the herds other than hunting season. The occasional coyote will take down the weak ones, but the combination of coyotes and hunters is not enough to control the population explosion we are facing. If it keeps up, we will be seeing mass starvations or serious disease issues. Either of those will be horrible, but out of control populations EVENTUALLY get a dose of some sort of reality from nature.

All that said, I love to watch them, I don't hunt them, and they are beautiful creatures. But we (humans) decided to get rid of their natural enemies in many areas and now we are faced with some serious issues.

 

[BigGary]

Fish,
Right, however the important thing is once you start you need to continue untill another food source becomes available. And with 2 feet of snow on the ground that could be a while.

 

[Chuck52]

I'm with you Bob. We had a record harvest of deer in Missouri this past season and it didn't make a dent. On my 8 mile drive to work, I must see 50 road kill deer a year, and my quarter mile road frontage has been host to two cars in the ditch to avoid hitting deer in the last 12 months. If I were going to feed deer, the feed would be laced with birth control pills.

Chuck

 

[fishman]

You are absolutely right BigGary.