Dr. Larry A. Redmon, Extension Forage Specialist, Department of Agronomy, Oklahoma State University, gives some tips about supplemental feeding.
Recently there has been a rash of articles written in the popular press about what to plant and what to feed in order to produce "megabucks." Much of the writing is done by individuals who have little, or no understanding of basic ruminant physiology. I recall an article in one of the "late arrival" whitetail magazines in which a staff writer attempted to explain how the rumen functions in a whitetail deer. Not only was he off the mark, he was reporting downright falsehoods as fact! One common misconception about deer nutrition relates to whether you have to plant a forage crop or not. This depends on the overall program. Extensive deer management programs that involve large parcels of land many times simply require that hunters get control of the number of deer in the program. As you attempt to get the herd under control you should also be working to improve the existing habitat. As the habitat is improved, the number of animals that can be supported may be increased, and thus, the number of deer that can be harvested each year may increase. I generally insist that hunters initially work to control deer herd numbers and to improve or maintain the existing habitat before ever considering a more intensive approach where they get into the farming or feeding business.
If you choose to plant a forage crop, however, be aware that there is no one forage that will grow all year long under all conditions. There are several clovers being marketed right now that make some absurd claims about their ability to grow, persist, and draw all of your neighbors' deer across the fence to your property. Some of the forages promoted do not even produce foreage when the deer need it! You can obtain better results for much less expense. Think in terms of combination plantings that involve both warm season and cool-season forages. This enhances the probability of producing a crop when deer actually need the forage and minimizes the risk of a crop failure. Some good combiniations include wheat pasture planted in combination with oats and rye and a late-maturing annual clover such as arrowleaf.
Summer plantings could include different types of peas (cowpeas, mungbeans, etc.) along with alfalfa, where it will grow. Where there is adequate precipitation, alyce clover or american jointvetch are also good summer forages to plant in combination with the peas. Using two different planting sites, one for warm season and one for cool season, allows some overlap in production and reduces the amount of time that the deer are without forage of high nutritive value. If you want to basically mimic the clovers being sold, check with your local county agent about the Ladino (white) clovers adapted to your area and plant two or three of the varieties together. You will essentially have the same product as "Monsterbuck Clover" but with a much lower investment in seed cost.
Other products to be cautious of are the products that are extremely high in crude protein. Most of the products in excess of 18-20% crude protein are primarily urea-based products. This material is rapidly degradable in the deer rumen and much of the material winds up being excreted and wasted. Deer simply do not require and cannot utilize the extremely high levels of crude protein provided by these products. A sound forage program more adequately addresses the nutritional needs of deer and at a lower cost.
The bottom line is that if one of the deer nutrition products you are thinking about pruchasing sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Save your money. Work on thinning the deer herd you presently have, work to improve the existing habitat, and concentrate on imporving the age structure of the buck segment of the herd. Do all these things first, then let's talk about supplemental feeding...