I was just wondering what is the average amount of feed a deer eats per day. Is it around 2 lbs.? I know it depends on alot of different things, but I'm not looking for an exact amount, just in general. 2-3 or 4 lbs.? Trying to figure out what it costs to feed one for a year.
Joined Apr 2009
1,485 Posts | 0+
Vaughn, MT 59487
Woody,
I kept track of feed consumed last year on about 100 head from fawns to adults. It is my thoughts a deer will eat 5% of his body weight a day. So a 140# deer will eat 7# of feed a day and probably waste or leave 1# of hay
With that said just take 5% of your deers weight for the amount it will eat a day. I think the bigger deer will eat about 1/2 their required feed in pellets and grain with the rest being third cutting hay. Pellets were fed free choice and grain was fed at a fixed rate and hay was free choice.
Here is what I averaged from August to April with that group of 100 deer.
1.75# of pellets a day per deer as an average and 1.20# of grain a day per deer average. But we know the bigger deer ate more and the smaller fawns ate less.
I would have to assume they ate the rest they would require in hay.
I kept track of feed consumed last year on about 100 head from fawns to adults. It is my thoughts a deer will eat 5% of his body weight a day. So a 140# deer will eat 7# of feed a day and probably waste or leave 1# of hay
With that said just take 5% of your deers weight for the amount it will eat a day. I think the bigger deer will eat about 1/2 their required feed in pellets and grain with the rest being third cutting hay. Pellets were fed free choice and grain was fed at a fixed rate and hay was free choice.
Here is what I averaged from August to April with that group of 100 deer.
1.75# of pellets a day per deer as an average and 1.20# of grain a day per deer average. But we know the bigger deer ate more and the smaller fawns ate less.
I would have to assume they ate the rest they would require in hay.
Hi, my family has been raising deer since 1993.We bring our deer to shows from MN to Kansas and in between. In the trailer the bucks eat 4-5.lbs of grain and a handful hay.
Dillan,I was just wondering what kind of show's you take your deer to.If you don't mind,would you give me a call (859)803-2776
Thank you,Hillbilly
Thank you,Hillbilly
I believe these are the Porters that take the deer around to school's and do an excellent educational peice, not only about the deer but also about our industry. Great work Dillan!
Average on adults - 5 lbs. per head per day!
Average on adults - 5 lbs. per head per day!
Thanks Holly, yes we do bring our bucks to the schools and various sportsmans shows around the upper midwest. Our fall school tour will be starting in about three weeks. I will be going with dad for three of our four weeks that are scheduled. It is a lot of work, but also alot of fun
It's all based on what you pay for your feed, our feed in Canada seem to be cheaper than anywhere else, last year $129 to $149 per tonne (2200 lbs) so it costs me $65 to $75 per animal per year
They can't ship pellet's across the Canada /US border, only whole grain. I don't buy a "DEER FEED" I srarted working with a new mill and we modified one of their existing ration templates and adding the vitamin and minerials that we needed. My oppinion, mills and feed company's are ripping people off by calling if a deer feed and charging more for it ...they we the same stuff to make feed for cattle and charge a lot less