NEED a feed formula

Hey guys I am in need of a super quality feed formula to have my feed mill make for me to feed to free range whitetail deer. Any help would be appreciated.

P.S. I am located in Georgia.

Any chance of getting someone to help me come up with a feed formula to feed free range whitetails.??

What is your reason for wanting to feed the deer........why not plant food plots? A lot of the farmers on here have worked very hard for their feed recipies and are not going to just print them out for all to see. It's not that no one wants to help..... its that your asking for something that alot of farmers keep to themselves.......all you need to do is talk with a nutritionist most feed mills can line you up with one....they will help you come up with a good quality feed for your deer. You better check and make sure you are aloud to feed your wild deer.....a lot of States have laws against it.

When you say free range are they wild or owned...If they are wild our recipe would not work good for One.... for Two most people would not pay what we pay for food.

Because most of what we use isn't needed in wild deer.

ddwhitetails said:

What is your reason for wanting to feed the deer........why not plant food plots? A lot of the farmers on here have worked very hard for their feed recipies and are not going to just print them out for all to see. It's not that no one wants to help..... its that your asking for something that alot of farmers keep to themselves.......all you need to do is talk with a nutritionist most feed mills can line you up with one....they will help you come up with a good quality feed for your deer. You better check and make sure you are aloud to feed your wild deer.....a lot of States have laws against it.

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My reason for feeding deer, as I do currently feed them, is to try to ensure that my heard is receiving as much quality nutrition as possible so the herd can be healthy and bucks can grow their antlers to their fullest potential in the wild. I do plant many food plots. the soil in the area I am in ia naturally difficient in the minor elements essential for bone development in whitetail deer. I spend alot of money making sure these plots are maintained as they should be but I would think that feed and minerals would be another way to offer spontaneous feeders, such as deer, other options to fulfill their nutritional requirements. Plus, since I have been feeding , I have noticed much better results in the size and health of my herd.

I am not looking for anyone to just print their formula out over the net, rather maybe talk to me in private over the phone, etc.

Yes, we can feed where we are, just can't hunt over it.

PaintedMeadowsBJs said:

When you say free range are they wild or owned...If they are wild our recipe would not work good for One.... for Two most people would not pay what we pay for food.

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WILD free ranging deer. What do you pay for food?

dcwhitetails said:

when feeding wild free ranging deer you gotta come up with something that they prefer over browse,can be diffucult.they all love corn but all know, not but around 8%protien soybeans high on list,i think you might have diffucult time with pellets for wild deer, another option might be salt and mineral blocks.food plots can provide the protien.i tried feeding few wild they didnt like the pellets, corn only. only my thoughts Dc you might add the corn to get them started on a pellet formulated for deer best luck maybe winter,ps i dont think they will take to a feed mill mix with minerals, they will pick out the goodies such as corn soybeans.leave the rest.My thinking, but only trie few times not much sucsess other than corn,I would thinkm if left long enough they will graduall eat pellets though, isnt that what lot of big ranches doin feeding a pellet? maybe the hogs get most.

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I have a product that I add to the formula before it goes to the pellet mill that makes the deer want the pellets. I don't have a problem getting the deer to eat pellets. Just want help coming up with the best formula I can possibly come up with.

If you're really interested in giving the deer the best you possibly can follow dennis' advice. Find a nutritionist and evaluate your property, do a bite count(see what the deer are eating during the antler growing season, You may need to do this during each season to see what the deer are possibly lacking at that time) build a custom feed based on what the deer on your property are lacking,(atleast $500 a ton)and hope you get one or two bucks a year to eat 3-5lbs a day for them to truly reach their potential.



But then you have to sleep with the fact they may wander during the rut and be shot by a neighbor. The easiest way is to feed pellets in a protein feeder. In my part of Texas we have one every 250 acres or one per 25 deer. So you need to know deer density for your part of Georgia. Any of the major brands on the market will suffice, most of them cover the basics really well. Record Rack makes a bag mineral supplement as well that you use like a salt lick around food plots etc. Plus being a resident of Georgia you should have access to Dr Carl Miller's work, thats a benefit. I'm sure a lot of this info your local state biologist has access to without you going out and spending a lot of money doing it yourself, although a lot of that info is "broad".



Theres not a secret feed or supplement that truly improves the quality of deer. The biggest advantage deer breeders have is that they control the genetics and the entire diet of the deer in their pens. Thats the big difference. No ones trying to be rude or unhelpful its just that our feeds are designed for a controlled environment and most of the time when you take them out of that environment the results greatly differ. In my hunting area I feed Record Rack Professional 16 plus instead of corn they get golden nuggets and my native deer in there(2000 acres) are physicaly superior to their outside relatives. Thats just what I do and some suggestions as to what you can do. BTW Ive done most of this and still use a store bought feed in my hunting area.....

If your just feeding wild deer, why not just buy the bagged protein at the feedstore? or whatever the local mill makes? I'm sure they have MaxRax, Antlermax or whatever protein pellet they sell. I think pretty much anything they get will be better than the browse they're getting now. If you have a problem getting them to eat the pellet, just mix it with corn the first couple of times you fill up the feeder and then gradually reduce the corn till it's only protein. That works like a charm.

I would give you my formula but it is a ancient Chinese secrete and ican't tell anyone sorry.

virgil said:

I would give you my formula but it is a ancient Chinese secrete and ican't tell anyone sorry.

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Hey maybe I know the secret and I can let the cat out of the bag.......whats it worth to you Virgil for me to keep my big trap shut?

Dennis we all know what you feed you use red cap and dog food.

Yeah and your jealous of the antlers it grows!!!!! I don't have a bunch of half rack spikes running on my farm like they are on yours.......maybe you should try the dog food!!!!

What kinda dogfood? Where ya get it? How much does it cost? How much do you feed per head per day? Do you soak it in red cap?Just kiddin around. But I wonder. Naw never mind. Allen

Thanks Dennis, Virgil new we would find out sooner or later. Allen

Were you located cctanner?

I am located in Ga.



Thank all of you for your opinions. My thoughts were that I would try talking to some of you guys that do this with growing BIG antlered bucks in mind.

Again,my goal is to offer a complete pellet with the MOST quality packed into the pellet as possible. I know pellets are only one piece of the puzzle, but, I want to maximize my deers potential.

I am also interested in opinions about minerals.

Get a hold of Agra King they have best minerals on market for just about any thing. They will go above and beond to help you out. They may even come to your ranch and do research on what your deer are lacking by takeing samples and so on. PS, Now that cat is out of bag may want to use my dog food recepiet

As far as minerals go whitetail institute has good products, and as far as pellets find a deer farmer in your area and buy from him, I use buck bites, for tame and wild deer.

I'd like to hear the opinion of some of the guys feeding Moorman's/ ADM Feed. I believe it is one of the best out there and also has a complete mineral in the feed. But if you want them separate them out, Moormans' mineral is one of the best.