Nutritionist

Does anyone have the name of any independant nutritionists that are familiar with whitetails and the goals of deer farming? I say "independant" because I am not looking for someone who wants to sell me their product. I like my feed and have great success with it, however, I want to make sure I am getting the most out of my mix. I already had a mixture analysis performed and now I need a nutritionist to read the report.



Any help is greatly appreciated.

Whatever your feed mixture is, it's working, I wouldn't change a thing, all your deer look fantastic!! I love Wideout, what an incredible look, who is he out of?

Thank you sdibigbucks, I appreciate the kind words. Wideout is BJ, Blue#34 (Goliath's triplet sister), Pa Geronimo, Heavy and Chief on the Dam side bred to a Sundance grandson.

Hey Dan,

I realize that this question might be somewhat of a confidential nature considering the competitive nature of the business, but here goes anyway...



I raised one doe who is now 2-yrs old and she is living on a rehabber's farm with approx 12 other deer (two recently died). I am going to have a custom feed mixed for all of the deer as my gift to the rehabber, and I want to do it right.



I am presently mixing:



Deer Chow (Purina)

COB (corn, oat, barley- organic version)

Golden Deer nuggets

some probiotics that I am buying at TSC which is not Species-specific and I realize I need to get the good stuff now.

peanuts in shell



If you were to improve my feed mix- WHAT WOULD YOU ADD?



Anyone experience deer farmers input is very welcome.

thanks to all for your help,

lana

Lanasvet:



I use a dry mix variety of corn, grains, seeds, beans etc coupled with a protein pellet. I then add my mineral mix, probiotics and molasses to hold it all together. I never used deer chow or golden deer nuggets so I cannot comment on those products. I don't see where you are adding minerals so I assume that the deer chow or nuggets have minerals premixed? The quality of the feed, minerals and probiotics that you use will depend on what your goals are. There also must be good quality forage available for the deer to eat. I plant my pens with different grasses, clovers, alfalfa and some other products from whitetails institute. Where forage is unavailable you must supplement by providing quality forage.



So to answer your question, if you are not providing minerals, then do so. You already mentioned that you will be upgrading the probiotics that you are currently using. Consulting with a nutritionist is the best thing to do, unfortunately they are not easy to come by. In fact, I have not had one response to this post. There are companies that will test your feed to determine its exact contents at a low cost. However, once you get the results, you need a nutritionist (who knows deer) to determine where you can improve and still maintain good health.



I hope this helps.

We feed Purina Antlermax and supplement it with a little corn and alfalfa. We have visited the Purina research center in Missouri and I can tell you, there is no way an individual can began to match the research they have done and continue to do. They not only feed deer but every species there is. All of that knowledge just can't be matched. A lot of what people are adding to their feed is unnecessary and the deer get no added value. Just because a little of something is good a lot isn't always better.



For example we have never added probiotics to our feed - deer don't need it unless they are stressed or sick. As far as nutritionists, Purina has the best. Have you ever met Dr. Larry Varner? When you see and hear what they are doing and continue to do, there is no way you would ever try to put together a feed yourself. You can't begin to match what they have already done for many years.

Daniel, I like the way you are evaluating your program. Key words are Independant and someone not trying to sell me something. I have been in the feed business for almost 20 years and seen alot. Be glad to help you out.



Monty Irvin



817-648-3904

Thank you very much Dan for your kind and thorough response. I also appreciate the Wisconsin deer farmer's advice.



I am feeding Purina Deer Chow and she does well on it, but I need to give her some more minerals b/c she is licking her mineral block quite a bit...



best to all,

Lana

Lana, talk to your Purina rep. They can help you customize your feed to meet any special needs. When we put mineral blocks in the deer don't touch them. We had an issue with one of our big bucks being thin, even though he was healthy. Our Purina rep helped us add some fat to just that pen with a product they have called Amplify. They will come out and evaluate the body condition of your deer.

If you have not tried Purina's Textured Antlermax, you should. We are extremely pleased with our body weights, antler development and the deer find it very palletable.

I have an independent nutritionist that works for me with 30 plus years of whitetail deer nutrition experience.