Birdseed for deer!

[Tedd]

Sale priced birdseed (black oil sunflower) from tractor supply makes an inexpensive food plot. You don't need to buy specific high priced seed. Deer really like the leaves. Especially when they are about 12"-18" tall. The plants should stand for some low cover into the fall so deer feel safer passing through. I don't know what kind of wildlife the seeds will attract yet.
 I can't really compete with all the ag around me so this is just a low budget treat for the deer to keep the interested.

[Tedd]

Earlier the deer liked them so much that they would lay right beside the sunflowers so they wouldn't have to go far to get them. Or the pants just so rich that the deer would quickly get their fill and have to lay down to chew cud. These beds were everywhere. I have been messing around too much planting other plots and the deer aren't as bold as they were.

[Tedd]

So I planted some more cheap seeds at later intervals. They may never get flowers. It's just give them a variety. Some of the plots have Egyptian wheat for screening. The Egyptian wheat seems to really grow in this extreme heat we have had as long as it gets some rain.
 It's all experimental to me. Never planted anything for deer before. I have some of everything out. So it will be interesting to see what if anything draws deer into bow range in the fall.

[durp]

Don't know about the plants but the deer will clean out my bird feeders every chance they get...hope it works out for ya!

[Tim Finley]

When we plant sunflowers we plant hybrids they develop the big heads that produce the seeds . When you plant bird food it does get small and multiple heads heads but doesn't produce much for seeds but deer do liked the leaves at a certain stage. If you bought one bag of hybrids and planted it as a food plot you would not only have leaves early in the year but winter forage on the heads . Deer love sunflowers  if you have a corn field and a sunflower field side by side the deer will always be in the flowers .

[Pat B]

Should make a heck of a dove field too.
 If it's different than the surrounding fields the deer should love it.

[Terry Green]

Sunflowers will attract everything.

We had many a barrel melting dove hunts over Sunflowers 🌻

[dnovo]

I planted about 1/2 acre of sunflowers last year. They came up pretty good but when they got 5-6” tall the deer cleaned out every single one of them.

[Tedd]

I noticed the birdseed has the tendency for multi heads. We do have an acre or so of the real seed and those only get one head. We have a patch of Russian giants also.
If the birdseed stuff doesn't get decent seeds, I'll use the real stuff next year.
 I was wondering if it would bring in doves. The Berretta Silver Pigeon could use some work since the sporting clays placed was closed most of the summer.
I'm hoping some turkeys come by. We have some around but not really on my property. I have let some grass go and its full of grasshoppers.

[Friend]

Quite rewarding to see your labor pay big dividends...

[Tedd]

They are growing even better now. I had an area where I threw the last of the Egyptian wheat in the seeder w the sunflower. And it really makes a nice place for deer to linger. The tall stuff make a little shade and cover. There is also a spot where I threw in some sunn hemp among the sunflowers and that is really thick. Deer like to eat the sunn hemp the best.

[Mike Bolin]

Tedd-was just on one of the habitat forums reading about planting sunflowers as an addition to fall grain plots. The poster said they get about 6-8" tall and then the deer just hammer them! I'm planning to plant my fall plots this weekend and I'm going to add some sunflowers. By chance was the brand name of the seed you bought at TSC" Royal Wing"? That's the brand name that our local TSC carries. Just wondering since you had good results with your planting. Thanks, Mike

[Tedd]

Yes, I think that was the name. They had some 40 lb bags. I would think that if you were in a less agricultural setting that the deer would eat them all. There are plenty of other things for deer to eat around here. So they didn't eat them all. Some spots were hit harder.
Tedd

[Mike Bolin]

Thanks for the reply Tedd. I'm picking up a 12# bag and planting them in a mix with winter rye and oats. May work well, but if the deer like them, great! If not, I am not out much. Thanks again>>>--------->Mike

[Bvas]

I’ve been mixing sunflowers in with my food plots for several years now. My sunflower plots aren’t big enough to survive the deer, so none ever make it to get heads.

So every year we plant sunflowers around the garden. As the sunflowers die off I collect the heads. (Gotta be quick to get them before the birds). Removing the seeds from the heads is pretty easy. Then I just put the seeds in a thick pair of pantyhose and hang them up in the garage to dry. Free food plot seed year after year.

[Huntschool]

I'm planning to plant my fall plots this weekend and I'm going to add some sunflowers. By chance was the brand name of the seed you bought at TSC" Royal Wing"? Thanks, Mike

Mike:  You might want to check the maturity/growth length on those sunflowers.  For some reason I think its better then 90 days...  I think...

[Tedd]

Huntschool, that's too much pressure! It doesn't matter how much they grow. It's just cheap deer food. If you happen to have some open land then the cheap sunflowers make quick wildlife food and cover.

[Tedd]

BTW, where the heck do deer get that big like the one in your photo?

[Huntschool]

BTW, where the heck do deer get that big like the one in your photo?

Southernmost Illinois (6 1/2/hours south of Chicago).  Johnson, Pope and Harden Co's.  We can grow some big uns.....  Here is a better pic:



164 3/8,  He is a 10 but there is disparity from side to side.  He has a short G4 (you cant see it) on his right beam and a short G2 on his left beam.  The G2 on his right beam is 14".  That little one on his left beam is 6.5"

[Huntschool]

Huntschool, that's too much pressure! It doesn't matter how much they grow. It's just cheap deer food. If you happen to have some open land then the cheap sunflowers make quick wildlife food and cover.

Turnips are cheap food..... or any winter greens.