Deer scared of my corn feeder

[Tom Anderson]

I set out a corn feeder over a month ago and deer still aren't eating from or near it.  In fact, there's not any tracks anwhere close to it.  Maybe it'll taken 'em a year or so to get used to it?
Lots of turkeys visit, though.  

[bbassi]

they may not know what corn is. do you have corn growing around there at all?

[Terry Green]

They will walk right by a pile of corn to get to a sweet white oak....bet they are eating acorns.

[metsastaja]

Im betting on the acorns and here Palmetto berries.  Feeders are just a passing thought this time of year. They usually return right after the season is over.    

[Tom Anderson]

bbassi,
They definitely know what corn is. They ate on a 5-gallon bucketful that I put in the woods.

Terry, my feeder is at the edge of a soybean field near where I've seen deer come out of the woods several times over the years. Do you think I should put it in the woods for better success?

There's quite a bit of oaks around, but I haven't seen many acorns on the white oaks this year.

[Pat B]

Put soy beans in the feeder!      Pat

[Toklat1]

I put a feeder out last year in an area saturated with white oaks. The raccons had a feast. Deer wouldn't touch it!

[OkKeith]

It can take a while for deer to get used to eating corn. If it is not a consistant part of their diet, their digestive tracts have to develop the right bugs to digest it I believe.

I put calf pellets ($10 a 50lbs. bag at the feed store) as well as corn out. Goat pellets work well too.

They could be hitting it at times you don't see as well. Do you have a trail cam set up there?

OkKeith

[wingnut]

They aren't scared of it, they just don't care about it.  The reason corn works in places like S. Texas is that the local chow is not as good.  But heck you got soybeans and oaks right there.  they aren't going to go for the corn til those are all gone.

I'd spend my time finding the access points to and from the feed areas and hunting those instead of feeding the racoons corn.

Mike

[Steertalker]

Terry is right......if there are abundant acorns around they won't touch a corn feeder except on occasion.  That's why they work so well in W. Texas because there's nothing to eat except rocks and cactus  

Brett

[Little Chief]

Try some Buck Jam on the corn.  It migh help get them to hit.

[Tom Anderson]

Many folks around here hunt over corn piles that they just dump on the ground, usually in the woods...they just seem to not want to come near my feeder.

[Terry Green]

Ah....soy beans....soft, chewy and delicious....yum.

Wait till the beans are gone......

[Bill Carlsen]

I'm with Terry on this one. They have preferred foods. We have a feeder that has been in the same place for at least 5 years and it has always been busy. This Fall, however, they are nowhere to be seen.....too may apples and acorns nearby. In time they will find it and add it to their menu.

[Talondale]

Remember corn is just carbohydrates and beans and acorns are protein.  The deer have different needs at different times of the year.  The carbs will be needed more as it gets colder and they need energy to burn to keep warm.  If mother nature is providing plenty of the right food you aren't going to be able to compete.

[Bill Turner]

Corn is king with Texas deer hunters but.......when the acorns are available they will not touch the corn. The soy beans are killing you. When they are gone the deer will come. Of course your NC hunting season might be over by then. Get away from that feeder. Hunt the game trails leading to and from the beans.

[Bird Dog]

Throw and smash some apples around the feeder.
That'll bring em in.

[SOS]

Save the feeder for the trail camera in the off season.  Go hunt the deer, don't make the deer hunt the food.  Hunt trails, funnels, and acorns.