Transcript Nutrition - Georgia FFA

Nutrition & Supplemental
Feeding
Original Power Point Created by:
Andy Harrison
Modified by the GA Agriculture Education Curriculum Office
July 2002
Nutrition
• The greatest effects on antler quality are:
– Age
– Genetics
– Nutrition
Types of Feeders
• Generalist feeders
– Elk, moose, and mule deer
– Stay in the same area and eat what is available in
large quantities
• Specialized feeders
– Whitetail
– Wide range
– Stop in various areas looking for specific feeds
Forage Categories
• Grasses and grass-like plants
• Forbaceous plants
– Weeds
• Browse
– Leaves and twigs of woody plants
• Fruits of woody plants
• Mushrooms
Deer Forage
• Just because it’s green does not mean its
good deer feed
• Improved grasses such as coastal
bermuda offer little nutrition to
Whitetails
• Grasses and sedges
– High fiber content
– Less digestible to deer
Deer Forage
• Only a small portion of the diet is grass; usually
< 5%
• High grass intake occurs in late winter and
early spring
• Newly emerged or developed grass shoots are
more digestible
• Exceptions – cereal grains
– Wheat, oats, rye, and ryegrass are highly nutritious
Deer Forage
• In all areas deer prefer forbaceous plants
(weeds)
– Highly nutritious and easily digestible
– Some studies have been hard to validate due
to the rapid digestion of weeds
– Weeds only occur for a short period of time
– Value depends on weather or environmental
conditions
Deer Forage
• Weeds are high in protein
– Up to 35% protein
• High in phosphorous and some vitamins
Deer Forage
• Browse is a mainstay in most deer diets
– Includes the leaves and twigs of woody
plants
• Lower in quality than weeds but more
dependable and available
• Types of woody plants
– Determinant
– Indeterminate
Woody Plant Types
• Determinant
– Growth usually occurs in spring and fall
– After initial growth, young, tender shoots
emerge
• Indeterminate
– Growth is continuous
– Usually affected by rainfall
– New growth after rain period
Deer Forage
• Woody plants – new growth varies with
topographic position
– For example, lowlands verses hills
• Deer adjust movement to take advantage
of this pattern
Nutrition
• Mast – hard and soft fruits of woody
plants
– Includes corns, pecans, blackberries, and
grapes
• Seasonable in availability
• Counted on for supplement to diet
• Mast is more important in saturation
herd populations
Nutrition
• Mast usually important in colder months
• Used as an energy source
• Acorns
– High in fats and carbohydrates
– Low in protein
• Corn
– Attractant
– Energy source
• Apples and carrots
– Consumed in low mast production years
Mushrooms
• Critical; especially in phosphorous poor
soils
– Mushrooms have a high phosphorous
content
• Mushrooms normally grow in wetter
parts of the year
• Generally a good food source at this time
Meeting the Need With
Native Forage
• Protein and nutritional needs vary at
different times of the year.
• Generally, protein levels of forage are
highest in spring and fall
• Nutrition is affected by climate as well as
by topography
• Compensates for seasonal availability
Meeting Needs
• Deer have ability to recycle protein in their
bodies
– Recycle urea in the blood
– Thus can live without high protein feed for a
portion of the year
• Importance of seasonal protein availability
– Fawn production
– Growth of antlers
Supplemental Feeding
Concept
• An attempt to augment or supplement
the quality and perhaps the quantity of
available native forages
• Never intended to be “replacements”
• Should bring seasonal or periodic
deficiencies in line with physiological
needs of deer
Supplemental Feeding
• Popular with hunters, land owners, and
sportsman
• Mania’s - Joint vetch
– Sidetrack sound balanced approach
Quick Fix Mania
• No magic method
– Spike buck
• Caused some to eliminate age class of herd
– Joint vetch
• Used for imbalance in feeds
Basic Components
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Protein
Energy
Phosphorous
Calcium
– In most cases, one or more are lacking at
some point during the year
Basic Components
• Even in well managed herds, some
component may be the limiting factor in
reaching potential
• Supplemental feeding helps reduce the
negative impact of limiting factors
• Population control
• Habitat management
Supplementing
• Feeding
• Food plots
• Mineral supplements
Feeds
• Feed requirements are different than those of
other animals
• Corn
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High in energy
Low in protein (7-9%)
Low in certain amino acids
Useful when carbohydrates and fat are needed
Consumed late fall and winter
Feeds
• Prepared Feeds
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High in protein (16%+)
2:1 calcium: phosphorus ratio
Essential vitamins and other nutrients
Carbohydrates and fats are added to supply
energy
– Most are pelleted
Problems With Pellets
• Do not stand up to weather
• Feeders
– Should provide dry storage
– Do not limit access – especially to bucks
– Reduce possibility of spoilage or pest
problems
– Should provide enough capacity
Feeders
• In growing season, bucks do not like to
stick their heads down into a feeder or
any other area that may cause damage to
velvet
• They also do not like the idea of sticking
their heads in a closed box
Feed Spoilage
• Fungi
– Sometimes toxic
• Disease organisms can be transmitted to
infected animals
• Feeder should have drainage holes in
bottom
• Feeders should be disinfected
periodically
Timed Feeders
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Mostly used for baiting deer for harvest
Seldom dispense adequate amounts
Susceptible to moisture contamination
Solar powered are best
Best for dispensing corn or grain type
feeds
Supplemental Feeders
• Use declines after rainfall period
• Supplemental feeding critical after hunting
season is closed
– Offsets late winter stress
• Located in home ranges
– Deer will not move to include feeder in home area
– Locate near travel paths and in protected areas
Cost of Supplemental
Feeding
• Normally eat 4 – 6 pounds/day
• Cost is around $200 - $300/ton
• Each deer will consume 1,000 #/yr in a
210 day feeding period
Food Plots
• Should be in areas of adequate rainfall –
east of 35” line
• Should be properly managed and
distributed
Properly Managed Food
Plots
• Plant species should match climate and soil
• Adjust soil for pH and nutrients (NPK)
• There is no one single plant variety for every
situation or climate
• Avoid
– Varieties touted to grow in all conditions
– Varieties promising to solve all deer nutritional
problems
Choice of Plant Species
• Supplemental feeding year round
• Determine what season is most critical
for nutritional stress
• Make sure feed provides correct
nutrients when needed
– 16% protein
– 2:1 Ca: P ratio
– > 50% digestible
Planning Food Plots
• Timing – clovers have good summer
potential but do not reach peak in critical
time
• Ladino clover peaks in May/June in the
South and usually competes with native
forage
Planning of Food Plots
• Cost consideration
– Monitor cost of product
– Competitive with native vegetation
– Cost of controlling undesirable vegetation
Combination Plantings
• Cereal grains and legumes can be
combined for cool seasons
– Arrow leaf clover, ryegrass, oats, and elbon
rye can be used on upland clay to sandy
loam sites
– White dutch clover and wheat can be used
on bottom lands
• Inoculate legumes – proper inoculants
Plantings
• Cereal grains and clovers – not much
chance of winter kill
• Summer Plantings – common field peas
– High yield potential
– Highly nutritious
– In dry weather they do not produce
vegetative growth because they are usually
eaten quickly
Plantings
• Peas
– In favorable years plants mature and then
deer consume entire plants rapidly
– Basically a short-term feed
• Summer clovers and legumes
– Type depends on geographic region
– Alyce clover, sweet clover, red clover, and
joint vetch are good choices
Establishment
• Cost for slightly acid soil
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Liming
Fertilizer
Seed
Labor
Total
$25
$40
$27
$15
$107
Establishment
• Cost for properly maintained soil (mowed each
fall)
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Fertilizer
Seed
Labor
Total
$20
$20
$15
$55
– Can further reduce cost by selecting species that reseed, such as arrow leaf clover
Planting
• Divide food plot in half
– Half cool season
– Half warm season
• Include a year-round supplemental food
• Plant a small plot test to assess varieties
and management
• Always soil test
Mineral Supplementation
• Salt in large quantities is not healthy for deer
• Mineral should be limited to no more than 35%
salt
• Critical components of the supplement are
calcium and phosphorous
• Deer seldom lick blocks
– They usually wait for salt to melt under rainfall
Minerals
• Best fed in small troughs covered by a
roof
• Laying a trough in the ground results in a
potential for spread of disease pathogens
• Must be periodically cleaned