Americana Outdoors E-Magazine - February 2018

BALANCING DEERNUTRITIO

Itisimportanttoprovideawel-balancedwildlifefeedthatprovidesalthenutrientclasesin properamountstomeetyouranimal'sneeds. Deer,likealruminantanimals,eattomeettheirenergyneeds.Theneedforenergydrivesdaily intake.It’sthisneed,andtheappealofpalatabilitythatinfluenceswhatadeereats.Deermay needtoeatmoreofalow-energyfeedinordertomeettheirdemandforcalories.Likewise,deer mayneedtoeatlesofahigher-quality, higher-energyfeed. Sincedeereattomeetanenergyre- quirement,theothernutrients(fiber,protein,vitaminsandminerals)mustbeinproportionwith theenergyamount, sothatthedeergetswhatitneedsofalnutrientsintheamountoffeedthat itwileat.Forinstance,ahigh-energylow-proteinfeedwilnotprovideenoughproteinbecause thedeerwileatonlyuntilitsenergyrequirementismet.Ahigh-energy,low-fiberfeed(suchas corn)canactualygetyourdeerintroubleiftheyeattoomuchatonce. Deeralsoliketoeatwhatispalatable.Givenachoice, theywileatthemorepalatablefeed, even ifthelespalatablefeedcontainsmoreofthenutrientstheyneed. Cornisaperfectexampleofa highlypalatablebutnutritionalydeficientfeedthatdeerwileatbeforeeatingalmostanything else, eventotheirowndetriment. Whenchoosingafeed,it’simportanttoreviewthefeedingrate.Whileacertainfeedmayhavea higherpriceperbag,itmaycostles peryearbecausedeerwilneedtoeatles.Ontheother hand, afeedthathasbeencheapenedupbyincreasingthefiberandashcontentwilhaveanap- pealingpricetagbutmayendupcostingmoreinthelongrunbecauseyouwilhavetofeedmore ofit.Feedingdeerlargeamountsofsomethinginexpensiveandpalatablelikecornwilalsocost inlostproductivityandantlergrowth.Makingsuredeergetthebalancednutritiontheyneed year-roundcanresultinoptimal antlergrowthandhealth, maximizingproductionandprofitabili- ty.antlergrowth. Awel-balanceddietof16%proteinandaddedfatandmineralstosupportrepro- ductionisofgreaterbenefitthanjustcornduringthistimeofyear.