How to Use a Deer Feeder to Attract Deer

A deer feeder can bring wildlife right into your backyard, giving you a glimpse of this wild animal up close. These tips will help you use your feeder properly, so that you have a view of the best that your local wildlife has to offer.

Choose Your Location

One of the most important things that you can do is to choose a location that is away from the home, with the deer feeder still visible. Deer can occasionally become aggressive when threatened, so make sure that guests are aware of the feeder so that they can maintain their distance. You may also want to restrict your pet's access to the area, since some animals, like dogs, can frighten the deer away. A good option for placement of the feeder is an open field, or the edge of a wooded area with the feeder visible but a good distance away from the home.

Choose Your Food

Deer will eat a mixture of grains, including prepared deer pellets, corn and other types of grains. You can purchase these foods from your local feed and grain shop, or a farm supply store. Typically, you will want to choose a whole grain, such as dried corn, to use in your deer feeder. Not only are whole options healthier, they will also only need to be replaced every few days depending on the number of deer that visit your feeder.

Corn is also a little less costly than prepared deer pellets, which will tend to spoil if left in the rain or snow. You will want to check the corn in your deer feeder about twice a week, remembering to wash your hands before touching the food. This will help ensure deer aren't afraid to come close to the feeder. Also, remember to use the same type of corn or feed on a regular basis to help keep the deer coming back.

When to Feed Deer

Some people only use their deer feeder in late fall and winter, but deer will come to your home year round if you provide food for them. It is often best to begin trying out your feeder in the cooler months, however, since food will become scarcer and deer will be more open to wandering into inhabited areas for food. One of the benefits of feeding deer year round is that in the spring and summer months you will be able to see both parents and offspring come to the feeder.

Does usually give birth to their fawns in the spring, when many homeowners stop using their deer feeder. While it isn't necessary for the survival of the deer to use a feeder year round, if you love watching these spectacular creatures, it is well worth the extra effort to feed them year round.

A deer feeder can bring you hours of entertainment with a little planning. You will find that the deer feeder will have regular visitors, which you may come to recognize within just a couple of weeks. You will love being able to see these deer grow and have their families each year.

This piece was written by Anthony Meyers, who is an avid outdoorsman and promotes the use of tripod deer feeders and hanging deer feeders.