What can I do to insure deer get all the nutrition they need to express their full potential on a limited amount of land?

By Grant Woods,

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Question
Dr. Woods, what advice would you have to make sure deer get the right nutrients and what source of food to use with a limited amount of land? I only have the tract of land that deer travel on after they leave their bedding area and do not have enough space to start a food plot. Thank you for your time and God Bless.

Caleb,

Deer often have a home range of several hundred acres.  It’s difficult to significantly shrink the size of a deer’s home range.  Deer need quality food, cover, and water and where this exists in close proximity deer tend to have smaller home ranges.  

So, I’d start by evaluating the quality of food, cover, and water on your land and the neighboring properties.  If you don’t have enough room for a food plot, then it seems the only option would be to use supplemental feed if that’s legal in your area.

Most folks overlook cover or security as a great deer attractant.  Don’t forget that insuring deer feel secure and unpressured where you hunt can be just as attractive as a quality source of food. Deer spend most of their daylight hours in cover and that’s when we hunt! I put a lot of time into managing and providing cover!  This can mean making sure you go out of your way to not alert deer on your property!  

Enjoy creation,

grant