How to get deer to come to your feeder

While some property owners try their hardest to repel deer from their garden or yard because of the trouble they sometimes cause, others want to encourage deer to visit their property for viewing or hunting purposes. One of the best ways to attract deer to your property is through the use of deer feeders. This article will focus on how to get deer to come to your feeder and property.

Attracting Deer With Corn

There are many ways to encourage deer to visit your property or garden more often. Certain scents, plants or foods can be very effective, but the most inexpensive way to attract deer is through corn. You can place corn piles in areas already frequented by deer and be sure that they will find it. Once the deer get familiar with these corn piles, you can start to slowly move them to more unfamiliar areas, such as your back yard. Your deer will start to visit these places more often, in search of their next meal. A downside to this technique is the fact that you’ll have plenty of thieves such as squirrels and other animals stealing your corn over time. Now let’s take it up a notch and see how to attract deer to your feeder.

How to Attract Deer to Your Feeder

One of the best and efficient ways to attract deer to your property is by using deer feeders. Automatic deer feeders are specifically designed to release any sort of feed at precise intervals, with minimal human involvement and maintenance required. If you want to opt for a premium automatic deer feeder, you will only have to change the batteries every few months.
Once you made your purchase and installed your feeders it’s time to take a closer look on how to attract deer to your feeder. You can use a variety of foods and scents to slowly lure the bucks or does to your feeder – peanut butter and corn piles work best. Once the deer get used to the feeders and are not frightened by it, they will visit it more often.

How Long Does it Take Deer to Get Used to a Feeder?

It normally takes around three weeks for deer to get used to a feeder. During this transition phase, you should avoid doing any maintenance work on your feeder and let the herd get accustomed to their new food source. It’s also a good idea to buy an automatic deer feeder that can blend in with the environment and not appear threatening. These are the basics on how to get deer to come to your feeder.

Best Time to Set Automatic Deer Feeders

The best time to set automatic deer feeders depends on whether you are using the feeder for population management or hunting. If you are using the feeder to increase the health of your deer, you can set it to dispense feed once in the morning and once in the afternoon for a few seconds each time. You can do a couple of tests and see how much feed gets dispensed with each feeding session. On the other hand, if you plan to use the feeder for hunting, you can set it to dispense food for a couple of seconds close to your hunting hour.

How Long Does it Take Deer to Find Corn?

It takes between 1 or 2 days for deer to find corn, but in some cases it can happen sooner, if the area is well traveled. It also depends on the number of deer in the area and their travel routes. If you want to make the process go smoother, you can try using powered attractants or apple slices.