Top Dressing Rations For Whitetail Deer

With maximum antler size being the main concern for most whitetail deer herd managers, there is a nutritional practice being seen as a common practice on many farms. Managers will take a complete ration, then blend or cut that ration with commodities perceived as nutritionally dense or top dresses that are often deemed as miracle pills for increasing antler size. Often these top dresses are sold on the precursor that all rations are lacking whatever properties they contain and by simply topdressing, they will correct all of the nutritional flaws that are found in your ration. These types of additives do not typically hurt anything, but will often cost more than a ton of premium complete feed for just a few pounds. Sadly, most will have no response or research to back them up other than anecdotal evidence.

With today’s focus on genetics in the whitetail world, we are seeing larger antlered deer than ever before mainly due to genetic selection and management. It has become common place for these types of additives to take credit for great genetics and management though.  We can’t compare deer from 20 years ago to today’s deer, they are simply a different animal genetically on well managed properties. While there are multiple micro ingredients and trace elements that are important for ration performance, simply mixing a topper will not fix a poorly formulated ration. Claiming that deer will improve due to the addition of one certain micro ingredient regardless of how that ration is formulated is simply not true. Complete ration formulation is key if you intend to get the most from a supplement or feed in whitetail deer.

Grain is extremely high in starch or NFC. This nutrient is energy dense and while deer will readily consume a ration at first that has a high amount, it will ultimately have a negative impact on their digestive system. Starch can decrease the PH of the gut if fed in high amounts and can cause Acidosis, which is often a leading cause of nutritional stress and even death in many cases. Record Rack formulates deer feed with a max on NFC levels to be sure we are providing as much safe energy as we can, while limiting the negative effects of starch. While grain is a great attractant and energy source when used in limited amounts, I never recommend cutting a pelleted ration with grain to try to bring the energy level up. The negative effects of acidosis will far outweigh the benefits. If body condition is a concern, the total fat level in the ration needs to be increased, but again consumption will need to stay the same or increase if you want to see a response.

So how do we know if a ration is missing something? The most important property a deer ration has to have is consistent palatability. Deer must consume the feed consistently in order to elevate the nutritional plane and maximize their genetic potential for antler growth. Animal Nutrition companies like Cargill, have done their homework and understand that in order to increase consumption in whitetail deer, you have to have a positive nutritional response when deer consume the feed. This takes a lot of nutritional savvy, with deer being concentrate selectors. This means that they have the ability to experience positive or negative feedback relatively quickly after they consume a particular forage or feed. Based on whether this feed-back is positive or negative determines if they will consistently consume that particular concentrate. Consistent intake can be used to determine if a feed is better for deer simply based on how they consume it day after day provided the feed is balanced correctly for growth. I believe any additive that does not improve consistent intake is typically a waste of money provided you are feeding a balanced ration like Record Rack feeds.

Please be leery of using any top dresses that may alter the mineral profile of any of our complete rations. The Calcium/Phosphorus ratio and trace mineral levels are formulated to specific levels in our complete rations for a reason. Altering these mineral profiles can have an antagonistic effect and actually tie up minerals making them unavailable for absorption which will ultimately limit production. Please be aware that more is not always better when it comes to mineral inclusion.

If you would like to learn more about supplemental feed, or discuss your current feeding program, please contact us on our website or Facebook page.