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Post by kooch on Jan 11, 2019 12:03:51 GMT -6
So I was talking to the county forester today and discussing bedding habitat. She was bullish on white and Norway spruce. So am I. She said, "After around 10 years you should really start seeing deer bed in and around them and grouse roosting in them, plant around 300/acre in clusters. Keep it random and not in rows..." Well that's great, I agree. But I need something short-term as well.
Aside from just cutting it and letting it all grow back, she thought something else might work along with spruce plantings..... "Maybe you could put a few large round hay bales in clusters to act as thermal cover of sorts. The deer will feed on them some in the Winter, but it's not a preferred food source. Just don't build big long walls with them or the deer will stay away because it'll just make it easier for predators. It's not an expensive option, give it a try and tell me how it goes."
My neighbor across the street has his hay baled into big round bales once a year. Maybe I could get a few from him and try this out. A couple clusters of big bales in an opening in the woods along side some spruce plantings.
Is this stupid?
edit - Also would be OK to screen the last bit of walk to the stands.
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Post by kooch on Jan 11, 2019 12:16:07 GMT -6
Or will all my deer eat the hay bales in the winter and die of starvation? This'd be a bummer. Dead deer and hay gone.
Would this be considered baiting if I hunted near them?
Man, the more I think about it the more complicated it gets. I'm just going to clear it all with a dozer and see what happens after a year or two. One acre at a time.
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Post by MoBuckChaser on Jan 11, 2019 12:53:23 GMT -6
First of all, good big rounds cost $100 or more each right now. You want to spend the money?
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Post by kooch on Jan 11, 2019 12:56:09 GMT -6
First of all, good big rounds cost $100 or more each right now. You want to spend the money? Nope. Done. City boy here. Didn't know what they cost. F that I guess. Thank you country boy.  |
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Post by wklman on Jan 11, 2019 13:03:36 GMT -6
First of all, good big rounds cost $100 or more each right now. You want to spend the money? What about straw or corn stalk? Deer wouldn't eat and still have it for cover. |
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Post by MoBuckChaser on Jan 11, 2019 13:18:20 GMT -6
First of all, good big rounds cost $100 or more each right now. You want to spend the money? What about straw or corn stalk? Deer wouldn't eat and still have it for cover. I would just let the round of any kind thought pass...... |
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Post by Catscratch on Jan 11, 2019 13:56:48 GMT -6
I have never seen a deer eat hay or from a bale... ever.
I have used them for blinds and they work great. Set two down side by side with enough gap to set a lawn-chair between them, butt a 3rd one up behind them to block the back of the gap, throw a piece of plywood on top. Warm, soundproof, dry, windproof...
Deer are not afraid of lines of them here. I get lots of trailcam pics of deer walking right beside them, just like they would skirt any barrier.
Cattle won't eat moldy hay. I can get lots of "old" big round's given to me if I just show up to move them. They take space from fresh hay bales and are worth little to nothing to rancher.
The big question is moving them. They are a pain to move if you don't have the equipment.
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Post by Bwoods11 on Jan 11, 2019 14:20:16 GMT -6
Regular square alfalfa bales, are gone in a week or two if we get snow. I love that for pictures and shed antlers. You have to take the bale apart, mix in corn and bingo, hundreds of good pictures or more and once in awhile an antler nearby.
More of a supplemental feed option.
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Post by kooch on Jan 11, 2019 14:46:40 GMT -6
I've done that with the nice wet green alfalfa bales in the past. I saw the same three does on it every day at the same time. Then, a dog and no deer for a couple days. Then the circle repeated. I didn't use any corn though, just a couple bales of the green stuff. This is specifically an idea to throw round bales out there in a freshly dozed acre and see what happens. If they are free and easy, I don't see why not. If I have to pay top dollar, then maybe not. $100 bucks gets me five bags of fertilizer. : 
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Post by Reagan on Jan 11, 2019 15:02:44 GMT -6
If you attract woofs by putting out a bale, I would stop.
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Post by sd51555 on Jan 11, 2019 15:06:52 GMT -6
I have never seen a deer eat hay or from a bale... ever. I have used them for blinds and they work great. Set two down side by side with enough gap to set a lawn-chair between them, butt a 3rd one up behind them to block the back of the gap, throw a piece of plywood on top. Warm, soundproof, dry, windproof... Deer are not afraid of lines of them here. I get lots of trailcam pics of deer walking right beside them, just like they would skirt any barrier. Cattle won't eat moldy hay. I can get lots of "old" big round's given to me if I just show up to move them. They take space from fresh hay bales and are worth little to nothing to rancher. The big question is moving them. They are a pain to move if you don't have the equipment. Genius. Out in western SD, my grandma has a childhood friend that now grazes like 10 or 15 sections. We went out years back to prairie dog hunt, and when we were done, he drove us around a little bit and showed us the life. We asked about these old piles of round bales (they were 2-3 years old) what they were going to do with them. He said they still feed them black moldy settled bales, that the cattle just keep nosing their way to the middle till they find good hay. I agree with Mo. That round bale idea seems like too much money and trouble. If you had three electricity bills and desired to make a floating road with government grade landscaping, then I could see trying it. But for a sane person... |
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Post by kooch on Jan 11, 2019 15:10:41 GMT -6
If you attract woofs by putting out a bale, I would stop. Only did it once. Learned my lesson. I wonder who's dog that is? |
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Post by jbird on Jan 11, 2019 16:49:21 GMT -6
If your clearing land...depending on what is on it currently, have the slash placed in piles and sort of try to create the same affect. When the seed bank sprouts and grows back you will have some "structure" in the area for the deer to relate to and potentially use to block the wind and the like....just an idea.
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Post by Foggy on Jan 12, 2019 13:43:05 GMT -6
I bought a few big round bales for $20 each last year. Cut them open.....and they are still largely in tact. I have not priced hay lately.......but last I looked you could buy lots of big bales for $15 to $30 a bale around the Brainerd area. I did consider placeing some bales on land too.....but wonder about the baiting issue when using them.
Edit: Just went to Craig's List to look at hay prices. Yowsir......hay is so much more this year than last year. Looks like good big round bales can sell anywhere from $65 to $150 or so. I thought hay was plentiful from last season.??
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Post by kabic on Jan 12, 2019 15:07:01 GMT -6
I think time of year has a impact on price, bales coming off the field compared to middle of winter.
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