Feeding Deer Nuts

Ken Norman wanted to monitor the effect of feeding deer nuts to velvet stags from button drop until velveting, he then measured velvet weights to see if there was a difference.

Aim: Are there benefits of feeding deer nuts to velvet stags from button drop until velveting

Tactics/Actions:

Method outline:

Ken has two mobs of 25 each. One mob was fed nuts and the other fed grass only. Both mobs were on a similar area of grass, with two paddocks each in rotation.

Pasture measurements were taken pre and post grazing.

Ken compared the velvet weight this year with last year of individual stags in each group.

Progress and issues:

• 18 August 2014 and 23 August 2014 mobs were selected and paddocks stocked

• Shifts on 3 September 2014 and 8 September 2014

• Pasture measurement pre and post grazing were taken

• Advice from feed supplier was to feed high protein calf pellets with rumensin taken out and “deer minerals” added.

• Pasture analyses undertake- subsequently analysis found pasture - high protein, lowNDF, high soluble sugars, high MJME. In hind-sight may have been better with a lower protein/higher fibre option

• There was a problem with grass grub in one paddock - a small adjoining paddock was opened for this group.

Outcome/Results:

Fifty stags were divided into two treatment groups at antler casting. Both groups had access to good quality pasture made up of plantain, clover and ryegrass. One group was fed a concentrate feed in the form of pellets “Deer Velvet Nuts” which was offered at up to 1.5kg/head/day and a total of 60kg/stag while the other group was kept on pasture alone. The total cost of the concentrate feed was $42 per stag. Antlers were harvested from all deer at the optimum harvest length according to the most recent velvet grading guidelines. Velvet antler weights were compared along with the increase in antler weight compared to the previous year. There were no statistically significant differences between groups in antler weight. Paddocks in which the stags fed meal had grazed had greater pasture covers at the end of the trial. The cost of feeding the stags was $51 per head. The value of the extra pasture was between $0 and $20 per head depending on how it is utilised. If the difference in mean antler weight was significant it would have valued approximately $25 per head. One stag in the “meal” group died and this may have been due to acidosis.

There was no financial benefit to feeding grain based supplement to velvet stags on good quality pasture during antler growth. There is a potential risk to the health of the stags. The results may have been different if the pasture had been of poorer quality or quantity.

PASTURE HEIGHT MEASUREMENTS

Pasture height was measured using a rising plate meter. These measurements were used to estimate grass growth rates and also to determine the difference in total herbage available at the end of the study in each treatment group.

Velvet growth

Average velvet weights for deer in the control and meal fed groups for 2012, 2013 and 2014 and the difference between the 2014 weights and previous years. Meal was only fed in 2014.

Download Ken's full project information below.

Projects