# DIY Big Tine Deer Feed



## cjgibson (Dec 13, 2013)

Hi guys. Anyone know of a recipe that's shadows the big time feed? I'm having trouble finding something that will give the feed the cherry smell. I don't think it is cherry jelo mix. Any ideas anyone? I think I have the basic grain part figured out and will share when I get some testing done. So far I'm looking at about 8.00 dollars for a 40 pound bag compared to 15-24 dollars u pay at the store.


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## cjgibson (Dec 13, 2013)

Surely someone has to know how they flavor this feed?


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## redbone311 (Sep 6, 2010)

I have no idea. But I would suggest looking at the ingredients list on the store version for a hint.


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## cjgibson (Dec 13, 2013)

The ingredients list says "cherry flavoring"


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## Wv helium (Aug 18, 2013)

Get a couple of bags of cherries, squeeze the juice out and add it to the mix. No? More natural that way or will it go bad?


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## cjgibson (Dec 13, 2013)

I'm thinking that would go bad. I'm gonna guess the cherry is in a powder form or is some sort of oil that is mixed in. The juice I think would make the feed sticky which is not the case. Another clue is the feed does not freeze. Weather in Indiana has been below 0 degrees and the 40 pound bag in the back of the truck has still not frozen. Any other ideas?


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## mdodraw29 (Apr 25, 2009)

Try cherry extract or grind dehydrated cherries


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## Maxtor (Jan 7, 2007)

I've seen where people use cherry cool-aid in some of their deer mixtures


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## Birdx33 (Feb 28, 2009)

I've heard people soak the corn in Big Red first before pouring it out.
They said they love it. I haven't tried it though.


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## cjgibson (Dec 13, 2013)

This feed is used in a feeder. It can't be sticky. Any powdered flavors u can mix in?


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## Quikhonda (Dec 31, 2009)

i doubt its big red.. deer hate cinnamon with a passion


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## Gumbo860 (Apr 11, 2012)

Quikhonda said:


> i doubt its big red.. deer hate cinnamon with a passion


Big red is a soda. Typically found in the south.


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## mdodraw29 (Apr 25, 2009)

Cherry extract comes in a powder or liquid form or you could use dehydrated cherries, if you need a powder you can grind the dehydrated cherries into a powder form.


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## Maxtor (Jan 7, 2007)

cjgibson said:


> This feed is used in a feeder. It can't be sticky. Any powdered flavors u can mix in?


 When I mentioned cherry Cool-Aid I meant just the powder mix. It's not sticky or anything


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## Quikhonda (Dec 31, 2009)

Ive explored making my own big tine deer mix. They use dehydrated molases, some sort of mineral oil (Helps in digestion ?), corn, black sunflower seeds, milo, their blend of minerals and cherry flavoring. for a 40# bag you pay $14 to 16 dollars figure a 200# feeder can hold about 4 bags thats $56 - $64 bucks a pop when filling up your feeder. Which If your like me I start feeding in May thats stupid waste of money. Here is how you be a ******* baller on a budget. 

Go to your local crop farmer and ask if you can buy 22 bushels of corn at market price. - Benefit - a bushel is about 56# which is more then the standard 40 you find or the standard 50 at TSC. The market price is always always cheaper then what the feed stores sell it for so for say little over $100 you can get enough corn to feed deer from may through dec. So for the cost of less then 2 fill ups on big tine you have corn for the whole feeding season. 

walmart and TSC sells black sunflower seeds pretty cheap. You can get a 20# bag at TSC right now for 14.99 
Get couple of bags of minerals - I use lucky buck or deer cane (deer cane is much cheaper and still has good amount of quality) 
Cherry Kool-aide powder mix like $10 dollars worth and you can mix up multiple batches. little goes along way. 

Cons - You need to have like 6 55 gal blue plastic drums to store all that corn. You need 3 guys to help you unload the drums from your truck od if you have a fork lift handy your not doing it yourself. 
You need to have a mixing area, you need to have your own reusable bags to trans port the mix to your feeder(s)

All said and done, for about $200 you can make up enough mix similar to big tine to last you May to Dec


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## McKay10racing (Dec 27, 2012)

How do they like this formula??? They didn't even touch the lucky buck stuff I put out


Quikhonda said:


> Ive explored making my own big tine deer mix. They use dehydrated molases, some sort of mineral oil (Helps in digestion ?), corn, black sunflower seeds, milo, their blend of minerals and cherry flavoring. for a 40# bag you pay $14 to 16 dollars figure a 200# feeder can hold about 4 bags thats $56 - $64 bucks a pop when filling up your feeder. Which If your like me I start feeding in May thats stupid waste of money. Here is how you be a ******* baller on a budget.
> 
> Go to your local crop farmer and ask if you can buy 22 bushels of corn at market price. - Benefit - a bushel is about 56# which is more then the standard 40 you find or the standard 50 at TSC. The market price is always always cheaper then what the feed stores sell it for so for say little over $100 you can get enough corn to feed deer from may through dec. So for the cost of less then 2 fill ups on big tine you have corn for the whole feeding season.
> 
> ...


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## Quikhonda (Dec 31, 2009)

I have found that with the lucky buck they like it off the ground better then mixed with anything. I dont know what thats about they are just picky in my woods i guess i spoil them to much.. But the deer cane is like crack to them. I mix that with the corn and other ingredients and they eat the dirt under where the corn falls. I compared the ingredients in multiple mineral formulas and they are just about the same. One has little more of this in it over this brand but another brand has more of something else. I figure find something that makes the deer blow up your spot and keep giving it to them keep them happy. but figure at 64 bucks filling up 8x thats $512.00 VS a little over 200 mixing it yourself


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