I went to my feeders tonight and found that through all the rain there was mildew in my feeder. Anyone have any solutions? All I could think is since this is my first year with these feeders, the deer haven't gotten use to them yet. Should I wait to feed after the first feed?
Are these the PVC type with a "tee" on the end that kind of points up? I've never used them but always thought they looked like they would collect water and mold easily. I'm not sure what you are asking in that last line? If you meant "clean" them...I would go ahead and clean then now and get the mildew out of there....it's not healthy and is probably why deer aren't using them. I'd drill some small holes i nthe bottom to get rid of the moisture.
Agree with CoveyMaster. Clean it now while its early. The action should pick up within a couple weeks. I dont think they will eat stuff with that mildew scent on it.
Thanks...no they won't eat poor quality feed if they can help it. I have dumped grain that got wet and molded in a grain cart and the deer picked around it and the few spots where there was good grain...they ate but the rest of it the birds and coons had to pick at or rot. You can also try adding something to the corn to draw deer in when you refill it. There's a lot of stuff on the market to add in. I like C'mere deer but the liquid I use may not be a good idea in a PVC feeder. Lee and Tiffany Lakoski(sp?) have a product called sugar beet crush that deer seem to like. They put it in their corn in their feeder.
If I ware you I would get a timer feeder it will pay its self in no time at all. With price of corn around here I cant afford to use pvc feeders
im not sure what kind of feed you are using but if its a pellet type feed try mixing some corn in with it or strait corn and then half and half the pellets. if you just using corn there are several different powder attractants you can use. hope this helps! maybe they will eat it before it has a chance to mildew!
Here a picture of my setup. The bottom has a grate on them to "let the water out" but it seems it didn't work.
There wasn't any mold on the feed. It was just mildewy. We cleaned it out. I am using a farmer deer mix with a mixture of molasses, corn and oats. This is my first year trying this. I will see how things go.
I dunno....I wonder if the black pipe absorbing heat and sunlight isn't having something to do with it? Or maybe the molasses (powdered?) is drawing moisture? I also wonder if those tubes are too small for deer to utilize.
Dawn Assassin, it a farmer's mix here in Ontario. I am wondering if I should just wait until the first snow and then fill them up or switch to corn in the interim? ConveyMaster, good point about the color of the pipes. I never thought about this. I know that at the bottom of the pipes you could see something was starting to eat out of them. They are four inch pipes. Should they have been bigger?
Just use a "Y" fitting with a slotted bottom. Also dont place straight on the ground. Place a 2×4 or even a rock to elevate it. Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk 2
No6. Hunter, Can you look at my picture. I think I did you a "Y" fitting. Good idea about the rock on the bottom to elevate it up.
Yep, thats the fitting. I would still use a slotted bottom to allow water to freely flow out, depending on what feed you use of course. I just use corn and it doesnt fall through Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk 2
Ahh, I thought they looked smaller than 4" in the pics...most all of these type feeders I've seen in the past use 4" or what appeared to be 4". I've never used them personally...I have always used the spinner type barrels or hanging buckets.
Dont use the T bottoms, use a 45 degree bend, gravity will pull the water out for you, I have had mine out since January here in Iowa, and they have not molded or mildewed at all. I considered getting the T ones, but with EHD running wild like hulkamania last year I didnt want to be the one to keep spreading it.
