Ani-Logics Outdoors

Rather than always follow a date on a calendar for what you should be doing to help your deer herd, I’m going to break down the year by real-life seasonal indications of what you should be doing and when.  Ask yourself these questions to determine what to use and when.    

Is there snow or frost on the ground, or in the forecast?

When frost is on the ground, plant life is suspended, and no new growth is occurring.  Protein sources across the landscape are dwindling by the day.  If you want to keep your herd as healthy as possible, use these products during what I call the winter dormant season:

1. Ani-Supplement GOLD^® (SPIN^® option if you prefer pellets)
2. Ani-Protein Block™
3. CRUSH^® Protein Block (Sugar Beet, Persimmon, Acorn, Wild Berry, and Apple flavors)
4. JAC^® – Just Add Corn (SPIN^® option if you prefer pellets)
5. Black Ops^® Deer Anthem™ Molasses Protein Block
6. Black Ops^® Deer Anthem™ Brick

Has average “green up” occurred?

This is a transitional time for the white-tailed deer.  Most bucks have shed antlers by now, and protein sources are now available across the landscape in the form of lush new forb growth.  This is the time to focus on minerals and spring-planted food plots.  Another indication of when it’s time to plant spring food plots is to look around for yellow dandelions blooming.  If you want to maintain a healthy deer herd at this time of year, here are the products to focus on:

1. Ani-Mineral Block^®
2. Mineral Dirt^® 180
3. Black Ops^® Whiteout^®
4. CRUSH^® Seeds of Science^® Clovers (Holy Clover, Clover plus Alfalfa, Fixin’ Clover, and Pro Clover)
5. CRUSH^® Liquid 1 gal (Sugar Beet, Persimmon, Acorn, Wild Berry, and Apple flavors)
6. CRUSH^® Seeds of Science^® Pro Sugar Beets
7. CRUSH^® Seeds of Science^® Chicory
8. Deer Oasis™ Mineral Water (Apple, Berry, and Ani-Mineral flavors)
9. Crush 4lb Attractant Bricks (Brassica, Nature’s Candy, Acorn, Wild Berry, and Apple flavors)

Have average temperatures passed their summer peak?
 

Across most of the whitetail’s range, day length is becoming shorter, and warm-season annual plants are beginning senescence, meaning they are slowly dying.  At least 45 days before the first expected frost, you should be planting these food plots to keep you deer healthy in the last part of the growing season, as well as attract them to your stand sites before the season starts.

1. CRUSH^® Seeds of Science^® The Perfect 10™
2. CRUSH^® Seeds of Science^® Pro Brassica Blend
3. CRUSH^® Seeds of Science^® Caveman Blend™
4. CRUSH^® Seeds of Science^® Amazin’ Grains™
5. CRUSH^® Seeds of Science^® Clovers (Holy Clover, Clover plus Alfalfa, Fixin’ Clover, and Pro Clover)
6. CRUSH^® Seeds of Science^® 1lb – Radishes, Turnips, and Forage Collards

Have bucks started losing velvet and are now in hard antler?

This is a time when mast crops such as acorns and apples naturally ripen and start falling from trees.  Deer make a switch from feeding in open ag fields and food plots to feeding within timbered areas in search of the freshest mast crops.  This is an excellent time to inventory your herd using attractants.  Here are the attractants you should be putting out this time of year:

1. CRUSH^® Granular (Sugar Beet, Apple, Acorn, Persimmon, and Wild Berry flavors)
2. Black Ops^® Deer Anthem™ Molasses (Block, Brick, Liquid, and Granular forms)
3. Black Ops^® (Liquid and Granular forms)
4. Braggin Rights^® Granular (Acorn, Apple, and Chestnut flavors)
5. Braggin Rights^® Liquid ½ gal Attractants (Sweet Corn, Apple, and Persimmon flavors)
6. Ani-Supplement GOLD^®
7. Ani-X^® Scent Attractant

Has rut occurred?

Most bucks north of the Mason-Dixon line, rut in November, but the south has a hodge-podge of rut timing (see map above from our friends at the National Deer Association).  If the rut is over with, deer are in recovery mode and need to gain back nutrients and energy lost in the marathon they just ran.  This is when protein sources across the landscape are again becoming scarce, so supplementing your herd is the best option to keep them healthy going into the coldest part of the year.  Here are the products to focus on during the post-rut timeframe, and these carry us right into the winter dormant season to begin the year again:

1. Ani-Supplement GOLD^® (SPIN^® option if you prefer pellets)
2. Ani-Protein Block™
3. CRUSH^® Protein Block (Sugar Beet, Persimmon, Acorn, Wild Berry, and Apple flavors)
4. JAC^® – Just Add Corn (SPIN^® option if you prefer pellets)
5. Black Ops^® Deer Anthem™ Molasses Protein Block
6. Black Ops^® Deer Anthem™ Brick

Use your best judgment if your two timeframes overlap in your area.  No matter what time of year it is, you need to realize that to harvest a big buck, first, he needs to have access to high-quality nutrition to grow big antlers.  The hard work is done outside of the hunting season so that you can focus on wrapping your tag around those antlers in the fall.  When it comes to managing your herd for health and antler growth, don’t forget that THERE IS NO OFF SEASON.