HOW THE ROOST RAISES DEER TO REACH 200 POUNDS AND 8 POINTS IN 3-1/2 YEARS

EDITOR'S NOTE:

George Mayfield, the owner of The Roost Hunting Lodge near Aliceville in west/central Alabama, has hunted his entire life and has studied carefully what he needs to do to have the best wildlife-management plan in place at The Roost.

QUESTION: How does The Roost raise deer to reach 200 pounds and 8 points in 3-1/2 years?

ANSWER: The ability to produce quality deer in a short time depends on the soil. Deer are herbivores. When they eat quality food from good soil, there's a lot more protein in the food. Too, that food requires less energy for them to travel to the food because quality soil has more abundant food. You can't raise deer of the quality we have at The Roost on poor soil. However, you can have good soil and not necessarily have the proper types of vegetation for deer. Woody vines such as honeysuckle, jasmine, smilax and greenbrier make up about 80 percent of the deer's diet at The Roost. Too, because of the soil quality at The Roost, this area has been farmed traditionally. At The Roost, we raise about 4,000 acres of soybeans and 2,000 acres of corn every year. The soybeans and corn are supplemental foods for deer.

Call or write George Mayfield at The Roost, P.O. Box 509, Aliceville, AL 35442, (205) 373-3147 for more information.

TOMORROW: WHERE YOU SHOULD SET UP YOUR STAND TO HARVEST A 3-1/2-YEAR-OLD BUCK

Check back each day this week for more from George Mayfield...

Day One - Visiting The Roost In Aliceville, AL
Day Two - How The Roost Raises Deer...
Day Three - Where You Should Set Up Your Stand...
Day Four - How Often You Should Hunt A Stand
Day Five - Common Mistakes Hunters Make...

John's Journal