# Bird feeders and CWD



## Hamilton Reef (Jan 20, 2000)

This article is for the the bird watchers on this forum.

CWD rule: If it attracts deer, remove it

You might wonder just what sick deer and Chickadees have in common. The answer isn't obvious unless you live in the country where deer gather under bird feeders.
Both will feed on sunflower seeds. That presents a dilemma for some people who like to feed birds.

Michigan Department of Natural Resources director Becky Humphries signed an emergency order last week calling for a ban on deer and elk baiting and feeding in the Lower Peninsula.

That goes for bird feeding, too -- if deer are drawn to the scratched seeds on the ground. The ban was put in place to slow any potential for spread of chronic wasting disease, which was found in one captive-bred deer on a Kent County deer farm.

http://www.mlive.com/outdoors/index.ssf/2008/09/cwd_rule_if_it_attracts_deer_r.html


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## Linda G. (Mar 28, 2002)

in a perfect world all the millions of people who feed birds from a bird feeder in front of their house are going to stop doing that because a deer stops by in the middle of the night. Right. 

They thought the economic impact of stopping baiting would be devastating, just try stopping the millions and millions of dollars spent on feeding tweetie birds in this state. 

And those of us up here are now trying to find out about our turkey feeding programs, which we conduct every winter during deep snows, and are the ONLY reason we have the wild turkey populations that we have up here. We always have done everything in our power to keep the deer from taking the feed we put in our off the ground feeders, as we can't afford to feed the deer, and we have been successful in doing that, but we have never been able to keep the deer from congregating around those feeders. 

People are not going to buy just thistle for their feeders-it's way too expensive...and a lot of birds won't eat it. And since when did deer find sunflower seed attractive? I have never seen a deer eat sunflower, even in the middle of the winter. 

The DNR obviously has not thought about the long term implications of enforcing a no feeding ban. Typical day late and dollar short stuff they're so famous for. Pathetic. Or perhaps just more of pulling that wool down over their eyes so the brass in the Mason building doesn't see what's going on, and the CO's are told to ignore all but the most blatant violations. 


If the DNR is ready to sacrifice the money they make every year from all those northern wild turkey licenses they sell, both spring and fall, then so be it. One hard winter without supplemental feed, and we will lose millions of wild turkeys. 

All over one sick deer in a pen that's almost 200 miles from here....absolutely ridiculous. But they're dropping like flies in the Clinton River from an equally devasting disease, and then polluting the water when they die in the water, and that's ok. 

Absolutely absurd. Somebody send my notes to Becky Humphries, bet she'd never admit it, but she's a turkey hunter, too, and she knows darned good and well what enforcing something like no birdfeeders means.

Tom, I am cross-posting this to the Turkey Hunting forum.


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## Hamilton Reef (Jan 20, 2000)

Linda is correct. The backyard bird feeders will not be enforced with all the attention needed for the ******* baiters violating deer in the woods. There is not the manpower available. I also don't believe Linda will receive any objections to conducting the winter turkey programs as done in the past. The DNR knows well how hard Linda's crews work their butts off to keep the northern turkey program in operation. The elevated table feeders work well. The birds are too hungry to share corn with the deer. Deer around the feeders are no different than deer gathering around the local oak tree for acorns.

The complaints about bird feeers will more likely be the petty neighborhood feuds of one neighbor trying to cause trouble for the other neighbor using the bird feeder as red herring harassment.


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## chinamigarden (Oct 21, 2005)

I have found that the deer are attracted to the filler you find in the cheap bird seed mixes. Any bird seed bag that contains Milo is a rip off. Milo is a grain that appears to be something birds will eat, but song birds do not eat it, some game birds and animals will eat it, but song birds do not like it. Usually what happens is the birds knock it out of the feeder and make a mess with it. Mice, and other animals might clean it up off the ground for you. Some bags of seed list Milo as the first ingredient. Other fillers that might attract deer include cracked corn, wheat, and oats. Few song birds prefer the corn, and none are looking for the grain by products. Stick with a premium bird seed blend and song birds are what you will get


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## welcometomyworld (Mar 6, 2006)

And since when did deer find sunflower seed attractive? I have never seen a deer eat sunflower, even in the middle of the winter.
I don't know where your at but down in Irish Hills the deer line up to eat the sunflower out of our bird feeder's. We filled them on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. and had seven deer in there by 5:00.


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## Boatown (Nov 27, 2004)

I have used sunflower seeds in the past for bait and the deer eat them, I also popcorn works great.


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## 22 Chuck (Feb 2, 2006)

Deer like sunflower seed all over this area.


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