Is Deer Corn a Quail Killer?

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grassman

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Is deer corn a quail killer?


09:52 PM CST on Saturday, February 6, 2010


Column by RAY SASSER / The Dallas Morning News | [email protected]

Ray Sasser
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As another poor quail season grinds toward a halt, I'm struck by a disturbing thought. Texas deer hunters may be killing more quail than quail hunters kill, and the deer hunters are not even aware they're doing it.

How is that possible? Deer hunters put out an estimated 300 million to 500 million pounds of corn each year to bait white-tailed deer near hunting blinds. Anyone who's watched a bait pile in quail country has seen birds eating corn. It's not just quail; a huge variety of seed-eating birds, including some rare species, consume those golden kernels.

Several factors are blamed for the precipitous decline of bobwhite quail, habitat changes ranking first. I don't think it's a coincidence, however, that the quail decline parallels the dramatic expansion of white-tailed deer and deer hunting throughout West Texas.

Even in South Texas, the state's other ecological island of quail habitat, the practice of baiting deer with corn accelerated in the 1980s. In December, I hunted quail in the Oklahoma Panhandle with John Cox, a wildlife biologist who feeds quail, both as a means of supplementing the birds' natural diet against harsh winter weather and to congregate them for hunting. He no longer uses corn or the smaller grain seeds that quail hunters often prefer.

"I'm feeding the quail with black-eyed peas," Cox said. "Peas work great in an automatic feeder. When you buy them in bulk, they're cheaper than corn. Quail, deer and turkeys all love the peas, and I can go to sleep at night not wondering how many coveys I poisoned that day."

The poison that Cox refers to is aflatoxin, a substance produced by fungi that grow on corn and other food staples. Aflatoxin rates in wildlife corn caused a stir in the 1990s when biologists became concerned about potential damage to deer and other wildlife.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration does not allow grain that tests more than 20 parts per billion of aflatoxin to be fed to dairy cattle or used for human consumption. It winds up as wildlife feed. Several studies have indicated aflatoxin can weaken and even kill wildlife.

West Texas quail guru Dale Rollins said he's more concerned with secondary effects of aflatoxin. Diminished immunity means the birds are more susceptible to disease. Feeding the birds tends to congregate them, so disease spreads more quickly.

In December, Texas Tech's Quail Tech Alliance sent out a memo to its charter ranch members warning of the risk of supplemental feeding after a cooperating ranch tested its wildlife corn and found it contaminated. Information is available at the project Web site, www.quail-tech.org.

Every expert I've spoken with said that the wildlife feed industry is doing a better job of testing for aflatoxin. Corn testing 100 ppb or higher is not acceptable as "deer corn." Read the label on every sack of corn you buy. That's the good news.

The bad news comes from Scott Henke, a researcher with the Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute in Kingsville. His aflatoxin research concluded that putting clean corn into aflatoxin-contaminated feeders defeats the purpose of aflatoxin-free corn.

"My study showed that no one storage practice short of freezing the grain effectively curtailed the growth of fungi-producing aflatoxin," Henke said.

Aflatoxin tests are performed when corn is bagged at the mill. Sacks of corn may sit for months in a warehouse or in front of a convenience store. On a ranch, corn and other feeds are routinely stored in bulk bins.

Furthermore, I've never known of hunters who clean out their feeders with disinfectant or even a power washer.

The issue is complicated by the fact that aflatoxin occurs in nature. Also, quail or other birds that succumb to aflatoxin don't die under the feeder. They get sick and weaken slowly. They die out of sight, hiding in thick cover, and are usually eaten by a coyote or some other scavenger.

I'm not sure how scientists can even design a study that reveals the impact of aflatoxin on quail, but common sense tells me the impact is significant.

How many times have you heard this quail hunter's lament? "We had plenty of quail in September but they were gone by November and I don't know what happened to them." Deer hunters ramp up their feeding programs in September and October.

The evidence may be circumstantial but, until somebody convinces me otherwise, I believe that deer corn is taking a toll on Texas birds.
 

bigcountryok

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I'm a little sceptical anytime one group points a finger at the other. It's no secret that there are often conflicts between the hard core deer hunters and hard core quail hunters.

1) Alphatoxins occur in nature.
2) They are already present in crops before they are even harvested. Quail and other game have been living off of man made crops for decades.
3) Alphatoxins are present in livestock feed which quail and other game have also been eating for decades. The amount of feed set out to feed various forms of livestock far exceeds any amount of corn that deer hunters will ever put out.
4) If alphatoxins are that potent why are turkey populations thriving? I've seen more turkey around my feeders than quail.

I'm not saying that deer feeders may or may not be a part of the issue, but at this point I'm just not buying that it's a significant problem. I've very rarely ever seen quail around any corn that I've ever put out, and I've never seen them stop and eat any when they did pass through.
 

oneshotonekill

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If this were true I would have upwards of 40 dove at my feeder all season every season. These dove are all native birds they are there every year and will be there until i quit feeding. Seems to be more each season.
 

mike miller

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You are partially true. Dairy cattle cannot be fed corn with about 20 ppm aflatoxin, but beef cattle and swine can be fed up to 300 ppm. It is different because dairy cattle pass it so readily through to their milk which could be a hazard to humans. It takes quite a while forthe toxins to build up in their livers but if you remove the contaminated corn from their feed then it will decrease.
 

grassman

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My understanding is that corn that is sold for deer consumption has to be under the 20 ppb level. Since there is not a specific level for deer it falls to the lowest limit which is the same for human consumption and dairy cattle. Whether or not aflatoxin is affecting our quail and other gamebird populations is yet to be proven without question. The responsible thing to do is buy corn that has been tested. A tremendous amount of corn produced in Oklahoma exceded acceptable limits. Unfortunately there are tens of thousands of acres that had corn grown on them that had a lot of corn remaining in the field which had excessive levels. Not a lot you can do about these since most were no-till and it was not turned under. Obviously a lot this corn was consumed by deer, quail, turkeys, pheasants, etc. Most of us probably hunted near or around these. The good thing is that the aflatoxin isn't always this bad. Most years it is manageable. We just happen to have a very wet period after the corn was mature. The bad thing is that these molds that create aflatoxin are carcinogenic, cause fertility and liver issues, and if enough is consumed they cause death. Whether you are a bird hunter or deer hunter the fact remains there are issues to be concerned about
 
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Well I'd like to see a STUDY that says aflatoxin kills quail before buying in. In any event, black eyed peas sounds good - if they're cheaper, what's not to like? Other than being hard to find in Academy.

In any event, habitat loss, fire ants, and proliferation of egg-eating predators (raccoons, skunks, & coyotes primarily) are the main contributors to the quail decline, in my understanding. Shoot every yote, coon, or skunk you see, kiddos. 'Cept the endangered spotted skunk, of course. And trap the coons too, if you get a chance.
 

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