Elk favorite food

[Bull's eye]

Up until October there is various and abundance of plants that elk feed on, but we all know when the leaves have fallen and everything on the ground turns brown, elk have no choice to move to new feeding area,, i'm guessing at this time of year most elk are killed at/to or from field. what has been your living experience on this subject?

What is their favorite food at that time October,November.

Thanks

[Smokinyotes]

Second cut alfalfa that wasn’t cut or canola swaths.

[270person]

Originally Posted by Smokinyotes

Second cut alfalfa that wasn’t cut or canola swaths.

Haven't seen one in canola. Lots traveling to and from alfalfa second cuts though. Passing right through barley both ways.

[Smokinyotes]

Originally Posted by 270person

Haven't seen one in canola. Lots traveling to and from alfalfa second cuts though. Passing right through barley both ways.

A few years ago I had a antlerless elk tag and the wife had a antlerless moose tag. We had permission on some land where they didn’t get the canola off. The game was just like cattle pasturing out there. I got my elk and she got her moose 50 yards apart.

[IR_mike]

Originally Posted by Smokinyotes

A few years ago I had a antlerless elk tag and the wife had a antlerless moose tag. We had permission on some land where they didn’t get the canola off. The game was just like cattle pasturing out there. I got my elk and she got her moose 50 yards apart.

Was the canola late/still in bloom?

Or were they eating the new growth from cracked pods?

[roper1]

Seen 3 very nice bulls west of the Red Deer river couple summers back in a floweredcanola field. Also a favorite haunt for Muley bucks. A new one to me they're on it after the flowers drop. Good luck on the hunt!

[warriorboy10]

Many of the grains and peas are hard on the game, it can heat up their belly, digestive upset, which I’m sure their not too fond of.
I’ve walked many field edges, loads of game trails coming out the bush of and going back in. Biggest thing I have noticed is that the elk will hang out on field edges feeding on the clover. Doesn’t seem to matter which crop is seeded other than alfalfa..

[Lefty-Canuck]

Standing corn or standing or swathed oats and wheat. Alfalfa is a given, any green regrowth also.

LC

[Smokinyotes]

Originally Posted by IR_mike

Was the canola late/still in bloom?

Or were they eating the new growth from cracked pods?

I didn’t see any new growth. It had been laying a couple months as this was mid November

[Pikebreath]

Can't say it ise the favorite food for elk,,, but they seem to like faba beans preferentially to alfalfa.

[Mountainaccent]

They love out alfalfa 5/7 nights a week we have elk in our field

[Bull's eye]

Glad to see everyone's input here, this help a lot, I had the same experience saw elk along barley field but they would not venture out to eat it but rather they stayed on the fringe, and I was wondering what food source they are looking for or at least avoid to hunt.

Thank you

[walking buffalo]

Originally Posted by IR_mike

Was the canola late/still in bloom?

Or were they eating the new growth from cracked pods?

Rape seed has been used as livestock forage for centuries.

Animals will eat it at all stages of growth, leaves, green and mature oil pods.

It produces a much more flavourful meat than grains.

If I was to choose between rape/canola fed game and grain fed, it would be rape, every time.

I'm watching a swathed field right now, 300 acres of oats with lots of volunteer wheat and 20 acres of canola. Deer, moose and horses are all wading through the grains to feed in the canola.

[Bull's eye]

Ummm ...all that time I thought elk disliked canola, this is really opening my eyes now, keep them coming.

[fishnguy]

Just from my brief personal experience and observations, all game, including deer, elk, moose, even bear, prefer canola to other crops, at any growth stage. I almost never see them feeding in wheat if there is canola around.

In fact, I know that larger mule deer would move every year to where canola is within reasonable distance. I learned this the hard way by watching half a dozen or so of brute mule bucks to use my priority and draw a tag to only find out that all of them were gone and were back next season when canola was back on the fields, lol. Keep that in mind when you target some bucks and decide to pull your tag.

[The moose]

Oats and its not even close in my opinion.

[Joe Black]

Originally Posted by roper1

Seen 3 very nice bulls west of the Red Deer river couple summers back in a floweredcanola field. Also a favorite haunt for Muley bucks. A new one to me they're on it after the flowers drop. Good luck on the hunt!

funny. though only Geese/ducks fed in standing canola

[35 whelen]

I have canola all-around my place last week there was everything in it elk, moose deer, bear, grouse they seem to like something in it

Sent from my SM-G930W8 using Tapatalk

[husky7mm]

So for the elk that don’t hit the farmland crops what do people think elk eat in the winter? I have seen them browsing on willow, young aspen and alder just like moose. They eat a lot of different leaves also, I dont know the name of them unfortunately. They don’t always paw for grass.

[sns2]

Originally Posted by Mountainaccent

They love out alfalfa 5/7 nights a week we have elk in our field

I know who's inbox is about to light up. LOL.

[bucksman]

peas then canola in my area, walking through the canola fields across a gravel road to get to the peas here

[Mountainaccent]

Originally Posted by sns2

I know who's inbox is about to light up. LOL.

Can all it wants lol I don’t even hunt my field lol

[OL_JR]

I've seen elk go a long way for standing oats and hay but really haven't seen the Canola be much of a magnet to more than the odd critter once the flowers are gone. Maybe it's a different strain where I'm at .

[The moose]

Originally Posted by Mountainaccent

Can all it wants lol I don’t even hunt my field lol

Why dont you hunt your own field if its full of elk? safety concerns ? or prefer the experience elsewhere?

[Mountainaccent]

Originally Posted by The moose

Why dont you hunt your own field if its full of elk? safety concerns ? or prefer the experience elsewhere?

Not much of a challenge and save them mostly for the sweetheart to hunt

[elk eater]

Here’s one most have never heard. Turnips. Used to hunt in a turnip field and the elk moose and deer would send the farmer into fits. They would walk along and take one bite out of the turnip and move on to the next as if the were looking for a sweet one leaving the turnip useless to the farmer. He showed me a giant set of moose antlers around 50” and a six point bull elk that he claimed he found dead in his field with large turnips stuck in their throats. Not sure if it was true or not but makes a hell of a story.

[270person]

Hunting pvt land for the last month. 12,000 acres of canola on the property, freshly swathed, swathed 2 weeks, and still standing.

Haven't seen one animal on any of it. In fact the deer that ran from us hated running through the swathed stuff. Punji sticks.

[CDNOutdoorsman]

2nd cut alfalfa where I hunt.

[Jays toyz]

[QUOTE=270person;4042458

Haven't seen one animal on any of it. In fact the deer that ran from us hated running through the swathed stuff. Punji sticks.[/QUOTE]

I'm not sure if I prefer walking through cut canola or standing canola. Both suck in their own way.

I have never seen an animal except bears eat canola, but there is much I haven't seen.

Alfalfa is the favorite amongst Cervids in my experience.