Deer feeding ban: is my bird feeder legal?

The short answer

• A bird feeder is legal under all five deer feeding bans on this page. What each ban tests is whether deer can get the seed, and each state draws that line in a different place.
• Minnesota (37 counties, rule in force to December 29, 2027): the feed must be at least 6 ft above the ground, or set up so deer cannot get to it.
• Wisconsin (statewide, not only in ban counties): the feeder must be high enough or built to keep deer and elk out, and no more than 50 yards from a home. If deer use it, the DNR can make you raise it or enclose it.
• Michigan (Public Act 86 of 2026, in effect July 27, 2026): bird and wildlife feeding is allowed inside the deer feeding ban if the feed is within 300 ft of a home and no more than 2 gallons in total.
• New York and Pennsylvania do not name a height. Deer at your bird feeder become a violation in New York only after a written warning from DEC, and Pennsylvania can send written notice to stop feeding that draws deer.

Yes, in most cases. All five state deer feeding bans on this page allow bird feeders, and each one asks the same question: can deer get the seed? Minnesota answers with a height of 6 ft, and Wisconsin asks for a deer-proof feeder within 50 yards of a home. Michigan caps the feed at 2 gallons within 300 ft of a home, while New York and Pennsylvania act once you have been warned in writing.

A deer feeding ban is a state rule that makes it illegal to put out food deer can eat. Most bans cover only some counties, the ones where chronic wasting disease (CWD) has been found in deer. CWD is a fatal disease of deer, elk and moose, and it spreads where deer meet nose to nose and share food, which is exactly what a feeding site sets up. "Baiting" is the hunting version, food put out to draw deer to a hunter, and it has separate rules.

Two answers go around online. One says a bird feeder is never part of a deer ban, and the other says any feeder in a ban county is illegal. Both are wrong. Every rule below carves out bird feeding, and every carve-out ends where deer can reach the seed. That is why deer at your feeder can be a legal question and not just a seed bill.

The five rules side by side#

Read from the texts cited below on November 5, 2026. Each cell is a ruling made in the sections that follow.

Minnesota: six feet, or deer kept out#

Minnesota's rule is an expedited emergency rule. It took effect June 29, 2026 and expires December 29, 2027. It covers 37 counties, from Aitkin to Wright, and it takes in the Twin Cities: Hennepin, Ramsey, Anoka, Dakota and Washington. Five counties were added in June 2026: Becker, Clearwater, Grant, McLeod and Meeker.

The ban covers "feed," which the rule defines as grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts, hay and other food that can attract deer. Birdseed is all of those. The exception covers feed meant for wildlife other than deer if it is:

1. "arranged to exclude access to deer," or
2. "put at least six feet above the ground."

The word between them is "or," so either test is enough. The rule measures the feed, not the pole, so on a tray or under a tube, the lowest seed is what counts, and a ground feeder passes only if a fence or cage keeps deer off it. The rule adds a cleanup duty: feed placed in breach of the ban must be removed at once, and failing to do so is a second violation. Nothing in the rule asks for a warning first.

Wisconsin: deer-proof, and within 50 yards of the house#

Wisconsin's rule is stricter, and it is wider than most pages say. NR 19.60 starts with a statewide ban on putting out food for wild animals for non-hunting purposes, and bird feeding is an exception to that ban. So the bird feeder test applies in every county, not only the ones under a deer feeding ban, and it puts a limit on where the feeder goes as well as how high.

The exception covers food "solely" for wild birds and small mammals. It must sit in feeders "at a sufficient height or design to prevent access by deer or elk." The feeders must be no further than 50 yards from a home unless the DNR allows it. And if the DNR finds deer or elk using them, the feeders "shall be enclosed or elevated higher." That order is the closest the rule comes to a warning: it sets no notice step before a violation. This is a result test, not a number, so a feeder that deer can reach fails it at any height.

The county bans come from a state law, Wis. Stat. 29.336. A ban lasts 36 months after a positive CWD or TB test in the county and 24 months for counties within 10 miles of one. Each new positive starts the clock again, and the DNR's map shows which counties are under a ban today. Washburn County's ends November 9, 2026 if no new case turns up.

Michigan: 300 feet and 2 gallons#

Michigan's rule changed this year. Public Act 86 of 2026, Enrolled House Bill 4350, was introduced by Rep. Ken Borton. The governor approved it July 21, and it took effect July 27, 2026. Some news reports give the bill as House Bill 4303 or the signing date as July 28, but the enrolled Act says 4350 and July 21.

The Act says that "notwithstanding" the state's deer and elk feeding order, you may feed birds and wildlife if:

• the feed is within 300 ft of a residence, and
• the feed placed there, plus any still left from before, is no more than 2 gallons.

News reports describe the 2 gallons as feed "on the ground." The Act does not say ground: it counts feed "placed, scattered, or distributed," so the safe reading counts the seed in your feeders too. The Act sets no warning step. Michigan's governor vetoed the same 300 ft, 2 gallon idea in October 2021, citing disease spread.

The Act says nothing about city ordinances. Farmington Hills read it as overriding its own deer feeding ban. On August 17, 2026 the city said it would no longer issue warnings or citations under its code. That is one city's reading, and another town may read the Act differently, so check yours.

New York and Pennsylvania: the written warning#

New York bans feeding deer or moose on purpose anywhere in the state. The rule is 6 NYCRR Part

1. Some pages cite Part 189.3, but that section is about bringing CWD-prone animals and carcass

parts into the state. Part 186 says birdseed that deer or moose can reach counts as "incidental" feeding. DEC's own page is plain: deer at a birdfeeder "will only be considered a violation if DEC has previously issued a written warning."

Pennsylvania's ban covers its CWD disease management areas. 58 Pa. Code 137.35 makes it unlawful to "directly or indirectly feed" wild deer there. The text does not mention bird feeders, but it does say the Commission may send written notice to stop otherwise lawful feeding that draws deer. Some pages quote a half-bushel bird feeder limit for Pennsylvania. It is not in 137.34 or 137.35, the two Game Commission sections that govern these areas, so do not rely on it.

Worked case: a tube feeder on a 5 ft hook#

Take a tube feeder on a 5 ft shepherd's hook in Hennepin County, Minnesota. Hennepin is on the list, so the ban applies. Walk it through the rule.

The lowest port sits at about 5 ft, which is under the six-foot line, so test 2 fails. Test 1 asks whether it is "arranged to exclude access to deer." A squirrel baffle under the tube does not do that, since a deer reaches from the side. So as hung, this feeder is outside the exception.

There are two ways in. Raise the lowest feed to 6 ft or more, which a hook rarely reaches; a taller pole or a span between two trees will, as set out in poles, hooks and hangers. Or fence the feeding spot so deer cannot get to it.

Now the catch. A white-tailed deer rearing on its hind legs can browse to 6 to 7 ft, so a feeder at exactly 6 ft passes Minnesota's rule and may still feed deer. Take the same feeder over the border to Wisconsin and that matters: the test there is whether deer can get in. At 7.5 to 8 ft, with 5 ft clear on every side and within 50 yards of the house, it is out of a deer's reach and meets both. In Michigan the height does not matter; the 2 gallons and 300 ft do.

Keep the ground clean#

Spill is where a legal feeder turns into a deer feeding site. Minnesota counts feed on the ground like any other feed, Michigan counts what is "still present," and Wisconsin's test fails once deer eat there. Use a catch tray or rake it up, as in seed waste and mess. Drop cracked corn, the food deer want most, and switch to safflower. Keep stored seed in a shed or garage, as in storing birdseed.

What this page does not cover#

These are five states, and many others ban feeding deer in all or part of their land. A state not on this page has not been checked, which is not the same as having no rule. County lists change every year as new cases turn up, so check the state's map rather than a list from last season.

Your town can add its own rule on top. Ridgewood, New Jersey, passed a rule in 2025 that feeders must be more than 6 ft off the ground, with fines of $50 to $1,000. Other heights and size caps are on bird feeder ordinances. Michigan is the one state here where a city has said the state rule overrides its ban.

Hunting bait is a separate set of rules. So are bears, which come with their own warning rules: see bear feeding laws by state. In moose and elk country, no feeder height beats the animal, as moose and elk at bird feeders sets out. Feeders in parks follow park rules, covered in feeders at campsites and in parks.

This page reads the rule texts, and it cannot tell you how a warden will judge your yard. If you are unsure, ask your state wildlife agency before winter, when deer come in closest and a reliable grain source is worth the most to them. The rest of the problems section covers the animals that are only a nuisance.

Frequently asked questions#

Are bird feeders allowed in a deer feeding ban?

Yes, in all five states on this page, but each one sets a condition. Minnesota wants the feed at least 6 ft up or set up so deer cannot get to it. Wisconsin wants the feeder high enough or built to keep deer out, and within 50 yards of a home. Michigan allows feeding within 300 ft of a home up to 2 gallons. New York and Pennsylvania act on a feeder that draws deer after a written warning or notice.

How high does a bird feeder have to be in Minnesota's deer feeding ban?

At least six feet above the ground, if you rely on height. Rule 6232.4800 exempts feed meant for wildlife other than deer if it is put at least six feet above the ground, or if it is arranged to exclude access to deer. Either one is enough. The rule covers 37 counties, including Hennepin, Ramsey, Dakota and Anoka, and it runs to December 29, 2027 unless replaced.

Does Wisconsin's bird feeder rule apply outside baiting and feeding ban counties?

Yes. NR 19.60 starts with a statewide ban on putting out food for wild animals for non-hunting purposes, and the bird feeder exception is one of its exceptions. So the test applies everywhere in the state: feed for birds and small mammals, in a feeder at a height or design that keeps deer and elk out, no more than 50 yards from a dwelling. If deer use it, the DNR can make you enclose it or raise it.

Can I feed birds in Michigan's deer feeding ban area?

Yes. Public Act 86 of 2026 says that notwithstanding the deer and elk feeding order, you may feed wildlife and birds if the feed is within 300 ft of a residence and the total there, counting feed still present from before, is no more than 2 gallons. The Act took effect July 27, 2026. Farmington Hills has said the law overrides its own city deer feeding ban and stopped enforcing it.

Can I be fined if deer eat from my bird feeder in New York?

Not for the first time. DEC's rule, 6 NYCRR Part 186, bans feeding deer or moose on purpose anywhere in the state. Birdseed that deer or moose can reach counts as incidental feeding, and incidental feeding is a violation only after DEC has issued you a written warning. Once you have that warning, keep the seed out of reach or take the feeder down.

Sources and further reading

1. Adopted Expedited Emergency Game and Fish Rules: 2026 Update to Prohibition on Placing Deer Feed and Using Deer Attractants (Rule 6232.4800) Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Published and effective June 29, 2026, expires December 29, 2027; 37 counties; subp. 3A exempts feed for wildlife other than deer if arranged to exclude access to deer or put at least six feet above the ground; subp. 4 cleanup
2. Deer feeding and attractants bans Minnesota Department of Natural Resources County list and map; people who feed birds or small mammals must do so in a manner that prevents deer access
3. Minnesota DNR adds five counties to deer feeding and attractant ban (22 Jun 2026) Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Becker, Clearwater, Grant, McLeod and Meeker added; 37 counties in total
4. Wis. Admin. Code NR 19.60, Feeding of wild animals Wisconsin Legislature (1)(a) general ban; (2)(b) ban counties; (2)(d) 2 gallons within 50 yards outside them; (3)(a)1 bird feeder exception, 50 yards from a dwelling, DNR may require feeders enclosed or elevated; (3)(a)1 amended eff. 1-1-26
5. Wis. Stat. 29.336, Feeding deer Wisconsin Legislature County bans limited to 36 months after a positive test in the county and 24 months for counties within a 10-mile radius
6. Baiting and feeding regulations Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Current county map; bans renew with each new positive; Washburn County ban expires Nov. 9, 2026 without new detections
7. Public Act 86 of 2026 (Enrolled House Bill 4350), MCL 324.40111a Michigan Legislature Introduced by Rep. Borton and others; approved July 21, filed and effective July 27, 2026; 300 ft and 2 gallons notwithstanding the deer and elk feeding order; definition of wildlife and bird feeding
8. City of Farmington Hills Clarifies Impact of Newly Passed State Wildlife-Feeding Bill (17 Aug 2026) City of Farmington Hills, Michigan State rule overrides the city's former deer feeding ban; no more warnings or citations under City Code 6-10 and 6-11
9. Whitmer vetoes bill that would lift certain restrictions on backyard bird feeders (9 Oct 2021) WKAR, Michigan State University Same 2 gallons within 300 ft vetoed in 2021, citing disease spread such as bovine tuberculosis
10. Deer and Moose Feeding Prohibited New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Attraction of deer or moose to a birdfeeder is a violation only if DEC has previously issued a written warning
11. 6 NYCRR 186.2 and 186.3, Definitions and Prohibitions Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School Statewide ban on intentional feeding; incidental feeding includes birdseed accessible to deer or moose (https://www.law.cornell.edu/regulations/new-york/6-NYCRR-186.2); written warning notice first; Part 186 adopted Dec 24, 2019
12. 58 Pa. Code 137.35, Chronic Wasting Disease restrictions Pennsylvania Code and Bulletin (b.1)(4): unlawful to directly or indirectly feed wild cervids in a disease management area; Commission may issue written notice to stop otherwise lawful feeding that attracts cervids; amended eff. May 23, 2026
13. 58 Pa. Code 137.34, Emergency authority Pennsylvania Code and Bulletin Director may prohibit the feeding of wildlife in a disease management area by executive order; no bird feeder wording
14. Ridgewood puts restrictions on bird feeders to help keep deer away (6 Jun 2025) News 12 New Jersey Feeders more than 6 ft off the ground; $50 to $1,000 per violation