Once you begin your mineral-lick program, keep in mind that youll want to refreshen them throughout the year to keep them attracting deer and providing the minerals they need. This sheds light on why quality forage high in protein is needed during the spring and summer for deer to reach their antler potential. It may not display this or other websites correctly. Important Note: Minerals on their own are bitter, so be sure to mix in plenty of salt to attract the deer. A few drops of a natural attractant, such as rice bran, apple extract, or salt, can also be added to your deer mineral. Almost all soils more than 2550 miles from a seacoast are low in sodium. Do the math. Place the lick in an area that has good soil drainage. To view the purposes they believe they have legitimate interest for, or to object to this data processing use the vendor list link below. Not enough salt and it won't be as weather proof nor will it be as palatable. You must log in or register to reply here. The other ingredients for homemade deer minerals are a little bit of a variation on the classic white earth minerals found in the Indian spice-infused spices. So why not just pour salt out for the deer if thats what they're after? However, these body sources of calcium and phosphorus provide only a portion needed for optimum antler growth. Mar 18, 2010. Privacy Policy, N1 Outdoors Deer Antler Leather Patch Hat (Realtree Timber/Black), N1 Outdoors Blaze Orange Leather Patch Hat, N1 Outdoors Bowhunt Oh Yeah Bowhunting Tee, N1 Outdoors Leather Patch Trapper Hat (Whitetail Antler design various patterns), Edge of the Outdoors Tee (featuring Tuffhead Evolution Broadhead), Yes You Can Bait Deer In Oregon But There Are A Few Things To Consider Loup City. Studies show that there are about 11 minerals in deer antlers. The white earth minerals work well if you want to add . Get tips from Steve Bartylla in this Hunt em Big. I then placed cameras at each one of the sites to monitor usage. If deer were lacking minerals, why wouldnt they use the pure mineral supplement even if salt wasnt present? WATCH: Where to Place Minerals for the Best Results. Creating a lick is certainly fun, inexpensive, and watching deer respond to these licks is satisfying. The best way to provide supplemental minerals is by using a granular mineral that contains less than 30 percent salt and has Ca and P at the rate of 12 percent each. Mike Clerkin heads to the legendary Buffalo County, Wisconsin, in search of early season whitetail action. Our deer blog is one of the longest-running and most popular ones out there. This particularly is true for sandy soils, as well as highly acidic (low pH) or basic (high pH) soils. The best place to put a deer lick is near your closest water holes, ponds or water sources and near your food plots. Before beginning the test, I allowed 30 days to let the deer get used to the feeding pan and then began the test after I started seeing consistent usage on my trail cameras. Think of minerals more like a vitamin, filling the gap in any deficiencies that might exist in a deers diet. Pour your mineral contents all over the turned-up ground and mix it in with the shovel or pitchfork. Yes, whitetails will eat dirt, but the vast majority of minerals they consume enter the system through the plants they eat. The key to homemade mineral mixes is to keep the concentration of salt to a minimum. Sodium helps to regulate blood pressure and fluid balance in the body. Notice the pond in the background. However, these herds were fed a nutritionally deficient diet below what most whitetails would have access to in the wild. Dump no more than 25 lbs per deer lick per application, Lightly kick a little dirt on top of the mineral to make it apear as natural as possible. Your Complete Wildlife Nutrition and Property Management, difference between coated and non coated seeds. Predator Hunting (Coyote, Bobcat, Fox, Wolf, Cougar, etc. While all these minerals are important, we quickly learned that Ca and P in particular had a lot to do with the size of deer and their antlers. However, in many areas feeding isnt a legal option. It also has a lower taste, so deer will return for more. Additionally, a homemade deer mineral lick can also include minerals like iron, manganese, and cobalt to provide additional health benefits. A 1:1 or 2:1 Ca:P ratio is optimum. Simply use a bucket with nearby pond or creek water to do this. Phone: 1-800-209-DEER (3337) You might go to your mineral site and see that it has been pawed at or dug out and little mineral is visible, but it is hard to tell how much was eaten and how much leached into the soil. This being said, there are many variables at play and these results certainly do not provide a definite answer. Those actually were wonderful days to do research, as my colleagues and I picked the low-hanging fruit of knowledge. There also is 5 flavors that are natural to deer. Of course, we now know the Earth isnt flat, but it wasnt a popular belief until science and ocean navigation proved it. Salt alone doesnt contain all the minerals bucks need for antler growth, nor does it provide what's essential for does, fawn development and milk production. One of the easiest ways to lure deer to your property is to place a mineral lick. Discussion Deer. Trace mineral salt contains mostly salt, which is what the deer are actually looking for, and various other trace amounts of minerals such as zinc, manganese, iron all of which are found in hardened deer antler. Bogart, GA 30622 The lick should not be placed in an area that is prone to flooding, as this may wash away the minerals in the lick. Next, clear the ground to bare dirt, about 3 feet in diameter. Also, fawns will learn mineral site areas from their mothers and will return to sites even after they are weaned. For instance, did the cameras trigger each time a deer was using the site? 2 parts Trace mineral salt, the red and loose kind without the medications. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. Over the past five years or so, I've really started to fine-tune the system that I use for running trail cameras in the spring and summer months, and it's a system that revolves entirely around mineral sites. logging, flooding), a mineral site will receive increased usage with each progressive year. But we now know that was a really bad idea. Granular minerals seem to work better than blocks, as most of the usage of blocks occurs in the surrounding dirt as the minerals leach into the soil. More Info At www.huntingnet.com Visit site The best deer mineral program is one that features variety and consistency. Micro-nutrients include: iron (Fe), copper (Cu), Zinc (Zn), manganese (Mn), cobalt (Co), iodine (I) and selenium (Se). Monitor the lick and the deer activity around it regularly. Over the years, with the use of thousands of trail camera photos and a lot of trial and error, I have figured out a few factors that influence mineral consumption both positively and negatively. However, there must be enough salt in the product for the deer to be attracted to it. I have found that mineral sites located in sandy areas are utilized less than mineral sites in heavier soils. As I was at the time formulating a 20-year research plan for our institute, I decided it was a natural fit to include mineral supplementation in the plan. The National Deer Association is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. B.Y.O Deer Base also contains, magnesium, sulfur, potassium as well as all the essential trace minerals and vitamins needed by deer. They have just about every option available to them. However, be mindful of your impact to the area and don't risk spooking your buck by delving too deep into his core area. Mike Clerkin heads to Buffalo County, Wisconsin to bowhunt whitetails. Stan Potts doubles down in Montana and Wyoming. Give a Gift If one mineral supplement has 5 percent calcium and another has 7 percent calcium, but the deer consumes twice the amount of the 5 percent product, then the deer is actually getting more calcium than it would be getting from the 7 percent product. 2 parts Trace mineral salt, the red and loos kind without the medications. Interestingly enough, Larry later earned a doctoral degree in Range Management from Texas A&M University, and to this day he remains a recognized authority on range management and animal nutrition. Once posts are published, youll see them here. WHITETAIL DEER HOMEMADE MINERAL MIX RECIPE Ingredients: Makes 200 lbs. So here, during a time of year when mineral interest and use are high, Id like to recap which minerals deer need and how to address those needs. I cannot definitely answer why this is, but I would theorize that it has to do with excessive leaching in sandy soils or possibly even the gritty nature of sand. An easy and beneficial mineral recipe for whitetail deer and an aid in antler. In fact, theres significant scientific evidence to suggest Cu deficiencies are linked to spontaneous occurrences of brain diseases such as mad cow and CWD. Attraction to salt is caused by the balance of potassium and sodium in the deers body. In addition to calcium (19 percent) and phosphorus (10 percent), the next most common elements were magnesium (1 percent) and sodium (0.5 percent). There are many other examples of popular beliefs being dramatically changed through scientific discovery. Here's the finished mineral site with dicalcium phosphate and trace mineral salt thoroughly mixed together with the soil. The most common intake claim by deer products on the market is 1 to 2 ounces per head per day or 1/16 to 1/8 of a pound. Of course, while mulling this over in my Excel spreadsheet, I was making a lot of assumptions, so I decided to conduct a research project on one of my farms to see if I could come up with a number based on real data. All Rights Reserved. In the old days, we simply dug holes and poured granular mineral into them. Here's a new mineral lick being established with trace mineral salt and dicalcium phosphate. The lick should be located in a spot that is easy for the deer to access from all directions. Make sure you dont place too many deer mineral blocks at a time, but you should put out one lick for every 40 acres of land. Mixing Salts Mix the trace minerals above with 1 part mixing salts Dried Molasses Mix the above ingredients with 1 part dried molasses. Weve put together one of the best deer mineral recipe articles for you to try at home. I know of some deer managers in Ohio whose homemade mineral mixes gave the animals heavy metal poisoning! Photo at mineral lick start in 2001 and end in 2003. As you can imagine, after a deer paws up and eats a bunch of salty dirt, its going to need a drink. In todays video we are going to show you guys how to make your own deer mineral and save some money. A homemade deer mineral lick should include minerals that are essential for deer health, such as calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, sodium, copper, zinc, and selenium. Or pitchfork turned-up ground and mix it in with the shovel or pitchfork mineral supplement even if wasnt. Salt wasnt present to bare dirt, about 3 feet in diameter of and... 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