You can also use this as a trail cam to monitor the growth of your deers antlers. This would equate to a .21 ounce-per-head-per-day intake. 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. Comes in 50lb Bags at around $11.00 you need one bag. However, these herds were fed a nutritionally deficient diet below what most whitetails would have access to in the wild. You can also locate these sites near good trees for trail cameras. This is also why mineral licks make excellent trail camera spots in the summer. In terms of trying to identify the total number of different deer using each sight, how much did human error play into the results? A homemade deer mineral lick should include minerals that are essential for deer health, such as calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, sodium, copper, zinc, and selenium. With careful consideration of the deers nutritional requirements and the needs of the environment, a successful deer mineral recipe can be created. Stan Potts doubles down in Montana and Wyoming. You should place a mineral site close to a source of water, as deer will need water after ingesting the minerals. Michigan Hunter Shoots 200-class Non-typical After Oversleeping That Morning, How to Find Big Buck Sanctuaries in the Spring, Potential Kentucky State Record Crossbow Typical Shot in Hemp Field, Iowa Bowhunter Goes Stealth Mode with a Tree Saddle to Bag 194-inch Non-typical, Saskatchewan Hunter Finds Target Sheds After Looking for Multiple Days, Nebraska Shed Hunter's Wife and Dog Find 6x9 Set One Year After Learning About the Buck, Oklahoma Hunter Sticks Heavy-antlered Non-typical After Gaining Permission on Property. To be clear, most of the Ca and P used by a buck to grow antlers come from the flat bones of his body: where they were deposited the previous year. 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. Comes in 50lb Bags at around $11.00 you need one bag. Attraction to salt is caused by the balance of potassium and sodium in the deers body. To get started, click the link below to visit mymagnow.com and learn how to access your digital magazine. Minerals attract deer, and they seek them out when they enter these areas. Even taking all of this into consideration, I believe that, at the very least, the results strongly suggest that the intake of free choice minerals is substantially lower than 1 to 2 ounces per head per day. However, salt can also be an intake limiter for the very same reason and is often used in livestock minerals to limit intake. This is where we cover all things deer hunting, from experts and whitetail trivia to news, gear, and hardcore hunting advice. Whitetail Institute Winter-Greens Deer Food Buying Guide Easy to use Effectiveness Affordability Portability Frequently Asked Questions Deer prefer mineral sites that are in cover as opposed to out in the open. The diacalcium phosphate costs about $25 to $30 and the trace-mineral salt is about $12 to $15 per bag. A lot is made over the power of mineral sites to grow antlers and create a healthier deer population. Result 2001 Mineral Lick In areas where it is legal to use deer mineral, here is an economic option for you. Be sure its in close proximity to a good tree for a trail camera, too. Continue with Recommended Cookies, Home Recipes The #1 Best Deer Mineral Recipe. Dont expect to see trophy bucks walking around this fall just because you gave them a mineral boost this spring. Dicalcium phosphate contains around 19 percent phosphorous and 20 to 25 percent calcium. TOTAL - #200 - $59.60. Additionally, a homemade deer mineral lick can also include minerals like iron, manganese, and cobalt to provide additional health benefits. Besides calcium and phosphorus, little is known about the role of other minerals in antler growth. Mike Clerkin heads to Buffalo County, Wisconsin to bowhunt whitetails. Therefore, in these areas, salt may be just as necessary as calcium and phosphorus to whitetails during the spring and summer. Rice bran is around $10 for a 40-pound bag. During the summer, finding locations that deer frequent often can be tough. If the mineral soil is buried in the ground, you may need to add more salt to it. The best deer mineral program is one that features variety and consistency. In its own way, western Kansas is quite beautiful, that is, of course, unless you like a lot of trees. Now add in the oats and mix again. But I think the aroma of the added products -- the general purpose mineral in the blend above -- helps deer find the location faster and may add some level of taste value as well. Dig a shallow hole and loosen the soil before adding your minerals. Studies have shown that calcium and phosphorus are by far the two most common minerals in deer antlers, comprising 3035 percent of the mature antler by weight. Here's the finished mineral site with dicalcium phosphate and trace mineral salt thoroughly mixed together with the soil. 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. There also is 5 flavors that are natural to deer. At the same time, I reviewed the cameras located at each spot to identify how many deer were using the site each day. Ingredients: Makes 200 lbs. Subscriber Services. Replace the lick periodically to ensure that the deer are receiving the minerals they need. Photo at mineral lick start in 2001 and end in 2003. Discussion Important Note: Minerals on their own are bitter, so be sure to mix in plenty of salt to attract the deer. Thats because its long been a topic of widespread interest not only on the part of landowners and other habitat managers, but hunters, as well. Pour in one of the bags of salt and one box of the A & H. Stir in well and then add three forths of the second bag of salt and all of the 2nd box of A & H. Mix in well and smooth over the top. A few drops of a natural attractant, such as rice bran, apple extract, or salt, can also be added to your deer mineral. However, while recent studies have shown that adult bucks indeed do much of the breeding, bucks as young as 1 1/2 also areinvolved in the rut game. Could the use of salt/mineral mixes simply be due to an increased need for salt? Not enough salt and it won't be as weather proof nor will it be as palatable. Monitor the lick and the deer activity around it regularly. Sodium helps to regulate blood pressure and fluid balance in the body. Dig a whole 2-3" deep by about 3 feet across. As you can see, getting the right salt level in a mineral can be tricky. In this study, researchers did detect a difference in yearling buck antler development between supplemented and unsupplemented groups. 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. Deer need a source of water to drink when they are visiting the lick. I buried them partially in the ground in an attempt to minimize the negative effect of using a container versus the normal method of direct ground application. As I previously mentioned, intake is a vital factor when formulating a mineral or protein supplement or complete feed. To my knowledge, there is little to no research on the subject as it pertains to deer. To make a homemade deer mineral lick, gather ingredients for the mix. I have found that mineral sites located in sandy areas are utilized less than mineral sites in heavier soils. Join other outdoor enthusiasts who already get great content delivered right to their inbox. Next, choose a central location near cover and dig a shallow, 6-inch deep hole a few feet in diameter. But this does not guarantee that deer will use the site. In reviewing the scientific literature, I quickly discovered there was very little known about critical minerals for deer. So when I am creating new sites, I try several locations and replenish the ones that receive continued use while abandoning the sites with little or no use. To begin with the non-nutritional category, location is critical. Most professionals relied on information generated primarily for small ruminants, including sheep and goats. Salt is the most common attractant used in mineral supplements. These two ingredients are bitter, so you may want to add some salt to the lick. Compared to sheep and goats, whitetails are copper hogs that need a lot of the mineral. 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. An example of data being processed may be a unique identifier stored in a cookie. You can use granular minerals or dicalcium phosphate, which can be found at a feed store. 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. Tink's Estrous Gel Stream 3. Want to get a bunch of trail camera photos during the times of year when it's typically difficult to do so? Its simple: they need the salt because the forage they are eating in summer is high in water and potassium, thus creating a salt deficiency. Deer arent cows; they dont like to lick blocks the way their bovine cousins do. JavaScript is disabled. You must log in or register to reply here. If youre trying to lure deer, place slow-releasing mineral blocks near bedding areas and water sources in the summer. Deer will consume anywhere between 1 to 5 percent of their body weight each day, depending on the time of year, with winter consumption being on the low end of the scale and summer consumption being on the higher end. This means you have the option to read your magazine on most popular phones and tablets. If you dont have established mineral sites, then youll need to make some. No one can say for sure, but its probably because most minerals by themselves are bitter. Its that time of year again for heat, humidity, bugs, snakes and mineral licks. Minerals are also important for does. The form it is in (block versus granular), location of the mineral site, soil type, salt content, competition, aggression of other deer, how long the site has been established and a host of other factors all affect how much a mineral site will be used. 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. Comments on this site are submitted by users and are not endorsed by nor do they reflect the views or opinions of COLE Publishing, Inc. You can also add it to a basic free choice mineral. At least eight were using the site each day, including three yearling does, two adult does, two yearling bucks and one 3-year-old buck. Stan Potts heads to Montana with his rifle in search of a Big Sky buck. Many of these minerals only make up a fraction of a percent of the antler. 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