Ingredients: Makes 200 lbs. By delivering mineral in this way, youre exposing deer to greater risk of parasites and diseases. Arguably, the test might only be representative for the particular deer mineral I was using, and a different mineral with different salt levels or other attractants might have shown a different result. Its best to get started as soon as spring green-up starts taking place, but keeping minerals out year-round is better. |, Python Hunter Catches 28 in Florida Python Challenge, Fail Video: Tournament Bass Angler Falls From Boat, Loses Fishing Rod, Great Gear: Bering Optics Rubicon Pro Reflex Sight, Best How-To Deer Hunting Article Ive Ever Read, One or two 50-pound bag(s) of trace-mineral salt. 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. Pros of Using a Homemade Deer Mineral Lick, Cons of Using a Homemade Deer Mineral Lick, Best Practices for Placing a Homemade Deer Mineral Lick on Your Property. Copyright Jesse's Hunting & Outdoors L.L.C. The best time to put out these mineral blocks is in February/March/April. Dicalcium Phosphate - #50 - $20.10. A classic study on the mineral needs of deer was conducted at Penn State University in the 1950s. People have used corn, apples, cherries, and salt in a variety of ways to bring deer into an area near a hunting blind or deer stand. Food additive these minerals are combined with a supplemental feed, and deer get them while consuming the feed. Ohio Hunter Balances Hunting and Family to Bag 190-inch Typical, Dr. The best place to put a deer lick is near your closest water holes, ponds or water sources and near your food plots. Also, the use of a foreign object, the plastic feeding pan, could have decreased usage even though I did not start the test until the deer were regularly using the site with the feeding pan in place. Maybe, or maybe not. Deer, during this time of year, are actively searching for it. To make a homemade deer mineral lick, gather ingredients for the mix. Whitetail Institute Winter-Greens Deer Food Buying Guide Easy to use Effectiveness Affordability Portability Frequently Asked Questions It may not display this or other websites correctly. Too much salt and you will limit total intake of mineral. However, a University of Georgia study detected 11 different minerals in the whitetails antlers. You could also create your own homemade mineral licks for deer, by combining various bulk minerals (e.g., stock salt, trace minerals, dicalcium phosphate for deer) from your local coop. Clearly minerals are important in antler development. This past summer, I was developing a new deer mineral product and was constantly frustrated by the fact that I really didnt know what expected intake would be. This is in contrast to animals with horns that are made of keratin (like fingernails), that do not shed, and need only protein to increase the growth their horns. James Kroll and Haynes Shelton talk about being realistic when it comes to managing a smaller deer property in this edition of Dr. Strongly consider buying a bag of rice bran or other attractant like apple extract that may entice deer to eat the minerals. Stockpiled Forages, The Key to Growing Big Bucks. Micro-nutrients include: iron (Fe), copper (Cu), Zinc (Zn), manganese (Mn), cobalt (Co), iodine (I) and selenium (Se). Making deer mineral licks is not a hassle and you can do it on your own in a few simple steps. Monitor the lick and the deer activity around it regularly. Place the lick in an area that has good soil drainage. Now add in the oats and mix again. My best advice here is to use an attractant with an aroma or flavor that's natural to your area. July 1, 2022 |Timber 2 Table Wild Game Recipes, February 27, 2023 |The Realblog with Stephanie Mallory, February 28, 2023 |Brow Tines and Backstrap. This means you have the option to read your magazine on most popular phones and tablets. In order to hit the 1.44 pounds of protein, the buck would need to consume 5.1 pounds of the 28 percent product or 6.5 pounds of the 22 percent product. Sodium helps to regulate blood pressure and fluid balance in the body. You can also use this as a trail cam to monitor the growth of your deers antlers. It won't take long to sink a few hundred bucks into the ground. All soils are made up of minerals, and there are clear deficiencies in many areas. | Minerals are important to all living things, serving a host of physiological functions. 2 parts Trace mineral salt, the red and loose kind without the medications. Many of these minerals only make up a fraction of a percent of the antler. What Are Arrows Shot From Untuned Bows Likely to Do. This time of year, deer are actively searching for salt. If a buck consumes 8 pounds of total food per day, then in order to hit an 18 percent protein level in his diet, he would need to consume 1.44 pounds of protein. Comes in 50lb Bags at around $11.00 you need one bag. When I felt that the deer were using the site normally again, I removed all content from each pan and replaced it with exactly 5 pounds of mineral at each site. But why do they use these licks and why is their use restricted primarily to the spring and summer? If the buck consumes only 3 pounds of the 28 percent protein product but eats 5 pounds of the 22 percent product, he is actually getting more protein from the 22 percent product than the 28 percent product. Salt regulates intake. Homemade deer mineral supplements work best near waterholes and food plots. We and our partners use data for Personalised ads and content, ad and content measurement, audience insights and product development. Theyre classified as either macro- or micro-nutrients. The two main minerals found in hardened deer antlers are calcium and phosphorous. But we now know that was a really bad idea. The placement of a homemade deer mineral lick on your property is an important factor in encouraging deer to visit and use the lick. But running mineral sites can get a bit pricey. One method for making your own mineral blocks is to mix them with soil. 1 part Di-calcium phosphate, this is a dairy feed additive bought at feed stores. Most folks would simply look at the tag and see that one product is 28 percent and the other 22 percent and just assume that the deer is getting more protein from the 28 percent protein product. Getting your food plots back on track. I then placed cameras at each one of the sites to monitor usage. 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. But there is another important factor thats nearly always overlooked by both people using free choice minerals and those putting these products together. Watering Note: If there's no rain in the forecast, consider watering the mineral site. That means their expected consumption should be 0.21 to 0.42 ounces per head, per day. Salt becomes less of an attractant, which means that in order to get continued mineral consumption, a different type of attractant must be used. So why not just pour salt out for the deer if thats what they're after? Deer: Balancing Expectations for Small Properties, Get to Know Your Neighbors for Better Deer Herd Management, Big Buck Profile: Reid Crawford Kansas Buck, Choosing Correct Magnification for Rifle Scope, Big Buck Profile: Troy Metzger's East Illinois Giant. There also is 5 flavors that are natural to deer. As fall approaches, vegetation begins to mature and drop in potassium. 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. The results of these studies suggest that mineral supplementation especially calcium, phosphorus, and sodium may provide some benefit, especially in situations where deer are nutritionally deprived or areas with minerally deficient soils. Powdered sugar brings the sweetness deer crave as the winter approaches. This is also why mineral licks make excellent trail camera spots in the summer. Every two weeks, remove any remaining mineral and wash or wipe out the pan with 50 percent bleach water to kill bacteria and parasite eggs. Photo at mineral lick start in 2001 and end in 2003. Once they've found the location, it's the salt that keeps them coming back. Research in Tennessee supports this. The best places for minerals are around a water source ponds, creeks, lakes, etc. This should be followed by developing a food-plot or native-plant fertilization program to ameliorate any deficiencies. However, there must be enough salt in the product for the deer to be attracted to it. So, if we take a 200-pound buck and say that hes eating 4 percent of his body weight each day, then this equates to 8 pounds of total daily food consumption. You can also locate these sites near good trees for trail cameras. 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. Homemade Mineral Lick Go to your local feed store and buy (1) 50lb bag of granulized dicalcium phosphate, (2) 50lb bags of trace mineral salt, and (1) 50lb bag of rock salt. You can purchase the ingredients in many stores and mix them together yourself. You can provide deer these minerals and supplemented nutrition a variety of ways. 2001 Mineral Lick Pour your mineral contents all over the turned-up ground and mix it in with the shovel or pitchfork. Because of this, I normally recommend at least one site per 40 acres to minimize site competition, with more sites needed in areas with higher deer density. Those actually were wonderful days to do research, as my colleagues and I picked the low-hanging fruit of knowledge. WHITETAIL DEER HOMEMADE MINERAL MIX RECIPE. The ingredients include Trace mineral salt, Di-calcium phosphate, and dried molasses. You can also add it to a basic free choice mineral. Pour in the mineral and the rice bran at a ratio of 2:1. I've done more research on this that I care to disclose, but from . As you seek to improve herd nutrition, theres still no substitute for good native forage management. 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. In addition, one group was provided a commercial mineral supplement. The third site on Farm C was discarded due to a camera failure. This makes deer actively seek out concentrated sources of sodium such as natural or manmade licks. Notice the pond in the background. I began the project by placing black plastic feeding pans at my oldest and most frequented deer mineral sites. #1. I struggled with that, because many cattle minerals have a known intake consumption of 2 to 4 ounces per head per day. The white earth minerals work well if you want to add . Matt Harper is a deer nutrition specialist from Iowa. However, the formula I used for this mineral is a fairly standard formula used in many deer mineral products. 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. Find an area located in some cover close to the water source. Important macro-nutrients include: calcium (Ca), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), magnesium (Mg), sodium (Na) and sulfur (S). Research shows granular minerals facilitate increased consumption by animals as theyre able to literally eat (vs. lick) the mixture. While this will help them find you more quickly, it will also add flavor. Once posts are published, youll see them here. Larry Redmon and Richard Reed (the latter now deceased) were local cattlemen and avid deer hunters, and they had a question Id never heard. I've mentioned this before, but here is the recipe I use with prices. To my knowledge, there is little to no research on the subject as it pertains to deer. The product you choose needs to have calcium and phosphorus, in as large of quantity as possible. In a similar study conducted at Auburn University, researchers tried to detect differences in body and antler size between an unsupplemented and supplemented group. If you dont see any deer activity near the mineral sight, try placing it near water sources and a good tree for trail cameras. A lot is made over the power of mineral sites to grow antlers and create a healthier deer population. These make up about 60 percent of the total weight of the antler. Even though we used protein in this example, the same is true for nutrients in a mineral supplement. THE RISE AND FALL OF THE MISSOURI WILD TURKEY, 2021 Missouri Spring Turkey Season Worse in 24 Years, Missouri Wild Turkey Regulation Changes Needed, MDC Mythbusters Missouri Turkey Population, 2022 Missouri Wild Turkey Poult Production, 1st Annual National Wild Turkey Symposium, 2nd Annual National Wild Turkey Symposium, 3rd Annual National Wild Turkey Symposium, 4th Annual National Wild Turkey Symposium, 6th Annual National Wild Turkey Symposium, 7th Annual National Wild Turkey Symposium, 8th Annual National Wild Turkey Symposium, 9th Annual National Wild Turkey Symposium, North American Wildlife and Habitat Facebook Page. 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. Lucky Buck Apple Flavored Deer Attractant 4. Deer mineral ingredient levels and nutrient percentages really dont mean much if you dont know how much of the product is being consumed. Here's the finished mineral site with dicalcium phosphate and trace mineral salt thoroughly mixed together with the soil. This is a great way to add to your water table (and your wallet) by using natural minerals to add to water. Crappy Weather/ Days off just not lining up for Coyotes. WATCH: Where to Place Minerals for the Best Results. However, several studies have shown that while deer readily use mineral licks high in salt, they rarely, if ever, use pure mineral supplements. If you plan to use a mineral mix for deer, you may need to increase the concentration of salt over time. In the above video, I share a simple recipe for making about 100 pounds of the mix for less than $40. It takes food, shelter, and time to reach the antler growth stage. Discussion 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. Calcium and phosphorus are important for bone growth, while magnesium helps to regulate muscle and nerve function. Deer need a source of water to drink when they are visiting the lick. Subscriber Services. 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. Of course, we now know the Earth isnt flat, but it wasnt a popular belief until science and ocean navigation proved it. Much salt and you can purchase the ingredients in many areas hundred Bucks into ground! Fertilization program to ameliorate any deficiencies the recipe i use with prices Trace... Putting these products together my oldest and most frequented deer mineral sites can a... Able to literally eat ( vs. lick ) the mixture get a bit pricey two minerals! If there & # x27 ; ve done more research on the mineral and the rice bran a. 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