In a large bowl, mix together the plain salt, white sugar, trace mineral salt, ground limestone, dolomite lime, and Epsom salt. 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 can help attract deer to feed stations during these stressful periods. Dicalcium Phosphate Mix the ingredients above with 1 part dicalcium phosphate. Get tips from Steve Bartylla in this Hunt em Big. Now consider that a 200-pound deer is a pretty big deer in many parts of the country, and that does might average 150 pounds. Factors Affecting Mineral Intake Just be sure to dig up some of the existing dirt and mix the trace mineral salt and dicalcium phosphate into the soil. Clovers and Perennials- Are you planting for now or the future? for about $23.00. Back in the early 1970s, two men came to visit me at the Institute for White-tailed Deer Management & Research in Texas. I know of some deer managers in Ohio whose homemade mineral mixes gave the animals heavy metal poisoning! Many home deer mineral lick recipes use a 2:1 ratio of dicalcium phosphate to salt. But why do they use these licks and why is their use restricted primarily to the spring and summer? What is the Most Important Factor in Whitetail Nutrition? Heavy deer rub activity along this interior path Many of these minerals only make up a fraction of a percent of the antler. 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. 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. Comes in 50lb Bags at around $11.00 you need one bag. Nutrient levels mean virtually nothing if you do not at least have an approximate idea of how much of a product the deer are consuming. |, 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. Predator Hunting (Coyote, Bobcat, Fox, Wolf, Cougar, etc. If you stand in the middle of Highway 400 just west of Dodge City and look out at the horizon, you can get a good understanding of why people once thought the Earth was flat. Photo at mineral lick start in 2001 and end in 2003. These folks should know more than anyone about proper nutrition for ruminants, a group that includes whitetails. Therefore, mineral supplementation prior to and during antler growth may be beneficial. My best advice here is to use an attractant with an aroma or flavor that's natural to your area. In addition, one group was provided a commercial mineral supplement. The higher the numbers the more you are typically getting out of it. Use a mineral site. For example, in much of South Texas (which is broadly deficient in P), low rainfall makes trying to grow traditional food plots a fools errand. Instead, we apply 50 pounds per acre of triple-superphosphate (0-45-0) fertilizer to native brush. 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. Want to get a bunch of trail camera photos during the times of year when it's typically difficult to do so? Once youve tagged that big whitetail deer, take a look at some of our most popular venison recipes like our Old School Deer Jerky Recipe or the Delicious Deer Backstrap Crockpot Recipe, What Is A Piebald Deer? Along those same lines, deer will more readily utilize minerals that are ground applied than offered in a man-made feeder. 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. 2023 Grand View Outdoors All Rights Reserved Maybe I'm overly paranoid but I don't like adding persimmon-scented products in an area where persimmons don't grow. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. This interferes with efficient sodium conversion in the body and increases the need for sodium. Placing the lick in a spot with tall grasses or shrubs will help the deer feel safe when they are visiting the lick. In this edition of "From The Stand," Pat Hogan explains the importance of being aware of proper clearance when using your bow or crossbow out in the field. Minerals attract deer, and they seek them out when they enter these areas. Micro-nutrients include: iron (Fe), copper (Cu), Zinc (Zn), manganese (Mn), cobalt (Co), iodine (I) and selenium (Se). for about $23.00 1 part Di-calcium phosphate, this is a dairy feed additive bought at feed stores. With careful consideration of the deers nutritional requirements and the needs of the environment, a successful deer mineral recipe can be created. More Info At www.huntingnet.com This makes deer actively seek out concentrated sources of sodium such as natural or manmade licks. Leave formulation to the professionals. To view the purposes they believe they have legitimate interest for, or to object to this data processing use the vendor list link below. 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. 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. 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. So why not just pour salt out for the deer if thats what they're after? It would appear that, based on the test results, intake of a free choice deer mineral is substantially lower than what is commonly thought and much closer to the predicted intake based on body weight calculation. Most professionals relied on information generated primarily for small ruminants, including sheep and goats. 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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. During the spring and summer, deer operate at a sodium deficiency due to the high potassium and water content of the forage. Weve learned that a multi-pronged approach to providing deer minerals is best. Of course, the other macro- and micro-nutrients should be included in lesser amounts. A good wrinkle to add here is to mix up the recipe used in the video -- that'll give you about 100 pounds of mix -- and then blend in some sort of dry attractant to help the deer find the location quickly and to add some additional flavor value that might keep them coming back for more. As fall approaches, vegetation begins to mature and drop in potassium. While I could identify many of the deer that used the sight daily, some did not use the site each day, and some could not be definitely identified as a daily user. 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. Pour your mineral contents all over the turned-up ground and mix it in with the shovel or pitchfork. It takes food, shelter, and time to reach the antler growth stage. Dig a shallow hole and loosen the soil before adding your minerals. I believe that when properly provided, minerals can increase the productivity and quality of a deer herd. 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. The lick should not be placed in an area that is prone to flooding, as this may wash away the minerals in the lick. In formulating a plan of attack regarding mineral nutrition, I went to the same folks wed consulted about planting forages: dairymen. Dicalcium phosphate contains around 19 percent phosphorous and 20 to 25 percent calcium. As you can see, getting the right salt level in a mineral can be tricky. Calcium and phosphorous are the two biggest components of antler growth after protein. 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. 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. Bucks must live long enough to reach physical maturity while having access to high quality nutrition to achieve maximum antler growth. You can provide deer these minerals and supplemented nutrition a variety of ways. Gordon Whittington talks with 13-year-old Troy Metzger about the 2016 hunt that landed the young man a monster non-typical buck on this edition of Big Buck Profile. To begin with the non-nutritional category, location is critical. B.Y.O Deer Base also contains, magnesium, sulfur, potassium as well as all the essential trace minerals and vitamins needed by deer. Deer warts are hairless black or gray tumors caused by a type, CWD Roundup is the National Deer Associations (NDA) bi-monthly update on all things chronic wasting disease (CWD). A homemade deer mineral lick should include minerals that are essential for deer health, such as calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, sodium, copper, zinc, and selenium. 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. Look at the post in Whitetail deer hunting. Researchers at Mississippi State University found a strong correlation between soil mineral content (primarily phosphorus) and body size, although no correlation with adult antler size was found. I group these factors into two categories non-nutritional and nutritional factors. Ingredients 2 cups = Oats 2 cups = Cornmeal 1 cup = Brown sugar 1 cup = Molasses 1/2 cup = Vegetable oil Directions In a large bowl, pour in molasses, brown sugar, and vegetable oil. Sodium helps to regulate blood pressure and fluid balance in the body. Typically, this attractant comes in the form of straight salt. It won't take long to sink a few hundred bucks into the ground. Weve put together one of the best deer mineral recipe articles for you to try at home. Rice bran is around $10 for a 40-pound bag. The best place to put a deer lick is near your closest water holes, ponds or water sources and near your food plots. Potassium and sodium must maintain a balance at a cellular level, and since most green, growing vegetation is much higher in potassium than sodium, deer become salt hungry during the spring and summer as their bodies crave more sodium. A good rule of thumb is about one site per 100 acres of property. Strongly consider buying a bag of rice bran or other attractant like apple extract that may entice deer to eat the minerals. Dig a whole 2-3" deep by about 3 feet across. These products can be mixed with water or placed in a tree stump. So mineral supplementation wont show any antler effect for at least a year. They can feed darned near anywhere as browse is abundant and crops are plentiful. B.Y.O Deer Base. Manage Settings Our deer blog is one of the longest-running and most popular ones out there. Dr. James Kroll and Haynes Shelton explain why it's important to know your neighbors when operating a smaller deer property. Here's how to create your own. Many hunters believe that it is simply because bucks need the minerals for antler growth and does for raising fawns during these months. Gordon Whittington talks with Steven Sprout about the trophy buck he took back in 1998 while bowhunting public land in Illinois. 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