The test was conducted in July. Furthermore, when the same deer were examined the following year as 2.5yearolds, no differences were detected between the two groups. These make up about 60 percent of the total weight of the antler. To make a homemade deer mineral lick, gather ingredients for the mix. Some of our partners may process your data as a part of their legitimate business interest without asking for consent. Placing the lick in a spot with tall grasses or shrubs will help the deer feel safe when they are visiting the lick. That would certainly work. As I detailed in the Spring issue, its safe to say that soils determine more about whitetail growth and productivity than any other factor. Now add in the oats and mix again. As you can imagine, after a deer paws up and eats a bunch of salty dirt, its going to need a drink. In a large bowl, mix together the plain salt, white sugar, trace mineral salt, ground limestone, dolomite lime, and Epsom salt. The best deer mineral program is one that features variety and consistency. They bed seemingly wherever they want and there are no scrapes or super-active trail systems to target. Join us as we mix up the mineral and take it out and put. Email: info@deerassociation.com. Lucky Buck Apple Flavored Deer Attractant 4. Once you have your supplies its time to start making mineral sites. One is to start by hanging your cameras on the fringes and then work your way toward bedding areas if deer movement warrants it. Use tab to navigate through the menu items. Have you ever traveled through western Kansas? 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. Stan Potts heads to Montana with his rifle in search of a Big Sky buck. In so doing, we get fantastic response from the deer herd. Think of minerals more like a vitamin, filling the gap in any deficiencies that might exist in a deers diet. The author dispenses granular mineral into a covered trough. As you can see, getting the right salt level in a mineral can be tricky. Bogart, GA 30622 Lesser amounts of other minerals were found including potassium, barium, iron, aluminum, zinc, strontium and manganese. Now that we have an idea of the role minerals play in your management plan, lets look at the recipe. Sodium helps to regulate blood pressure and fluid balance in the body. According to research, yes. Studies show that there are about 11 minerals in deer antlers. Simply use a bucket with nearby pond or creek water to do this. Please enable JavaScript to view the comments. When spring rolls around, hunters everywhere gear up to begin establishing or recharging the mineral sites on their hunting properties. Place the mixture in a shallow container, such as a baking pan or pie plate, and place it in an area frequented by deer. You can use granular minerals or dicalcium phosphate, which can be found at a feed store. During gestation and lactation does have high requirements for calcium and magnesium. The minerals are not as attractive to deer, but they are a necessity for their body. February 24, 2023 |Timber 2 Table Wild Game Recipes, February 22, 2023 |Timber 2 Table Wild Game Recipes. The key is to have realistic expectations. But this does not guarantee that deer will use the site. Again, this isnt a magic trick that will ensure you have trophy bucks running around your property, but youll at least have peace of mind that your deer have access to all the minerals they will need to stay healthy and to develop antlers and healthy fawns. For one, as long as you have an idea of how many deer are on your property, knowing expected intake can help you figure out how much mineral you can expect to use each year. 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. You can do more or less depending on the amount of use you get at a site. A homemade deer mineral lick should include minerals that are essential for deer health, such as calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, sodium, copper, zinc, and selenium. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register. ). Farm B had a total of eight adult deer using the deer mineral site, five of which used the site on a daily basis. One final deer mineral site consideration for non-nutritional factors is soil type. Farm A had an average number of 11 adult deer using the site on a daily basis. If you notice no deer sign after a few weeks, then mix in more salt to the site. These two ingredients are bitter, so you may want to add some salt to the lick. I then allowed the deer to use the sites for seven days, at which time I removed the remaining contents from the pan and weighed it in order to get a total usage. N1 Outdoors - How To Make Your Own Deer Mineral Recipe (and what ingredients you'll need): Trace Minerals 2 parts trace minerals. In the above video, I share a simple recipe for making about 100 pounds of the mix for less than $40. logging, flooding), a mineral site will receive increased usage with each progressive year. 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. Site by Gray Loon. So, if you have already addressed the larger concerns of habitat and herd management, mineral supplements can be another part of your overall management plan. Could the use of salt/mineral mixes simply be due to an increased need for salt? Homemade Deer Mineral Recipe Watch on Be sure and Visit North American Wildlife and Habitat Facebook Page Below are photo using 35 mm game camera, Mineral lick site was started in 2000 on this piece of property in Southern Missouri along the Arkansas Border. In contrast, most studies on whitetails have focused on the impacts on body weight and antler development. All Rights Reserved. A much better approach is to use a covered trough with a roof high enough for a buck to easily get his head inside (and be able to see all around as he does so). The placement of a homemade deer mineral lick on your property is an important factor in encouraging deer to visit and use the lick. Antlers are comprised of roughly 20 percent calcium and 10 percent phosphorus. However, be mindful of your impact to the area and don't risk spooking your buck by delving too deep into his core area. There are commercial and homemade granular mixes available. Do I believe that? 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. The best place to put a deer lick is near your closest water holes, ponds or water sources and near your food plots. A 1:1 or 2:1 Ca:P ratio is optimum. To my knowledge, there is little to no research on the subject as it pertains to deer. Mar 18, 2010. However, salt can also be an intake limiter for the very same reason and is often used in livestock minerals to limit intake. 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. Type of mineral formulation affected total deer use of baited sites, with a high salt formulation receiving over four times the number of daily visits from deer as other formulations. Dicalcium Phosphate - #50 - $20.10. 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. 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. 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. In its own way, western Kansas is quite beautiful, that is, of course, unless you like a lot of trees. Many hunters believe that it is simply because bucks need the minerals for antler growth and does for raising fawns during these months. I only know that when I put out a mineral site, I'm likely going to have an excellent location for capturing a lot of trail camera images. Bucks must live long enough to reach physical maturity while having access to high quality nutrition to achieve maximum antler growth. But running mineral sites can get a bit pricey. Factors Affecting Mineral Intake 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. Simply use a bucket with nearby pond or creek water to do this. For instance, did the cameras trigger each time a deer was using the site? I have also found that unless there are major changes in the vicinity of the site (i.e. The best time to put out these mineral blocks is in February/March/April. An example of data being processed may be a unique identifier stored in a cookie. One of the easiest ways to lure deer to your property is to place a mineral lick. 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. 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. 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. Strongly consider buying a bag of rice bran or other attractant like apple extract that may entice deer to eat the minerals. I've mentioned this before, but here is the recipe I use with prices. The sites attract deer and pose them for short periods in the right spot -- which happens to be right in front of the camera. I struggled with that, because many cattle minerals have a known intake consumption of 2 to 4 ounces per head per day. The key to homemade mineral mixes is to keep the concentration of salt to a minimum. The first step is have the soils analyzed for the critical macro- and micro-nutrients. You can also use this as a trail cam to monitor the growth of your deers antlers. Also, slightly burying the pan helped to ensure the mineral would not be spilled. Continue with Recommended Cookies, Home Recipes The #1 Best Deer Mineral Recipe. Back in the early 1970s, two men came to visit me at the Institute for White-tailed Deer Management & Research in Texas. I have found that mineral sites located in sandy areas are utilized less than mineral sites in heavier soils. Rain will dissolve the mixture. Allow the deer to lick the mineral lick for about two weeks. They have a bit of a red pepper tint and some of the seeds are green. 1 part Di-calcium phosphate, this is a dairy feed additive bought at feed stores. If you were looking for good descriptive words, vast and expansive would come to mind. Phone: 1-800-209-DEER (3337) I've used all manner of commercial mineral products over the years, and I've also epxerimented with my own blends. I began the project by placing black plastic feeding pans at my oldest and most frequented deer mineral sites. Whether the addition of supplemental minerals is truly benefitting the deer, or if the deer are simply using the site because of the salt, isn't really a primary concern of mine. Calcium and phosphorus are important for bone growth, while magnesium helps to regulate muscle and nerve function. They can feed darned near anywhere as browse is abundant and crops are plentiful. All soils are made up of minerals, and there are clear deficiencies in many areas. You can purchase the ingredients in many stores and mix them together yourself. Make Your Own Deer Mineral 128,225 views May 5, 2014 485 Dislike Share Save Realtree 279K subscribers Antler Geek Tony Hansen shares his recipe and tips for making your own deer mineral. It also has a lower taste, so deer will return for more. Making your own deer mineral lick can be a simple and cost-effective way to help increase the odds that your hunt will be successful. 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. If youre trying to lure deer, place slow-releasing mineral blocks near bedding areas and water sources in the summer. for about $23.00. My purpose for running the mineral sites is to inventory the bucks that are in the area and to provide me with top-notch camera locations. Research in Tennessee supports this. However, several studies have shown that while deer readily use mineral licks high in salt, they rarely, if ever, use pure mineral supplements. The Trace Mineral salt has all the different minerals which deer need after a long winter. Larry Redmon and Richard Reed (the latter now deceased) were local cattlemen and avid deer hunters, and they had a question Id never heard. Calcium and phosphorous are the two biggest components of antler growth after protein. If the mineral soil is buried in the ground, you may need to add more salt to it. These folks should know more than anyone about proper nutrition for ruminants, a group that includes whitetails. Basically, the deer will tell you where they like to eat. Therefore, I took the total number of deer that used the site over a seven-day period and divided it by seven days to reach an approximate number of deer using the site each day. Give a Gift
A good rule of thumb is about one site per 100 acres of property. Theyre classified as either macro- or micro-nutrients. Deer. The Importance of Knowing Intake You can use a 1:1 or 2:1 (two parts salt and one part dicalcium phosphate) ratio for your mineral site. Even in the deer world, we are continuously finding that what we thought was fact one day is completely disproved the next. 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. This mineral will be for sale in the next 2 weeks!! Wildgame Innovations, for example, has all manner of attractants that have a powerful aroma that should help deer find your mineral site more quickly and may add a flavor component that the deer love. What Minerals Should Be Included in a Homemade Deer Mineral Lick? Here is a recipe one of the MO conservation agents passed on to us hunters. 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. When soil is either too low or high in pH, utilization of P is inhibited, greatly affecting body growth and antler production. locks tend to be the least effective way for deer to get supplemental minerals. Staying undetected by deer while hunting in a ground blind takes a few easy steps. Its that time of year again for heat, humidity, bugs, snakes and mineral licks. However, if you are using mineral supplements or considering using them to improve the nutritional plan of the deer herd on your property, I think having at least an idea of what expected intake is is important. Our deer blog is one of the longest-running and most popular ones out there. 2 parts Trace mineral salt, the red and loos kind without the medications. Deer mineral licks are a great way to attract more deer. Once they've found the location, it's the salt that keeps them coming back. There are commercial and "homemade" granular mixes available. 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. Using a 32oz cup mix 1-cup dicalcium phosphate 2-cups trace mineral salt and 1-cup rock salt (ice cream salt) into 5-gallon bucket. There are three main types of mineral supplements. 2 parts Trace mineral salt, the red and loos kind without the medications. However, these body sources of calcium and phosphorus provide only a portion needed for optimum antler growth. In this video I show you the results from my homemade deer minerals. However, when antlers are in the velvet stage and growing, they contain about 80 percent protein and 20 percent phosphorous and calcium. Typically, this attractant comes in the form of straight salt. 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