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Post by hornzilla on Mar 18, 2014 15:40:09 GMT -5
A while back there was a posting about minerals. Someone posted that they bought all of there's at a farm store instead of the over priced "buck mineral". If so what did you use and what was the mix. How did it work?
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Post by throbak on Mar 18, 2014 17:29:07 GMT -5
One time I looked at the Ingredients and amt,s of each and Hog Mineral supplement was closest to the Deer Supplements I used about 50-50 feed salt and supplement.. My self I dont think they help as far as antler growth or such but the deer came to it as good as any.. I use it to watch deer in front of the house it worked for that they came to it well
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Post by Woody Williams on Mar 18, 2014 21:21:12 GMT -5
I've used the granulated brown trace mineral salt poured over a spaded up area and mixed in. It works just fine
I've seen some deer lick recipes somewhere.. If I find it I'll post it.
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Post by drs on Mar 19, 2014 4:27:51 GMT -5
I purchased a mineral block just yesterday and placed 1/2 of it in one location, back in my field. The remaining half in the woods where I have one of my ladder stands. Going to buy another mineral block and have a couple more areas to place them. I paid $5.75 per block at our local TSC store.
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Post by Woody Williams on Mar 19, 2014 4:56:45 GMT -5
I've got a mineral block sitting just outside my backyard. It is on an old tree stump. The deer seem to pay more attention to the stump than the mineral block.
The stump is licked clean and some of the dirt around the stump had been eaten.
I put my trail camera on it like I did last year.
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Post by drs on Mar 19, 2014 5:17:46 GMT -5
I've got a mineral block sitting just outside my backyard. It is on an old tree stump. The deer seem to pay more attention to the stump than the mineral block. The stump is licked clean and some of the dirt around the stump had been eaten. I put my trail camera on it like I did last year. Woody, you need to set the block on the ground, and maybe break it up a bit. Yes, the Deer will lick the ground around it plus the block itself.  I've tried some of the other blocks for Deer, which cost almost double the cost of those brown mineral blocks, and not one Deer touched those over-priced blocks. |
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Post by DEERTRACKS on Mar 19, 2014 5:36:03 GMT -5
Checkout the deer's closest relative dietary wants & needs. Goat supplements!
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Post by swilk on Mar 19, 2014 5:56:41 GMT -5
1 part dicalcium phosphate. 2 parts trace mineral salt. 1 part stock salt.
Mix in a bucket.
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Post by drs on Mar 19, 2014 6:41:22 GMT -5
Checkout the deer's closest relative dietary wants & needs. Goat supplements! Your brown mineral block, will take care of all or most nutrient needs for Deer. |
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Post by Woody Williams on Mar 19, 2014 7:09:13 GMT -5
1 part dicalcium phosphate. 2 parts trace mineral salt. 1 part stock salt. Mix in a bucket. That is the one I remember. I've read some articles by deer biologist that say the deer really do not need these supplements, especially to "grow bigger antlers". |
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Post by swilk on Mar 19, 2014 7:11:23 GMT -5
Makes for good pictures though .... I figure it helps out the doe more than the bucks.
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Post by lawrencecountyhunter on Mar 19, 2014 7:52:07 GMT -5
I tend to get a lot more doe activity on mine.. Does and fawns all hours of the day, bachelor group of bucks once every 2 or 3 days usually.
I usually go with a white salt block and a brown mineral block, one site the hole is about 2 feet deep and 5 feet across from about 5 years of use. I put out one site per property, usually in a corner I stay away from while hunting to prevent any trouble with the law.
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Post by swilk on Mar 19, 2014 7:56:10 GMT -5
We did not get any of the biggest bucks around at the mineral sites last year but we got several in the 150-160 class .... plus it allowed us to get a decent feel for the overall male deer population based on the numbers of immature bucks we get.
Cameras on the edges of transition areas between cover and AG fields is where we got pictures of our two biggest bucks.
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Post by goosepondmonster on Mar 19, 2014 7:57:43 GMT -5
I've got a mineral block sitting just outside my backyard. It is on an old tree stump. The deer seem to pay more attention to the stump than the mineral block. The stump is licked clean and some of the dirt around the stump had been eaten. I put my trail camera on it like I did last year. Woody, you need to set the block on the ground, and maybe break it up a bit. Yes, the Deer will lick the ground around it plus the block itself. I've tried some of the other blocks for Deer, which cost almost double the cost of those brown mineral blocks, and not one Deer touched those over-priced blocks. I'll agree with that. I've put out a few of the blocks marketed for deer and they just rot into the ground. The brown salt block is the only thing I've seen the deer actually pay attention to. I bought a bucket of Lucky Buck last year, because it is touted as the best mineral out there. I had two deer that barely sniffed the stuff. |
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Post by Woody Williams on Mar 19, 2014 8:00:47 GMT -5
Excerpts..
QDMA.'s leading biologist Brian Murphy -
"A classic study on the mineral needs of deer was conducted at Penn State University in the 1950s. In this study, researchers did detect a difference in yearling buck antler development between supplemented and unsupplemented groups. However, these herds were fed a nutritionally deficient diet below what most whitetails would have access to in the wild. Furthermore, when the same deer were examined the following year as 2.5 year olds, no differences were detected between the two groups.
In a similar study conducted at Auburn University, researchers tried to detect differences in body and antler size between an unsupplemented and supplemented group. This study differed from the Penn State study in that both herds were fed a nutritionally complete diet. In addition, one group was provided a commercial mineral supplement. Over a four year period the researchers were unable to detect any differences between the two deer herds.
Without question deer need minerals, and they will readily use mineral licks. But why do they use these licks and why is their use restricted primarily to the spring and summer? Many hunters believe that it is simply because bucks need the minerals for antler growth and does for raising fawns during these months. However, several studies have shown that while deer readily use mineral licks high in salt, they rarely, if ever, use pure mineral supplements. If deer were lacking minerals, why wouldn't they use the pure mineral supplement even if salt wasn't present? No one can say for sure, but it's probably because most minerals by themselves are bitter.
Could the use of salt/mineral mixes simply be due to an increased need for salt? According to research, yes. During the spring and summer, deer operate at a sodium deficiency due to the high potassium and water content of the forage. This interferes with efficient sodium conversion in the body and increases the need for sodium. This makes deer actively seek out concentrated sources of sodium such as natural or man made licks. Almost all soils more than 25/50 miles from a seacoast are low in sodium. Therefore, in these areas, salt may be just as necessary as calcium and phosphorus to whitetails during the spring and summer."
CJ. Winand said in an article on this subject -
"Over the last several decades, biologists at Universities across the country have researched the effects mineral supplementation has on a bucks' rack. In most cases, they put deer in two pens. In one pen, the deer were feed their regular diet. In the other, the deer ate a mineral in addition to their regular diet. After a few years in most studies, researchers did not see a noticeable difference. Many biologists bring up the research every time a hunter brings up minerals. C.J. Winand, a biologist from Maryland, believes that minerals are hocus pocus. "All of the data available today says that mineral supplementation doesn't have a lasting impact on antler size. Research is being done regularly and until I see a study that shows that minerals help deer grow larger racks, I will continue to believe what I believe," Winand explained."
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Post by tenring on Mar 19, 2014 8:10:58 GMT -5
Mineral licks are not to emphasize antler growth for horn porn, it's for the overall general health of the animal. Those who would dispute this have not spent any appreciable time around beef or dairy herds.
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Post by drs on Mar 19, 2014 8:12:37 GMT -5
I've also noticed quite a bit of Squirrels & Rabbits using the mineral blocks I set out.
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Post by tenring on Mar 19, 2014 8:14:31 GMT -5
this^, I set salt sticks out every year around the house and the back yard rabbits and squirrels chew them to pieces.
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Post by boonechaser on Mar 19, 2014 12:16:20 GMT -5
I use trace mineral block's and top of with Lucky Buck deer mineral. Site's get lot's of attention and are great for inventoring your local deer. (Trail cam's) Personally I think they help with overall health of your local deer. Do they help with antler developement?? I don't believe it hurt's. Generally have mine out from end of my hunting. (Usually Around 1st Dec. and keep them active till mid August) Then dig out area and cover with top soil. I did notice more activity this winter than in past. Maybe because of worse weather IDK, but Site's are very active currently.
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I've tried some of the other blocks for Deer, which cost almost double the cost of those brown mineral blocks, and not one Deer touched those over-priced blocks.
