2 parts Trace mineral salt, the red and loos kind without the medications. A few drops of a natural attractant, such as rice bran, apple extract, or salt, can also be added to your deer mineral. In addition, one group was provided a commercial mineral supplement. 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. Watering Note: If theres no rain in the forecast, consider watering the mineral site. While this will help them find you more quickly, it will also add flavor. All soils are made up of minerals, and there are clear deficiencies in many areas. Whether you need to know how to test the soil in your food plot, tighten the groups from your crossbow, or scope out the latest on that big buck you saw online, you've landed around the right campfire. Regardless of the intensity of mineral supplementation, a yearling buck will still be a yearling buck. locks tend to be the least effective way for deer to get supplemental minerals. 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. Email: info@deerassociation.com. For instance, did the cameras trigger each time a deer was using the site? Theyre classified as either macro- or micro-nutrients. Find an area located in some cover close to the water source. Plain Stock Salt - #50 - $4.30. These products can be mixed with water or placed in a tree stump. There also is 5 flavors that are natural to deer. This means you have the option to read your magazine on most popular phones and tablets. As I detailed in the Spring issue, its safe to say that soils determine more about whitetail growth and productivity than any other factor. ! The test was conducted in July. At the same time, I reviewed the cameras located at each spot to identify how many deer were using the site each day. Surely, the knee-deep depressions in the soil caused by repeated years of mineral supplementation are evidence of deer need. Here's how to create your own. These make up about 60 percent of the total weight of the antler. And make sure you locate your mineral site near a water source, because deer will need to drink after theyve eaten minerals. Its best to get started as soon as spring green-up starts taking place, but keeping minerals out year-round is better. This would equate to a .21 ounce-per-head-per-day intake. This interferes with efficient sodium conversion in the body and increases the need for sodium. This would equate to an average ounce-per-head-per-day intake of .29 ounces. Get tips from Steve Bartylla in this Hunt em Big. Tink's Estrous Gel Stream 3. Free choice minerals are probably one of the most difficult products where you can get a good sense of intake. The minerals are not as attractive to deer, but they are a necessity for their body. Once you've thoroughly mixed the minerals with the soil, you're done. 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. N1 Outdoors - How To Make Your Own Deer Mineral Recipe (and what ingredients you'll need): Trace Minerals 2 parts trace minerals. Do the math. When spring rolls around, hunters everywhere gear up to begin establishing or recharging the mineral sites on their hunting properties. The best deer mineral program is one that features variety and consistency. What Minerals Should Be Included in a Homemade Deer Mineral Lick? Do I believe that? The feeding pan had a total of 4.27 pounds, or 68.24 ounces, of mineral remaining. The best place to put a deer lick is near your closest water holes, ponds or water sources and near your food plots. The Best Way to Cook Chanterelle Mushrooms, 12 Reasons Why Your Venison Tastes Like Hell, Watch Pennsylvania Black Bears on Live Den Cam, Midwesterner Discovers Very Rare Melanistic Deer, Why an Old-School .30-06 Hunter is Switching to the 6.5 PRC, Southerners Shoot the Oldest Bucks, Texans Bag the Most Does, and More Highlights from the 2023 NDA Deer Report, Lost and Found: Neighbor Finds Hunters Huge Buck More Than a Year Later, Alabama Rut Kicking, Police Dog Saves Deer Hunter from Icy River, and More Deer Hunting News. Experiment and see what works best for you. Choose a location that is away from human activity, like your house or outbuildings. There are commercial and "homemade" granular mixes available. 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. They know that deer typically begin using supplemental minerals around spring green-up and continue until early fall. 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. July 1, 2022 |Timber 2 Table Wild Game Recipes, February 27, 2023 |The Realblog with Stephanie Mallory, February 28, 2023 |Brow Tines and Backstrap. Deer arent cows; they dont like to lick blocks the way their bovine cousins do. Although many people assume that any mineral will grow trophy bucks, most deer are not that fortunate. You can also locate these sites near good trees for trail cameras. These folks should know more than anyone about proper nutrition for ruminants, a group that includes whitetails. For most whitetail managers, one of the best ways to supplement mineral nutrition is (where legal) through supplemental feeding. Honestly, I'm not sure and it really doesn't matter to me that much. Creating a lick is certainly fun, inexpensive, and watching deer respond to these licks is satisfying. |, 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. All Rights Reserved. Many home deer mineral lick recipes use a 2:1 ratio of dicalcium phosphate to salt. Additionally, a homemade deer mineral lick can also include minerals like iron, manganese, and cobalt to provide additional health benefits. Once posts are published, youll see them here. 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. Place the lick in an area that has plenty of natural browse available. This mineral will be for sale in the next 2 weeks!! 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. You can provide deer these minerals and supplemented nutrition a variety of ways. Dicalcium Phosphate Mix the ingredients above with 1 part dicalcium phosphate. 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. Bucks must live long enough to reach physical maturity while having access to high quality nutrition to achieve maximum antler growth. 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. If possible, try to position your mineral site near a water source, preferably in cover, as well as close to a good tree for trail cameras. In this study, researchers did detect a difference in yearling buck antler development between supplemented and unsupplemented groups. Yes, whitetails will eat dirt, but the vast majority of minerals they consume enter the system through the plants they eat. B.Y.O Deer Base. Dig a whole 2-3" deep by about 3 feet across. Almost all soils more than 2550 miles from a seacoast are low in sodium. #1. Mike Clerkin heads to the legendary Buffalo County, Wisconsin, in search of early season whitetail action. Taking common ingredients found in most homes and mixing them into a viable, attractive combination that deer love is an easy process. I replicated the test on three different farms to help alleviate variables, at least to a certain degree. Continue with Recommended Cookies, Home Recipes The #1 Best Deer Mineral Recipe. 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. You can also add it to a basic free choice mineral. 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. Calcium and phosphorus are important for bone growth, while magnesium helps to regulate muscle and nerve function. WHITETAIL DEER HOMEMADE MINERAL MIX RECIPE Printable version Ingredients: Makes 200 lbs. When creating sites, I try to find heavily used trails or trail crossings somewhere in cover (brush or timber) and create the site just off that trail or trail crossing. Join us as we mix up the mineral and take it out and put. In this video I show you the results from my homemade deer minerals. Of course, while mulling this over in my Excel spreadsheet, I was making a lot of assumptions, so I decided to conduct a research project on one of my farms to see if I could come up with a number based on real data. Without question deer need minerals, and they will readily use mineral licks. If youre trying to lure deer, place slow-releasing mineral blocks near bedding areas and water sources in the summer. - The Best Explanation. This sheds light on why quality forage high in protein is needed during the spring and summer for deer to reach their antler potential. This is where we cover all things deer hunting, from experts and whitetail trivia to news, gear, and hardcore hunting advice. This can be beneficial for several reasons. Even though we used protein in this example, the same is true for nutrients in a mineral supplement. Notice the pond in the background. The water is so powerful and so easily drained in your hands that you should definitely be buying water from a natural resource like a stream to get a better picture of what the water is going to be like . To my knowledge, there is little to no research on the subject as it pertains to deer. About 40 percent is composed of protein. Whitetail Institute Winter-Greens Deer Food Buying Guide Easy to use Effectiveness Affordability Portability Frequently Asked Questions According to research, yes. However, soil limitations often dictate using supplements to fill in the blanks created by scarcity of critical minerals in the native environment. Also, fawns will learn mineral site areas from their mothers and will return to sites even after they are weaned. Research shows granular minerals facilitate increased consumption by animals as they're able to literally eat (vs. lick) the mixture. You should place a mineral site close to a source of water, as deer will need water after ingesting the minerals. Basically, the deer will tell you where they like to eat. As it turned out, the general area has long been known for a cattle disease called grass tetany, which is directly related to a lack of magnesium in the diet. Mineral licks arent going to magically grow trophy racks on a bucks head, but they are a piece of the management puzzle. In terms of trying to identify the total number of different deer using each sight, how much did human error play into the results? Have fun with it. Stan Potts doubles down in Montana and Wyoming. Be sure its in close proximity to a good tree for a trail camera, too. Deer. Western Kansas is also flat, and when I say flat, I dont mean kind of flat. Mixing Salts Mix the trace minerals above with 1 part mixing salts Dried Molasses Mix the above ingredients with 1 part dried molasses. Want to get a bunch of trail camera photos during the times of year when it's typically difficult to do so? You can also use this as a trail cam to monitor the growth of your deers antlers. Deer prefer mineral sites that are in cover as opposed to out in the open. One final deer mineral site consideration for non-nutritional factors is soil type. Stan Potts heads to Montana with his rifle in search of a Big Sky buck. However, in many areas feeding isnt a legal option. 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. So mineral supplementation wont show any antler effect for at least a year. Those actually were wonderful days to do research, as my colleagues and I picked the low-hanging fruit of knowledge. These categories indicate the amount used by the animal. 2023 Outdoor Sportsman Group. 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. Here are some deer mineral recipe tips and tactics to get your whitetails as healthy as they can be. An example of data being processed may be a unique identifier stored in a cookie. for about $23.00 1 part Di-calcium phosphate, this is a dairy feed additive bought at feed stores. 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. Manage Settings Also, slightly burying the pan helped to ensure the mineral would not be spilled. In the old days, we simply dug holes and poured granular mineral into them. But generally, one per 100 acres will ensure that the majority of the deer will have easy access to a mineral site. During the summer, finding locations that deer frequent often can be tough. A 1:1 or 2:1 Ca:P ratio is optimum. If you plan to use a mineral mix for deer, you may need to increase the concentration of salt over time. Here is a recipe one of the MO conservation agents passed on to us hunters. You must log in or register to reply here. Using a mineral mixture that has less than 50 percent salt will not attract deer. The best mineral sites are located near water sources. 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. 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. What does all this mean to the average deer hunter and manager? In the above video, I share a simple recipe for making about 100 pounds of the mix for less than $40. Farm B had a total of eight adult deer using the deer mineral site, five of which used the site on a daily basis. Leave formulation to the professionals. All North American Whitetail subscribers now have digital access to their magazine content. The key is to have realistic expectations. The first step is have the soils analyzed for the critical macro- and micro-nutrients. Mike Clerkin heads to Buffalo County, Wisconsin to bowhunt whitetails. Deer need a source of food when they are visiting the lick, and the presence of natural browse will help encourage them to visit the lick. Farm A had an average number of 11 adult deer using the site on a daily basis. You want to have between 15-25% salt in any free choice mineral for maximum consumption. 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. Make sure the lick is near a water source. However, these body sources of calcium and phosphorus provide only a portion needed for optimum antler growth. Mix the minerals and dirt well in the depression, and then add a little molasses for a sweetener. If you use it, they will come. Recalibrate. 1 part Di-calcium phosphate, this is a dairy feed additive bought at feed stores. Comes in 50lb Bags at around $11.00 you need one bag. Back in the early 1970s, two men came to visit me at the Institute for White-tailed Deer Management & Research in Texas. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register. Salt ( ice cream salt ) into 5-gallon bucket with efficient sodium in... 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