Mineral licks.......

[Due51]

In this months Woods N Water, Ed Spinazolla wrote an article about mineral licks. I read the article and found a recipe on Ohio-sportsman.com.

Yesterday, after visiting a customer in Charlotte, I stopped by the elevator and picked up the following ingredients:
Di-Calcium Phosphate
Trace Mineral Salt
Stock Salt (iodine free).

I dug up a 36" wide hole, poured in the minerals and mixed it into the soil.
http://www.ohiosportsman.com/photopost/data/504/medium/mineral_lick_2.JPG

Has anyone used similar ingredients for a lick?
Did anyone else read the article by Ed? How does one achieve the recommended levels of:
20% calcium
10% phosphorus
2% potassium
1% Magnesium
1% sulfur
50ppm cobalt
150ppm iron
50ppm copper
2ppm iodine
125ppm maganese
50ppm selenium
150ppm zinc

Thanks
Due

[answerguy8]

Don't know what to tell you about finding the right amount of minerals but just want you to know not to expect too much useage by the deer til next spring.

[Radar420]

I tried the General Mineral Mix that TSC sells for livestock. While the percentages don't add up to what you posted for Ed's mix they do have the same ingredients minus the copper - which I suppose you could add seperately. One area I tried it in the deer made a nice little wallow whereas the other spot I tried wasn't hit up too much. I think lack of rain this year may have had something to do with it.

Good luck with your lick though.

[jawbreaker]

TSC also has a product called 'Field Mineral', I don't have a bag handy but from memory it has alot of the same minerals called for in the recipe.

[jperry8]

Be careful mixing the minerals by yourself. When you are adding attractants to varying levels of trace minerals you can quickly achieve negative results. Iodine, Selenium, copper, and magnesium are all beneficial and necessary for deer nutrition but under free range consumption the levels must be mixed carefully.

I have been researching, mixing, and testing deer minerals for over five years. Both in controlled and free range environments with the help of biologist and nutritional experts. I still have not finalized what I believe is the best available mixture free ranging whitetail deer. I am getting closer though!

[Michigander1]

Why just not buy a block for 8 to 10 bucks and put it outs ;) Mich

[anderson3]

It is not possible to hit those specs with the ingredients you list. There is a common mix used by folks called the 'horntagger mix' that uses salt and some dical. It has Ca and P content of less than 10% each if my memory is correct. For some reason it has become popular via the internet.
If you mixed up 75% dical and 25% salt, you would still only have 15% Ca and 14% Phos...plus the deer are not likely to eat much. The specs you quote in the post could only be reached with a custom or commercial mineral, and even then salt would have to be limited to make room...and that can affect intake by the animals. If you put a minimum of 30% salt in for palatability, it is difficult to get Ca up over 15%, and that leaves darned little room for Phos. Deer like salt.

[Due51]

Why just not buy a block for 8 to 10 bucks and put it outs ;) Mich
Because I got 200lbs of minerals for $37.:D
I have been researching, mixing, and testing deer minerals for over five years. Both in controlled and free range environments with the help of biologist and nutritional experts. I still have not finalized what I believe is the best available mixture free ranging whitetail deer. I am getting closer though!
I'd be interested to hear what your conclusions are.

[WMU53]

I have property on Beaver Island, and I have had great success using TSC's General Mineral mixed with a bucket of Lucky Buck Mineral to enhance the palatbabilty. However, the deer population up there does not have access to very good nutrition, they have pounded all of the food plots and the mineral licks look like bomb craters where they have been digging.

[shanny28757]

Don't know what to tell you about finding the right amount of minerals but just want you to know not to expect too much useage by the deer til next spring.


Why do you say they wont use it much until spring time? I have hunted over a mineral lick for at least the last 4 or 5 years and until this year i have never seen a deer use it until this year. For some reason they have been loving it all of a sudden even though there is bait at the stand and crops are still up.

[answerguy8]

Why do you say they wont use it much until spring time? I have hunted over a mineral lick for at least the last 4 or 5 years and until this year i have never seen a deer use it until this year. For some reason they have been loving it all of a sudden even though there is bait at the stand and crops are still up.

Deer are good nutritionists. They know what they need and they know where to get it when they need it. When the does are lactating they know what they need and where to get it. Same for the bucks when they are growing their antlers. Come fall the need for minerals for both does and bucks is usually satisfied by the available browse.

Your deer followed that system for several years and for some reason aren't this year. I can't explain why your deer are feeling the need for more minerals this fall , but it's good that you have it there for them.

[Due51]

until this year i have never seen a deer use it until this year. For some reason they have been loving it all of a sudden even though there is bait at the stand and crops are still up.
I'm wondering if that's a clue that the source of minerals the deer had relied on is no longer available to them?

After reading Ultimate Food Plot over and over recently, I've learned the deer prefer to get their minerals from natural sources (forbes and browse). Maybe your deer have consumed the natural source of minerals and have turned to the mineral lick as a replacement source.

This is just my hypothesis.

[shanny28757]

Both of your opinions should make sense except for the fact that the deer's main food source which is the corn and acorns, is still around in most of the surrounding area. I am stumped but will not complain as long as i still seeing deer.

[answerguy8]

I'm wondering if that's a clue that the source of minerals the deer had relied on is no longer available to them?

After reading Ultimate Food Plot over and over recently, I've learned the deer prefer to get their minerals from natural sources (forbes and browse). Maybe your deer have consumed the natural source of minerals and have turned to the mineral lick as a replacement source.

This is just my hypothesis.

I like to browse Forbes too.

http://www.forbes.com/

(or perhaps you meant forbs)