This should be followed by developing a food-plot or native-plant fertilization program to ameliorate any deficiencies. Western Kansas is also flat, and when I say flat, I dont mean kind of flat. To begin with the non-nutritional category, location is critical. About 40 percent is composed of protein. 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. Most professionals relied on information generated primarily for small ruminants, including sheep and goats. Result For several years now, I have been formulating free choice minerals for wild deer. Once posts are published, youll see them here. If you dont have established mineral sites, then youll need to make some. 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? Using these products is not a guaranteed way to increase antler growth, but they do have several benefits that can make your deers life more enjoyable and successful. Calcium and phosphorous are the two biggest components of antler growth after protein. Its best to get started as soon as spring green-up starts taking place, but keeping minerals out year-round is better. They know that deer typically begin using supplemental minerals around spring green-up and continue until early fall. February 24, 2023 |Timber 2 Table Wild Game Recipes, February 22, 2023 |Timber 2 Table Wild Game Recipes. This particularly is true for sandy soils, as well as highly acidic (low pH) or basic (high pH) soils. Pour your mineral contents all over the turned-up ground and mix it in with the shovel or pitchfork. In reviewing the scientific literature, I quickly discovered there was very little known about critical minerals for deer. This interferes with efficient sodium conversion in the body and increases the need for sodium. Stan Potts doubles down in Montana and Wyoming. Stockpiled Forages, The Key to Growing Big Bucks. ! Site by Gray Loon. It takes food, shelter, and time to reach the antler growth stage. There are three main types of mineral supplements. Deer need a source of water to drink when they are visiting the lick. TOTAL - #200 - $59.60. 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. in Food Plots, A different approach, Research is learning what is wrong about a forage. 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. 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. 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. As you can imagine, after a deer paws up and eats a bunch of salty dirt, its going to need a drink. Salt regulates intake. 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. Over the years, Ive written on a number of occasions about mineral supplementation for whitetails. 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. Pour in the mineral and the rice bran at a ratio of 2:1. Antlers are comprised of roughly 20 percent calcium and 10 percent phosphorus. At least eight were using the site each day, including three yearling does, two adult does, two yearling bucks and one 3-year-old buck. Rain will dissolve the mixture. All soils are made up of minerals, and there are clear deficiencies in many areas. Photo at mineral lick start in 2001 and end in 2003. In addition, one group was provided a commercial mineral supplement. Many hunters will find an old rotted stump near trails and use that for their man-made lick. Larry Redmon and Richard Reed (the latter now deceased) were local cattlemen and avid deer hunters, and they had a question Id never heard. More Info At www.huntingnet.com Visit site WHITETAIL DEER HOMEMADE MINERAL MIX RECIPE Ingredients: Makes 200 lbs. It may not display this or other websites correctly. Research shows granular minerals facilitate increased consumption by animals as they're able to literally eat (vs. lick) the mixture. This sheds light on why quality forage high in protein is needed during the spring and summer for deer to reach their antler potential. Have fun with it. If youre looking for a natural way to increase your deers antler growth, homemade deer minerals may be the answer. Regardless of the intensity of mineral supplementation, a yearling buck will still be a yearling buck. Crappy Weather/ Days off just not lining up for Coyotes. There also is 5 flavors that are natural to deer. Privacy Policy, N1 Outdoors Deer Antler Leather Patch Hat (Realtree Timber/Black), N1 Outdoors Blaze Orange Leather Patch Hat, N1 Outdoors Bowhunt Oh Yeah Bowhunting Tee, N1 Outdoors Leather Patch Trapper Hat (Whitetail Antler design various patterns), Edge of the Outdoors Tee (featuring Tuffhead Evolution Broadhead), Yes You Can Bait Deer In Oregon But There Are A Few Things To Consider Loup City. 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. Theyre classified as either macro- or micro-nutrients. 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. Making deer mineral licks is not a hassle and you can do it on your own in a few simple steps. These make up about 60 percent of the total weight of the antler. Factors Affecting Mineral Intake 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. for about $23.00. What Are Arrows Shot From Untuned Bows Likely to Do. When spring rolls around, hunters everywhere gear up to begin establishing or recharging the mineral sites on their hunting properties. As I detailed in the Spring issue, its safe to say that soils determine more about whitetail growth and productivity than any other factor. Place the mixture in a shallow container, such as a baking pan or pie plate, and place it in an area frequented by deer. This can help attract deer to feed stations during these stressful periods. Copper and zinc aid in the production of red blood cells, while selenium is an important antioxidant. These products are used for raising livestock, but are exactly what you need for creating a quality mineral site. Here are some best practices for placing a homemade mineral lick on your property: By following these best practices for placing a homemade deer mineral lick, you can ensure that your deer will have access to important minerals in a safe and comfortable area. This time of year, deer are actively searching for salt. Mike Clerkin heads to Buffalo County, Wisconsin to bowhunt whitetails. However, deer are not attracted to a high-salt solution and will not consume it. Simply use a bucket with nearby pond or creek water to do this. To make a homemade deer mineral lick, gather ingredients for the mix. Lucky Buck Apple Flavored Deer Attractant 4. Here's the finished mineral site with dicalcium phosphate and trace mineral salt thoroughly mixed together with the soil. This is why knowing your intake is so important for your mineral program. Think of minerals more like a vitamin, filling the gap in any deficiencies that might exist in a deers diet. 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. I've mentioned this before, but here is the recipe I use with prices. To view the purposes they believe they have legitimate interest for, or to object to this data processing use the vendor list link below. Dicalcium Phosphate - #50 - $20.10. If you don't want to bring your iPad into the bathroom, we can send you a magazine subscription for free! Getting your food plots back on track. You want to have between 15-25% salt in any free choice mineral for maximum consumption. Because of the large quantities of minerals required for antler growth, whitetails have developed the ability to bank calcium and phosphorus in their skeletons and then transfer these minerals during antler growth. When I felt that the deer were using the site normally again, I removed all content from each pan and replaced it with exactly 5 pounds of mineral at each site. 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. The rest must come directly from their diet while their antlers are actively growing. Dicalcium phosphate contains around 19 percent phosphorous and 20 to 25 percent calcium. Surely, the knee-deep depressions in the soil caused by repeated years of mineral supplementation are evidence of deer need, correct? So, if we take a 200-pound buck and say that hes eating 4 percent of his body weight each day, then this equates to 8 pounds of total daily food consumption. Anderson, SC, 2023 N1 Outdoors. Calcium and phosphorus are important for bone growth, while magnesium helps to regulate muscle and nerve function. Micro-nutrients such as Cu, Zn and Se are particularly important to whitetails, responsible for many metabolic activities and immune development. logging, flooding), a mineral site will receive increased usage with each progressive year. 2001 Mineral Lick That would certainly work. Also, slightly burying the pan helped to ensure the mineral would not be spilled. 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. B.Y.O Deer Base also contains, magnesium, sulfur, potassium as well as all the essential trace minerals and vitamins needed by deer. Our deer blog is one of the longest-running and most popular ones out there. During the spring and summer, deer operate at a sodium deficiency due to the high potassium and water content of the forage. It also has a lower taste, so deer will return for more. Watering Note: If there's no rain in the forecast, consider watering the mineral site. During the summer, finding locations that deer frequent often can be tough. There are many other examples of popular beliefs being dramatically changed through scientific discovery. The amount of mineral soil used for antler growth will depend on how many deer will visit the site. Weve put together one of the best deer mineral recipe articles for you to try at home. A lot is made over the power of mineral sites to grow antlers and create a healthier deer population. A lot is made over the power of mineral sites to grow antlers and create a healthier deer population. Once youve thoroughly mixed the minerals with the soil, youre done. #1. Back in the early 1970s, two men came to visit me at the Institute for White-tailed Deer Management & Research in Texas. Copyright Jesse's Hunting & Outdoors L.L.C. Granular these minerals are added to the soil, and deer get them by consuming the minerals and/or soil/minerals mixture. But if you want to spice it up, you can add a dash of any general-purpose mineral. This study differed from the Penn State study in that both herds were fed a nutritionally complete diet. In todays video we are going to show you guys how to make your own deer mineral and save some money. Monitor the lick and the deer activity around it regularly. Or maybe you have an established mineral site that you need to freshen up. We and our partners use data for Personalised ads and content, ad and content measurement, audience insights and product development. EXPLORE OTHER MEDIA 360 PROPERTIES FOR OUTDOORS ENTHUSIASTS, Hot Gear: Protect Your Phone, Docs with Confidence, Ultralight Tactical Tomahawk The Proven Multipurpose Outdoor Tool. Clovers and Perennials- Are you planting for now or the future? Place the lick in an area that has plenty of natural browse available. The best way to provide supplemental minerals is by using a granular mineral that contains less than 30 percent salt and has Ca and P at the rate of 12 percent each. 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. To make a homemade deer mineral lick, gather ingredients for the mix. If you were looking for good descriptive words, vast and expansive would come to mind. Mix the minerals and dirt well in the depression, and then add a little molasses for a sweetener. But there is another important factor thats nearly always overlooked by both people using free choice minerals and those putting these products together. Over the past five years or so, I've really started to fine-tune the system that I use for running trail cameras in the spring and summer months, and it's a system that revolves entirely around mineral sites. For about $50 or less, you can buy all the ingredients you need to make several productive and quality mineral sites for deer. Maybe I'm overly paranoid but I don't like adding persimmon-scented products in an area where persimmons don't grow. 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. The best place to put a deer lick is near your closest water holes, ponds or water sources and near your food plots. An example of data being processed may be a unique identifier stored in a cookie. Any one of a hundred things can influence how often a deer will use a supplemental mineral and how much it will consume. Could the use of salt/mineral mixes simply be due to an increased need for salt? 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. In formulating a plan of attack regarding mineral nutrition, I went to the same folks wed consulted about planting forages: dairymen. Also, fawns will learn mineral site areas from their mothers and will return to sites even after they are weaned. By using 1-2.5 lb bag of B.Y.O Deer Base to create 25 lbs of deer mineral, you will have the most bio available deer mineral in the market place. Email: info@deerassociation.com. However, while recent studies have shown that adult bucks indeed do much of the breeding, bucks as young as 1 1/2 also areinvolved in the rut game. However, these body sources of calcium and phosphorus provide only a portion needed for optimum antler growth. I've used all manner of commercial mineral products over the years, and I've also epxerimented with my own blends. TINK'S Doe-in-Rut Buck Lure 2. How to Make the World's Best Homemade Deer Attractant Feed Mineral - YouTube Skip navigation Sign in 0:00 / 18:02 Intro How to Make the World's Best Homemade Deer Attractant Feed. The higher the numbers the more you are typically getting out of it. Do I believe that? 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. Watering Note: If theres no rain in the forecast, consider watering the mineral site. Use a mineral site. Of course, we now know the Earth isnt flat, but it wasnt a popular belief until science and ocean navigation proved it. The lick should be located in a spot that is easy for the deer to access from all directions. Pour your mineral contents all over the turned-up ground and mix it in with the shovel or pitchfork. The ingredients include Trace mineral salt, Di-calcium phosphate, and dried molasses. 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