What members opinion on Minerals
Whitetail Deer
Only if you have a lot of knowledge on this subject Please I’ve done a lot of reaserch on this and am wanting some opinions On what’s some of the best minerals for your deer Not just a salt block which we all know does nothing for deer Any members have a piece of land or hunting lease that has a log of mineral use that they have seen known jumps in antler size and over all health of there deer I’ve been adding the mineral I’ve been using right in with my supplemental feeding program But want to make sure I’m using a quality product Not just a bag of salt with a big buck on the bag Thanks
I’m not being a wise guy but, salt during the summer offers whitetail deer a great advantage. It helps with digestion. That’s why they will literally dig up the ground if salt seeps into it.
As far as having a great experience with other minerals and the percentages needed for better health, I don’t. Other than those I know who make their own, have spent years perfecting the blend. And, salt is always a pretty big component in it. Because deer seek it out so heavily in the late spring, summer, and early fall.
Good luck with your search.
Look at providing what your soil lacks.
" Not just a salt block which we all know does nothing for deer..."
Salt blocks for cattle have trace elements/minerals that benefit animals. Maybe not in perfect proportions for deer vs cows, but deer will use them. A $10 red block from the feed store is cheap enough that you can put a few out. These girls like it.
We've had three established mineral licks on the farm (800 acres) for pushing 20 years now. Dump 50lbs of mineral mix at each site in March and the deer, especially lactating does, will hammer them through August. Bucks hit them too, just not nearly as often or stick around as long as the does.
We don't buy pre-mix minerals, just use a formula that I found on the QDMA site many years ago. Our formula includes 50lbs of Dicalcium Phosphate and 100lbs of livestock trace mineral. There are lots of different trace minerals out there. We buy the highest calcium and phosphorous content possible and shoot for as close to a 2:1 ratio in the overall mix as we can get. We also try to keep the overall salt content for the mix under 40%. The deer hit these licks hard and we've never needed an attractant.
Not experts at this by any means...just following that recipe we found through QDMA years ago and has produced noticeable benefits. Very confident these mineral stations have helped lactating does and greatly benefitted fawns. Honestly can't say if our bucks are growing bigger racks at full maturity...but can definitely see benefits on younger bucks. (i.e. growing bigger racks earlier in life). Passed three different 2-1/2 year olds this season that had P&Y potential. Prior to the mineral stations, most yearlings on the farm were spikes and forkies, most 2-1/2 year olds were basket racks and we were fortunate to even see a 3-1/2 year old with P&Y potential.
Good stuff Pav. I’ve been studying this very topic to start a couple licks next spring. I’ve come to your same conclusion: 50 lbs Di Cal Phosphate, 100 lbs of Trace Mineral and I’m gonna add a bag of Big &J as our deer around here seem to love it.
Only thing we have added is dried molasses: Kelly Harris Recipe I always buy 50 lbs bag of dicalcium phosphate, 50 lbs bag of trace mineral salt, bag of powdered molasses My brother and I have done a lot of research and this is always a debate and the question remains does mineral help or not. No hard evidence in wild herds but does it hurt would be a better question. No evidence it hurts. Unless of course your a a CWD - Covid type.
I run about 10 mineral sites a year. Last year I added the dry molasses and I think that it did draw more use. I think that we have bigger, healthier deer and bigger antlers since we started putting it out but we have also added food and fertilizer. It is worth it to me for the pictures I get of the bucks in the area. It also helps with learning were the bucks bed. It is interesting that some sites get used a lot more than others. In some areas the minerals will grow mold for lack of use. I located and shot a buck this year with a mineral lick. It was a fairly open woods. I had two mature bucks show up on camera in the middle of the day, so I knew that they had to be bedding close. The minerals were no longer being used and new sign was minimal but on 11/14 I shot one of the mature bucks checking out a bedding area.
Used to use the same formula as Pav before it was banned in our county. I believe the quality of the bucks in our immediate area was better when we used it. Some of the stumps still get hit 5 years later.
It varies immensely. I put out minerals in Minnesota and the deer tear up the ground and eat the soil. I put the same out in Kansas, and the deer dont touch it.
Dale I've found use varies with terrain. One place I use it is bottom land and the deer use it Spring and Summer. Another is rocky upland and those deer will hit it year round. Better soil, less usage.
Agree with PAV’s assessments, although I can’t definitively say that I’ve seen any appreciable difference in the size of the racks on the bucks in my area, but we’ve always had very good genetics in my area, even before anyone ever started putting any mineral sites out. I think the biggest benefit is overall herd health, especially the lactating does and the fawns.
I’ve tried several different types of mineral mixes over the past 20-25 years, and had some that were utilized way more than others. Oddly, the one that the deer used the least on my farm, was blended by Grandpa Ray’s Outdoors. He is a nutritional specialist for livestock AND wildlife, and sells wildlife seed blends and nutritional products. I think he really knows his stuff, but the deer would barely utilize that mineral. I ended up mixing another mineral blend with it until it was all gone, then ended up mixing my own with an electric cement mixer, utilizing the Kelly Harris recipe, plus a little extra free salt. Been using it the past 3 years with good success.
Agree with Goyt as well. The does definitely hit them much more so than the bucks do. I’ve started a bunch of sites over the years and some spots take off very quickly and get hit hard every year. Others only got hit sporadically for some reason. I abandon those spots after a few years. I’ve got one site that has been a magnet for 20 years. It’s probably 18” deep 20’ in diameter now. Another one that I established just a few years ago, in the bottom of a ravine, is already 2’ deep and 8’ in diameter, but I rarely get any bucks on camera there, for some reason.
Guys need to consider there are places deer will go to utilize minerals and other not so much. Just randomly dumping minerals on the ground won't maximize the benefit, especially if done in a spot where deer don't feel comfortable.
The Kelly Harris recipe gets hit hard here. Bucks in velvet and does with fawns stop by daily on their way to water. I wish there was something I could add to it for EHD. We lost a lot of deer in 2021. We haven’t seen a single mature buck at home here. Little basket bucks that look to be poor genetics did all the breeding this year. But to the question of antler growth I believe it helped to some degree. Hard to prove... I just figure if they didn’t need it they wouldn’t eat it. Spring through late summer is peak use here. Any other time they won’t look at it.
ND…….you might research some of Don Higgins RealWorld info. Seems like I heard or read somewhere, that he claims he has had some positive results with the mineral products they sell. No idea if it’s confirmed, but something to check out, if interested.
Thanks T-Roy I’ll investigate it!
If disease was an issue I'd put out a bunch of smaller mineral sites so the deer didn't cluster up and transmit so much.
There isn't much research that can confirm the benefits of a mineral program offered to a wild herd, but looking at those who's livelihood is attached to animal health and you'll find plenty.
Here's a nice little article from Nobel Research Institute on benefits to cattle; https://www.noble.org/news/publications/ag-news-and-views/2019/april/mineral-supplementation-the-benefits-you-may-not-see/
https://www.noble.org/news/publications/ag-news-and-views/2019/april/mineral-supplementation-the-benefits-you-may-not-see/
I agree with little benefit,look at cattle you have to give them quite a bit of mineral before it does anything,and they get salt so they drink more.A couple licks off a block a day will probably not do anything for health or antler.High protein feed may do more but even that how much a day are they eating? Probably not much compared to rest of days diet.
Don's point was that there is definately a benefit but it's a 5yr process if you are looking at bigger antlers. Does ingest it and are healthier which translates to their fetus and fawn health. I think he estimated a 10-15% positive inches growth on the bucks. Also the overall health of the herd is positive to fight off disease and stress
The benefits may not be easily quantifiable, but if a guy put a camera on a lick and saw the amount of animals that use it and the distance that some travel to do so, I think one would intuitively understand that the animals see benefit in its availability. That benefit no doubt varies from area to area based on the degree of mineral deficiencies in the local soil and overall quality of feed.
I don’t think you can prove one way or the other if minerals are beneficial to any degree. My thinking is if they don’t hurt then use them. I use minerals mostly for inventory of deer, because I like to look at pics of “my” deer. I can tell you that the “30-06” minerals from Whitetail Institute were the most used (by the deer) that I ever put out. A close second is the red trace mineral cattle block from TSC or my local feed store. I’ve read that the more browse they eat, the more they crave salt, and those blocks are over 90% salt.
I've read that Phosphorous was the more important mineral, and would try to select the mineral product that contained the largest percent phosphorous on the label.
drycreek we have also put out 30-06 minerals and the trace mineral blocks and they both get used buy mule deer, white tails and elk, bighorn sheep on occasion too.
Antler King Graniac, for my area.
I have tried 30.06 ,Trophy Rock and I can't get a deer to hardly try.
Thank you for all the great info We are settling on a product called Rackstacker Blaze , Rackstacker Glory Rackstacker Stacked Looking for the best minerals and nutrition for our deer
Drycreek x2
I use them every year and they’re great for attracting bucks to trail cams but I just can’t believe the hype that they have any material affect on antler growth or any other nutritional benefits.
Some times they are too strong and deer won’t touch them until they’re rained on a bunch, and there’s been sites where they don’t touch them at all until the following year.
Eating protein
Eating protein
One more thing…….my place is only 80 acres so at any given time the deer on my blocks are probably living on one of my neighbors. Same holds true for feeding protein, which I do, and growing food plots. I’ve tried to make my place as attractive as I can for whitetails, by timber cutting and providing more browse and cover, as well as the supplemental feeding. At the end of the day though, it will just be a happy accident if I kill a buck that I’ve caught on cameras during the summer, they just seem to switch places when the rut starts.
I use the red blocks that the farmers use for their cows and horses. I figure a whole lot of research has gone into that. I do it because it keeps deer in the area and don't give a hoot about antler size. I have had deer with big antlers and deer with small antlers on my property as long as I can remember. Roger Yenn probably knows more about this subject than most on this site. He worked where they had the biggest bucks I have ever seen. Haven't seen him in a long time.
We have been using minerals and protein for 5 years. We have began to notice that bucks are showing better antler growth at 1.5- 2.5 years of age. We also check every doe we kill for lactation and we have had a very high % lactation rate the last few years. We are in an area that is primarily pine plantations so we don’t have the nutrition found in ag areas or bottomland environments. Minerals and protein have helped our property in my opinion. We do try to kill as many doe as possible and doing our best to get the buck/doe ratio better. We have lots of deer and we don’t have harsh winters that hurt the population.
Minerals and deer fascinate me I must say. I have seen some amazing anecdotal stories when they were put out/ then taken away. Devil is in the details I would bet. I did witness some interesting fawn behaviour this last month. I was hauling many tons of crushed limestone for a slab prep. At my final turn my neighbour had what had to be a trailer load of the same limestone just dumped in a pile on the edge of his field. On numerous occasions there was a fawn standing on top of the pile licking the limestone, less frequently a doe also. Strangley enough the dirt road was covered with the same crushed limestone and it was just a few feet away but they were always on the pile. There was something there that they felt they needed badly as they would just keep licking it as I drove by a few feet away.
"I just can’t believe the hype that they have any material affect on antler growth or any other nutritional benefits. "
It isn't that they grow bigger antlers etc., it's that a mineral _deficiency_ can have an adverse effect on health. They don't need a lot of most vitamins and minerals but if they're a bit short...
Like a multi-vitamin and mineral supplement daily. You don't really need most of it but if your diet isn't 'complete' it fills in the small gaps. You might piss out 98% of it but the other 2 keep you healthier.
Google 'micro nutrients'.
https://higginsoutdoors.com/uncategorized/do-deer-minerals-really-work/
I think this article accurately states what you can expect from minerals.
As some people have said, mineral in addition to better nutrition will lead to some benefits but most of those herd benefits will take time and may not be noticeable.
Once you create one how often do you have to refill or add more mineral?
KSBOW……At my established sites, I’ll generally dump about a 2 gallon bucket of mineral in the lick in early March, then add another bucketful into it sometime in early June, depending on how hard it is getting hit. Honestly, there’s probably already enough mineral in the dirt at my sites, that I probably could get by without freshening it for a year. I have fairly decent deer numbers in my area. YMMV
Squirrel, did the deer have a better vantage from the top of the pile?
Some of you guys have caught on that deer don’t use the blocks near as much as soil-mixed minerals. Seems as they are too concentrated/strong.
Awesome info I found the recipe from QDMA I will mix it up this spring ! I really appreciate it fellas. I’m in Ontario
I think overall habitat management (burning, select cut, etc…)trumps anything you can do like plots, mineral, supplemental feeding, etc, but when you want to do all that you can do minerals is just a box that’s easy to check. I do the trace, di cal, stock salt mixture. I would like to add molasses but it’s not easy to find in bulk down here.
Minerals and antlers can be quite the rabbit hole! It's a fact that animals need minerals to be healthy. Most environments provide at least enough minerals for local populations to survive. Some regions provide enough for animals to excel.
Minerals can be placed out but correct ratio's and palatability might be in question. Fire and habitat management have been brought up. Might as well bring up stump sprouts too (2x the protein and 3x the mineral content as uncut browse). Fire has a similar effect on nutrition. Not to mention fertilizing native plants with missing micronutrients and the generational benefits through epigenetics. Soooooo much cool stuff to consider!
https://www.msstate.edu/newsroom/article/2017/12/no-longer-stumped-mineral-stumps-provide-white-tailed-deer-nutrition
We’ve always just used the red trace mineral block. Some sites get absolutely hammered - like 18” deep and 15’ across after 10 years of use. Some we haven’t refreshed for 7-8 years and they are still getting used.
I've always wondered, for minerals to really make a difference in antler growth/the health of the herd, how much does a deer need to consume? When we could legally put our minerals, I did just because it was a great place to conduct a trail camera survey/inventory of the deer on our property. What I noticed is that they really don't hang around the sites very long. An older buck, a couple of minutes at the very most. They are not licking/eating non-stop either. It always seemed to me I created more of a social hub. Even does and fawns, they would hang around the longest, but not taking much in really. BC
I agree, the mature bucks never hang around long. Always wondered if the trail cameras are the cause? We use black flash cameras, but still catch deer staring right into them. Does and fawns tend to hang around the longest for sure. Younger bucks tend to stick around longer than mature bucks as well.
The only winter time minerals that get hit hard I’ve found is SweetPro starter tubs. 225 lb tub for about $115.
I think it depends on the buck. Some seem to be pretty camera shy, and others almost seem like they’re posing for the camera. In general, I agree, the mature bucks don’t seem to hang around nearly as long.
