Homemade deer mineral recipe

[Pat B]

I looked through the "How To" section but found nothing. I'm looking for a deer mineral mixture I can make. I've been using the 50# brown mineral blocks you get from feed stores but either they are getting heavier or I'm getting older but they are a bear for me to carry to the salt lick I've supplied for over 20 years. I figured if I make up a batch of loose minerals I can carry a few pounds at a time every week or so.
 Any help would be appreciated...by me and the deer, turkeys and Bozo the bear.

[Biathlonman]

Probably not what your looking for but we've always used water softener pellets spread out on the ground and the deer wI'll literally dig holes by the end of the season.  Bags fit well in a good backpack too.

[elkken]

Get trace mineral salt in a bag at the feed store, then you can carry it in any weight you want. Just pour it on the ground.

[Thrasher]

100 lbs trace mineral
50 lbs of iodized or mixing salt
50 lbs dicalcium phosphate

Mix and carry as much as you need at a time.

[Ryan Rothhaar]

2:2:1 ratio of white stock salt to brown trace mineral salt to dicalcium phosphate.  The first two you can get at about any farm store.  The dical can be harder to find, but usually grain elevators have it.  In big cattle country its easier to find, as it is used as a cattle supplement.  Avoid any mineral mixture that contains grain byproduct, distillers grain bypro, or wheat middlings.... it gets rotten fast when dumped and I've never known deer to use it.

The dical is a better mineral for them, but the taste of the salt keeps them using it.

R

[Sam McMichael]

Wouldn't it be a lot easier just to take a hammer and break the commercially prepared block into easy to handle chunks?

[Pat B]

Sam, I've thought about that but think I'd rather make up a couple of hundred pounds of loose material. I usually go through two 50# blocks a year.  The lick has been in the same place for at least 20 years now. I haven't added any since last summer and the deer are digging to China to get to whatever minerals are left.
 Thanks for the recipes, Guys. I'll see what I can find at the local feed and seed.

[bucknut]

I have used the same recipe as Ryan with excellent results.  Just dig a hole mix it in with the dirt some and they will be on it immediately. Had 11 bucks visit one site in a 2 day period last year. 5 P&Y or better.

[Jon Stewart]

I do like Sam suggested.  I take a saw and score the large block all the way around it and then split them up.  Do it again to the half sections and you have 8 small sections to carry in the woods.  I have also used the water softener pellets that are an easy carry.

[K.S.TRAPPER]

Originally posted by Jon Stewart:
I do like Sam suggested.  I take a saw and score the large block all the way around it and then split them up.  Do it again to the half sections and you have 8 small sections to care in the woods.  I have also used the water softener pellets that are an easy carry.

Same hear but make sure to clean up your tools and oil them good or they will rust something fierce. The blocks last so much longer and I started cutting them down after my heart vale replacement. Still a good work out!    

Tracy

[DaveT1963]

Originally posted by Thrasher:
100 lbs trace mineral
50 lbs of iodized or mixing salt
50 lbs dicalcium phosphate

Mix and carry as much as you need at a time.

This recipe has been around for years but you will/may experience a hard time finding the Dicalcium.  I use  1 part salt, 2 part mineral salt and 1 part dried molasses... the deer love it, all the ingredients are easy to fins and is works just as well.  The mineral salt (at least the version I get at Tractor Supply) has adequate dical in it.

[SELFBOW19953]

They also make small 5 lb (I think) salt blocks.

[Bow man]

Go to feed store and get "Beef" Mineral there is almost no salt in this and it has all the minerals deer need then mix with a bag of Trace mineral that is half the size.

[KentuckyTJ]

Here you are.

You will need the following (all loose in bags no blocks)

Fine live stock salt.

Trace mineral(some places call it trace mineral salt- get non medicated)

Dicalcium phosphate (ask for DiCal)

these are 50lbs bags.

Ratio:

1 Part salt

1 Part DiCal

2 Parts Trace mineral

Also Dical can be tough to find and be sure to call around. Prices on it vary widely sometimes.

I mix all that up into a 5 gallon bucket and that seems to be a good amount for one lick.

The bucks will only hit a lick when antler growth depletes their minerals. So I usually get them going around the first of April. I always hang a trail camera on them also. Cool to watch antler growth all summer. They will stop using them around July for the most part.

Picking a site:
Find a low spot where when you get a rain it will fill with water for a short time. Don't want it where water flows in a rain as that will wash it all away quickly.

New site Process:
Take a shovel after choosing your site (about 4'x4') turn up the soil to pretty fine at about 6"-9" deep. Pour your mixture onto the soil and mix it in with a rack or your shovel. I usually do this just before a rain.

If your ground is sandy you might have to add more to it around June as it will soak into the sandy soil quicker.

That's it. Let me know how it works out for you.

[fisherick]

Excellent, will try new site this weekend

[kbetts]

I've used the salt/mineral mix and now just use the mineral.  The first ingredient in it is dical.....don't know why you need to add more.  I stopped using salt two years ago as it didn't seem to be making a difference either.  Livestock mineral....non medicated.


 

[BigErn]

Originally posted by DaveT1963:
 

Originally posted by Thrasher:
100 lbs trace mineral
50 lbs of iodized or mixing salt
50 lbs dicalcium phosphate

Mix and carry as much as you need at a time.

This recipe has been around for years but you will/may experience a hard time finding the Dicalcium.  I use  1 part salt, 2 part mineral salt and 1 part dried molasses... the deer love it, all the ingredients are easy to fins and is works just as well.  The mineral salt (at least the version I get at Tractor Supply) has adequate dical in it. [/b]

Where do you get the dried molasses?

[DaveT1963]

I get it from a local nursery (it is used to add organic matter and other good stuff to soil).  Not sure what it does in a mineral lick except provides some additional minerals and aroma to help them find the lick.  And deer revisit the site for SALT not the minerals.  Every mineral bag I have ever bought contains at least 40% salt - but I add more.

[kbetts]

Deer visit for minerals as well as salt.  They know what they need and where to find it.  Hence the dical for lactating females.  Sulfur helps keep bugs at bay.....might want to research a little more.