??? about deer / mineral licks...
 

After reading the post on here about mineral licks, I finally set one up a couple of weeks ago...mostly out of curiosity. I used the di-cal, trace mineral, and stock salt mixture as was suggested and sofar, I've been a little disappointedbecause the deer haven't seemed to be using it very much. I checked it today and saw afew good-sized, frestracks in it but that's it so far.This might indicate that its been being used a little bit...butthere's a trail that comes out into the alfalfa field at this spot so maybe the deer could have just walked through it too. Also, I crisscrossed a few loosestrands of hay across the site when I made it so I could tell if its been used or not and all of the hay is still in place. When the deer hit the licks do they literally dig and tear the site up? Maybe they haven't discovered it yet? I mixed all of the minerals in with the soil...should I have left a pile of it exposed on top of the ground as well? I think that my main problem here is that the alfalfa was cut the dayafter I put the minerals out. While the field was still standing there was 5-7 bucks and several does feeding out there every evening and since its been cut I haven't seen anything. We finally got some rain and the alfalfa is starting to growback prettygoodnow, so I'm hoping that this new growth will bring the deer back in and they'll find my minerals. I'm gettinkinda ticked off...I've beenwatching a really nice buck and few other decent ones since the beginning of June and was really enjoying watching theirantler developement. I haven't seen them now in almost two weeks and I am really wondering what their racks are lookin' likenow:D.

RE: ??? about deer / mineral licks...
 

If you have old forest cuttings ie stumps, hollow logs, just pour a 20# bag of rocksalt into it. About this time the the year. You'll have a hole about 3ft in dia and 1ft into the ground by this fall.

RE: ??? about deer / mineral licks...
 

We set our licks up on old stumps - I don't know how the deer find them, but they do.

RE: ??? about deer / mineral licks...
 

Don't worry about it, a mineral lick is not a instant magic deer lure. The deer will know it is there and will use it as needed .... especially next spring.

RE: ??? about deer / mineral licks...
 

I used the same mix. I placed it areas where the bucks leave scrapes year after year and along some travel corridors.In the areas where the 'annual' scrapes are,I noticed substantially more activity than the travel areas. If you have some mix left over, try puuting it areas where you find scrapes every year. There isno doubt that the recent fieldcutting has altered the deer pattern. Let it green up in a few weeks, they'll be back.

RE: ??? about deer / mineral licks...
 

I use a trace mineral/dical mix(no stock salt), and have been for 10yrs. I pour (2) 5gal buckets full on top of old stumps, about 3-4 times a year. They tear it up. Chances are they haven't found it yet. Even if you mixed it into the ground, they will find it eventually. Like I said, I've always just poured it on top of an old stump and it's worked great. They actually rooted one stump completely out of the ground in a couple years. I think it depends on deer density and travel patterns as to how much use it will get. Some of our licks get hit real hard, others not so much. Good luck :)

RE: ??? about deer / mineral licks...
 

I like the stump idea. Had my property logged about 5 years ago so the stumps are starting to soften up. I'll give it a try!

RE: ??? about deer / mineral licks...
 

Sean
We have always put it on fairly solid stumps...not a REAL soft one. It seems to work better that way, at least for us. They will actually dig on the stump and eat it also. If you logged your property 5 yrs ago, probably any hardwood stump would be just about right.

RE: ??? about deer / mineral licks...
 

Thanks for the advice guys. I'll have to try the stump method next time. The alfalfa's coming up great and the bucks are using the field again. I checked the mineral site today and saw a few tracks in it but no digging so far. Maybe I'll have to throw some apples out near the site to lure the deer into the minerals.

RE: ??? about deer / mineral licks...
 

It will take them a couple of weeks to find it, but when they do, trust me, youll know. It also depends alot on what time of year it is...springtime is where I get most of my succes. Good luck