ben673

I've read that homemade mixes are not as effective and can even be dangerous to deer. Do you guys believe this or is it just B.S. I would like to know what other people think because in the past I've spent a lot of money on the name brand stuff, and if I can make it myself for less money I will, but I want to make sure its really helping the deer on my land.

answerguy

Who said homemade mixes where dangerous?
Here's a link to more info on minerals: http://www.qdma.org/articles/details.asp?id=78

ben673

I've read that article before and found that its true, no salt=not much use of the mineral sight. An article in the last White Tail Institute field journal said homemade mixes could contain toxic levels of minerals that could be dangerous to deer. Their mineral mix is about a dollar a pound, and I,ve got 6 mineral sights on about 2,000 acres, so putting 20lbs a sight, per year gets really high$$$.

npaden

Yes, and the diamond people tell you to spend 3 months salary on an engagement ring too!

I wouldn't count on people selling salt plus some trace minerals for $1 a pound to be exactly up front when asked about whether something that costs closer to15 cents per pound would work just as well or not.

To get trace minerals to a toxic level would be pretty hard to do even if that's what you were trying to accomplish.

answerguy

I found this at WI but it refers to pure salt blocks and not mixes:

What about using salt blocks?
[ul][*]
Salt blocks have been used for years to attract deer due to the fact that it is cheap and sodium is often lacking in the deer’s natural diet, and therefore, deer are attracted to the sodium found in salt. The problem with salt is that it contributes very little to antler growth or lactation. Furthermore, over consumption of salt is just as unhealthy in deer as it is in humans and can increase the water consumption of deer, which takes up valuable stomach space and decreases overall food consumption. What deer really need are the proper amounts and integration of macro minerals, trace minerals and vitamins that play a much more active role in antler growth, lactation and herd health than does salt.
[/ul]

answerguy

Now if you want to talk about a useless product that WI offers it's their 30-06 with 10% protein. Deer aren't going to use enough of a mineral supplement to make the addition of the protein worth while. In fact it may be self defeating as the deer will get less of the minerals that you want them to have.

MO_Hoyt

ill have to add my .02 in here because i make my own mineral licks and i have personally seen much improvement on over all health of the deer heard from minerals. i got 4 mixes on 4 differnt properties. from what i have seen over the years on this mineral lick is you NEED to have stock/rock salt in the mix. trace and di-cal does notcut it. the object of a mineral lick is to trick the deer into eating it so it helps in fawning and devolping antlers. shure you can mix di-cal and trace minerals and you will see prints and spot where they eat a little bit, but trust me on this the deer dont like the taste of di-cal and trace minerals alone. you add the salt to trick them into licking it. my recipe is the same but it goes like this
50lb di-cal
100lb stock salt
100lb of trace minerals.

ben673

Would you suggest mixing salt with a mineral mix made for deer, like WI 30-06 or Vita Rack 26. Also, Bass Pro has a mineral mix called "On Track" it has a much higher percentage by volume of calcium and phosperus (what horns are basically made of) than Vita Rack 26. It cost $14 for 20lbs. the V/R 26 cost a lot more. In this case are you just paying for the name on the bag? The same goes for seed, I just planted a mix of Ladino Clover and Chicory that I got from a farm seed supplier, does anyone think that it is inferior to WI "Chicory Plus"? I got 10lbs. of the mix I used for the same price as 3lbs. of the "Chicory Plus". I'm not tryin to start an arguement, and I will pay more for better products, I would just like to hear what some other poeple think.

Texas Hog Hunter

I think the products are the same thing, the owner of our local feed/seed store sells both and says he's planted them side by side and never seen the premium seed do any better than the generic. We only use generic.

npaden

Well, I was able to track down the DiCalcium Phosphate but couldn't find the loose trace mineral salt. The feed store recommended their "Sheep & Goat" minerals but said they are 55% minerals and 45% salt so they are much stronger than the trace mineral salt. I bought 3 bags of stock salt to mix it all together with also.

What do you guys think about the Sheep & Goat mineral mix - should I try to find the loose trace mineral mix?

Reading some stuff online it sounds like the Sheep and Goat mix won't have copper in it but I don't know if that is important or not.

Thanks, Nathan