mineral feeds
 

I would love to use things such as 30-06 mineral supplement, inititate, optimize and sustain but they are just to expensive. The contents are listed as crude protein, calcium, phosphurus etc. My question is if protein is the key for antler development can i buy just protein somewhere and add it to whatever I want? Plain old salt has calcium and phosphurus in it.

Is this stuff that body builders use the same type of protein. Like baseball players use creatine.

RE: mineral feeds
 

Try this for a good inexpensive mineral lick. Mix 50# of trace mineral loose salt with 50# of Di-Cal. Should be able to get 100# of mixture for less than $15 and it works very well. Just dig out a hole about 3' diameter, preferably in a clay area, and pour it in, and using your shovel mix some dirt in with it. I would put about 50# of mixture per lick.

RE: mineral feeds
 

For optimum antlerogeneisis a minimum of 16% protein should be recomended.
Deer will use from April thru Sept. approximately .5 to 1.0 g of calcium and .25 to .5g of phosphorus per day. Phosphorus composes about 11% of antler weight and antlers contain approx. 22% calcium.

Vitamin D helps in calcium absorption and the mineralization of bone.
Vitamin A is important for antler remodeling as ossification continues.

Macroelements make of 4% or so of body weight while microelement contribute less than 1%. So you can see how importatn these macroelements are.

OH MY IM A SPIKE NOW - Are my primordial buds showing?

RE: mineral feeds
 

Hey S. TX =

I like the way you presented the case for mineral supplements - where did you get your information - I hope you don' t mind sharing.

Thanks

Wigmap =

I' ve tried several mineral licks, and have come to some of my own conclusions - I will say right up front that MY expereineces may differ than others, and MAY NOT be the same as you might experience in your area.

1. Mineral sites do attract deer, - Especially May-August, - the more salt - the higher the attraction.

#1 is the Observation - and I think most will find it Undisputed. The BIG question is - does the lick help the herd?....

Here is what I think......

NOTHING can replace the minerals taken in by the deer in their browse/plots that they feed on. There is a VERY direct correlation between the amount of Phosphorous and Calcium (and Protein) avalible to the amounts of Lime and Fertilizer applied to preferred browse/plots. If you have a foodplot - you' d be better off to spend the money on Lime and/or fertilizer and apply liberally per the soil test. The results are more readily seen & documented than with licks alone.

Does this mean I never use a lick? No - not at all. In fact I use a lick - especially at fawning (May-June) to help lactating does- and It is high in salt - on purpose, to excellerate and foster milk production.

Do I use a lick for antler development? - No - Not specifically - Occasionally, I' ll use a cow type mineral with salt through August - mostly to establish a habitual feeding/ watering ritual for the local herd, that - proven or not - I hope tends to keep young bucks from dispersing, and does in a pattern that I can use to my advantage come hunting season.

Maybe this helps in antler development, to some bucks that use the licks - That I cannot disprove thusfar (thats a good thing). HOWEVER - given buck dispersal, if I were a betting man, I would not be wagering the farm on it.

RE: mineral feeds
 

Anler development is basically generated bone. What doe it take to genrate bone?
Protein, calcium, phosphorous, energy, and vitamins A-D.

Deer can actually suffer from cycles of osteoperosis from calcium diet deficiencies during antler ossification.

I get much of my info from books inherited while attending Texas A&M University Kingsville in the Range and Wildlife Managemnt Program

RE: mineral feeds
 

Timbercruiser, I use that mix now, but when I started, I mixed in 50# of molasses, which more than doubled the volume of the mix and helped with the bitterness of the Di-Cal. Now that the licks are established, I have eliminated the molasses, and now add trace minerals.
S.Texas, do the deer get enough A & D through their diet? Do they get more in ag areas vs. wooded areas? This isn' t something I need to add to my licks, is it?
Brian

RE: mineral feeds
 

It is thought that irradiaton of th eskin by ultraviolet light and consumption of irradiated plant tissues will meet the diet requiements for D.

Carotenes in green leaves can be converted to vitamin A.

In tests (1956) vitamin supplements were given with a low calcium diet and no improved antler development occured.

It has also been noted that depleted amounts of vitamin A also cause agression in cervids.

RE: mineral feeds
 

Guys this is a lot of good information. However, it is not very clear on what you buy in what amounts, where you get it, how you mix it. My original question was that a lot of the brand name mineral supplements tout that they help antler development through protein, calcium etc. I am trying to figure out how to buy this stuff without spending the money on the brand name. Any help would be appreciated. I have really looked into buying protein to mix with a feed but I can' t find out how to do that. There is a thing called soy bean meal and canola meal but from what I can tell you can only buy that in large quantities and in the futures market like people buy larges amounts of corn.