Hiawatha

Liquid, I hear if you crush up asprin and mix it in with the mineral its supposed to lower the viscosity of the blood which will lower that blood pressure. Just thought ya might find that useful lol.............

hunter60

check out whitetail institute under f asked ? about salt.

farm hunter

seriously,

Increased salt intake, will decrease forage intake (bloated belly - too much water requirement due to increased salt intake) and unless forage is top notch the deer will suffer.

Mineral licks might be good for several reasons - but try to keep the salt content down if you can. - it can only help in the long run.

Lexington

Is it more affective to use salt or to sit out and do a deer call?

I assume salts better all season, but grunts only working during rutting...?

whitetailpredatorsizedoesmatter

we have around 300 heard of cattle and we feed our cattle minerals, it is not uncommon to see deer out in the field using the feeders meant for the cattle. we get our minerals in bulk usually 2 ton at a time so i will take a bag and in my honey holes will pour some of the contents on a oldrotting stunp the wood will soak it up when it rains. i have licks that have 3 or 4 foot holes around the stump. i have a deer cam and get some awsome bucks on film in late july into august using these licks.

dong

my thoughts exactly. more salt eaten = less forage eaten = less nutrition = poorer herd

liquidorange

im no expert but i would have to say if deer are smart enough to know not to eat my horse sweet mix after a couple days because it goes moldy on the ground quick compared to corn i would think that they would be smart enough to only use a salt lick for there daily body requirements. ive even seen an article with pictures that deer under poor mineral conditions will eat washed up on the shore- herring (fish) .

whitetailpredatorsizedoesmatter

lmao ........i guarentee that we dont have a poor herd of deer. just because the deer cant get all the nutrients that they need from forage, and in turn resort to mineral licks dosent mean that they are poor. we grow huge deer here in southern ohio, and the deer have huge racks and body size. the deer are not goin to gorge themselves on salt, think about it do u use alot of salt on your food, no it starts to take the taste away, you need salt in you diet too. i have licks and the use them 85 to 90% of the time when the does have little ones and the development of antlers, so i think dong dont know dittly.

Hiawatha

I also really don't think there is a big hazard in a deer gourging itself in salt. I have thrown out just plain salt blocks that we use for cattle and the deer seem to use them a bit but not eat them up like candy. A question i have is why don't deer get grain overload and bloat. I know with our cattle you have to be careful that they do not consume too much grain at a time otherwise they will bloat. Deer can feed on a grain pile in the field here all winter and handle it fine. Obviously the deer know when to stop, or maybe they have a better digestive system not quite sure what the deal is.

slobbyrobby33

Here is what I use and it makes 200 punds for $20 to $25:

2 parts Red trace minerial [unmedicated]

1 Part Stock salt

1 Part Dicalcium Phosphate [ Di-Cal ]

From what I have been told Salt is only used for taste and has no nutritional bennifits for the deer. The deer are getting all of the good stuff from the trace minerials and the the Di-Cal. The di-cal is used for rack development and milk production.

I have had extremely good luck with this mixture. A person has to remember that there are certain times of the year that deer do not use mineral licks very often but ther use them alot right after the rut and and during the summer when bucks are growing racks and does are caring young'ins and when does are nursing young'ins.

This mixture is cheaper than any commercial brand and I would put it up against any commercial brand.