Charles Clear
5 year old buck +
Does anyone have a good recipe? I really don't want a mineral block recipe, just a good feed block recipe. Big and J's make a block like I want to make for protein. Any help would be appreciated!
Homemade Protein block?
- Thread starter Charles Clear
- Start date
35-acre
5 year old buck +
I used to make something that was more of a dry powder/mineral that was able to be dumped on the ground. It worked great, Not sure why I stopped - but I don't hunt over it - I think food plotting caught my attention instead.
Anyway - I used to mix it in 5 gallon buckets and get 3 buckets (which is a lot) worth of mineral for like $35. If you buy this like I did, you'll need 3 plastic five-gallon buckets with the lids (the lids are for when you try to mix this stuff). This ends up to be very inexpensive and the deer and other animals pound this stuff. All you have to do is dump it on the ground, or a rock or a stump. You don't have to dig a hole - but you don't want a rain to wash it away either.
The recipe was this, in a 5 gallon bucket (all dry mineral):
I recommend, using a permanent marker inside the bucket and marking the "pattern" The challenge of this whole mix is to actually get it to mix. So, if you layer it in and flatten it out, you can get the ingredients into the bucket in the right proportions but then you have the trouble of trying to stir 5 gallons of "sand" - not going to happen.
From the bottom:
A line/mark at 4 inches (2 parts) - Trace Mineral Salt
A line/mark at 6 inches (1 part) - Stock Salt
A line/mark at 8 inches (1 part) - Dicalcium phosphate
Put in 1 packet of the grape and a portion of the Arm & Hammer.
Put the lid on the bucket and try to stir it up. If you've got a big friend; ask him over to shake it up.
Take the top off (smell grape?), stir it if you have to and then flatten it out. Now draw more lines/marks. Use the You can repeat the same line structure again at:
4 inches (or 12 inches from the bottom) - Trace Mineral Salt
6 inches (or 14 inches from the bottom) - Stock Salt
8 inches (or 16 inches from the bottom) - Dicalcium phosphate
Put in another packet of the grape and another portion of the Arm & Hammer.
Put the lid on the bucket. Tell your friend he's not man enough to try and shake the bucket again and let him have at it :)
You should have enough raw product if you bought it in the sizes that I mentioned to make a few buckets. Before you make your second bucket, you might want to stop and drink some beers.
Now - I should point out that they key to minerals is to get this stuff out in the late winter/early spring. This won't produce racks - it's to help the herd. Activity might drop off in the warmer weather (that's normal).
Also, I should say that there are laws in certain areas about feeding and there is the potential to harm your herd through the spread of disease at mineral sites.
Anyway - I used to mix it in 5 gallon buckets and get 3 buckets (which is a lot) worth of mineral for like $35. If you buy this like I did, you'll need 3 plastic five-gallon buckets with the lids (the lids are for when you try to mix this stuff). This ends up to be very inexpensive and the deer and other animals pound this stuff. All you have to do is dump it on the ground, or a rock or a stump. You don't have to dig a hole - but you don't want a rain to wash it away either.
The recipe was this, in a 5 gallon bucket (all dry mineral):
- 1 or 2 packets of grape cool aid mix (powder) - this is just a scent attractant
- 1/4 to 1/2 of box of arm and hammer super washing soda - helps with digestion and absorption of all of the minerals
- Trace Mineral Salt (2 parts) is like $20 for 50 lbs.
- Stock Salt (1 part) is like $6 for 50lbs
- Dicalcium phosphate (1 part) - I would substitute oyster shells/this is stuff they give chickens to harden their shells (they will eat oyster shells - trust me) $maybe $10
I recommend, using a permanent marker inside the bucket and marking the "pattern" The challenge of this whole mix is to actually get it to mix. So, if you layer it in and flatten it out, you can get the ingredients into the bucket in the right proportions but then you have the trouble of trying to stir 5 gallons of "sand" - not going to happen.
From the bottom:
A line/mark at 4 inches (2 parts) - Trace Mineral Salt
A line/mark at 6 inches (1 part) - Stock Salt
A line/mark at 8 inches (1 part) - Dicalcium phosphate
Put in 1 packet of the grape and a portion of the Arm & Hammer.
Put the lid on the bucket and try to stir it up. If you've got a big friend; ask him over to shake it up.
Take the top off (smell grape?), stir it if you have to and then flatten it out. Now draw more lines/marks. Use the You can repeat the same line structure again at:
4 inches (or 12 inches from the bottom) - Trace Mineral Salt
6 inches (or 14 inches from the bottom) - Stock Salt
8 inches (or 16 inches from the bottom) - Dicalcium phosphate
Put in another packet of the grape and another portion of the Arm & Hammer.
Put the lid on the bucket. Tell your friend he's not man enough to try and shake the bucket again and let him have at it :)
You should have enough raw product if you bought it in the sizes that I mentioned to make a few buckets. Before you make your second bucket, you might want to stop and drink some beers.
Now - I should point out that they key to minerals is to get this stuff out in the late winter/early spring. This won't produce racks - it's to help the herd. Activity might drop off in the warmer weather (that's normal).
Also, I should say that there are laws in certain areas about feeding and there is the potential to harm your herd through the spread of disease at mineral sites.
yoderjac
5 year old buck +
RECIPE:
3 acres of ground
200 lbs soybeans
Lime and fertilize to taste....
Provides great protein along with energy. Outstanding mineral delivery system. No point source attractant. No increase risk of disease spread.
If you want to apply this in block form, simply make sure the field is square :)
Thanks,
Jack
Red Picqua
5 year old buck +
i skip the kool aid and go with dry molasses. I use the scoop method.. They sell them at any farm supply store. I do one scoop trace mineral, one scoop di cal, and two scoops molasses. Find someone with a brake press and it will form a block!!! I have never tried a hydraulic floor jack.. hmmmm wheels spinning... :)
John-W-WI
Administrator
Here's one I've used in the past:
http://www.habitat-talk.com/index.php?threads/home-made-mineral-mix.3192/
http://www.habitat-talk.com/index.php?threads/home-made-mineral-mix.3192/
Charles Clear
5 year old buck +
Fantastic except these are all mineral recipes lol, not protein blocks.
4wanderingeyes
5 year old buck +
I think Jack had the perfect receipt.
You want high protein? Try alfalfa, clover, soybeens, ect.. I know when I had horses they had us feed alfalfa cubes to the horses to help them grow, and strengthen a broken bone. They even have apple flavored, and they have a huge aroma. Would deer eat it? If you have baiting laws, I am pretty certain it would be baiting.
Charles Clear
5 year old buck +
I already have multiple food plots here in Pennsylvania. I'm looking to make a protein block for Ohio which is 100% legal.
yoderjac
5 year old buck +
Ok...Whether it is legal or not or whether folks feel it is ethical or not, there is no scientific evidence that suggests that mineral/protein supplement block have any benefit for free ranging deer. If you are simply trying to bait deer, there are lots of ways to do that. Not my cup of tea but others can help with that. My post was a bit tongue in cheek. I was suggesting that improving food quality by creating and properly fertilizing quality food sources has been shown to benefit free ranging deer herds. Growing plants are an effective way to mine and deliver minerals along with the protein and carbs deer need and use. Deer naturally space themselves in a field environment and it does not increase face to face contact as point source attractants do.
Supposed short-cuts rarely pay off. So, unless you are planning to use the supplements in a high fenced operation where deer are not free to eat a high variety of native plants, supplements really won't help.
Best of luck,
Jack
Supposed short-cuts rarely pay off. So, unless you are planning to use the supplements in a high fenced operation where deer are not free to eat a high variety of native plants, supplements really won't help.
Best of luck,
Jack
Charles Clear
5 year old buck +
Why does it matter why I wanted a recipe? If you didn't have a recipe, why did you respond? If you didn't like that I asked for one you could of kept scrolling. I didn't ask for scientific evidence, I didn't ask for your opinion either. I didn't want a lesson of any sort. I just wanted to know if anyone has made their own protein blocks and had a recipe they would share.
S.T.Fanatic
5 year old buck +
I have been wanting to do this for a while now for a camera attractant but never get around to it. (I have not done it so ....)
If I was going to I'd find a big white oak in a park someplace and pick up all the acorns and take the caps off. Find a source for bulk peanut butter. Buy a bag of alfalfa pellets, roasted soybeans, and rice bran. Melt the peanut butter in an outdoor turkey cooker. Slowly stir in dry ingredients. Mix up very well. Take some lard and grease up a 5 gal bucket. Dump in around 8" of your hot mixture. Tap the sides of the bucket to make sure all the air pockets are out. Place wax paper on top of mixture and repeat making 8" blocks until the bucket is full. Place bucket in chest freezer. Put blocks out after ambient temps are below freezing.
I would imagine that if you wanted a warmer season block you could try replacing the peanut butter with dry molasses and use melted lard to bind it like a suet block for birds. May have to cut a round piece of plywood to fit into the bucket for a press and wax the bottom to prevent sticking.
Again I haven't done this but i don't know why it wouldn't work.
If I was going to I'd find a big white oak in a park someplace and pick up all the acorns and take the caps off. Find a source for bulk peanut butter. Buy a bag of alfalfa pellets, roasted soybeans, and rice bran. Melt the peanut butter in an outdoor turkey cooker. Slowly stir in dry ingredients. Mix up very well. Take some lard and grease up a 5 gal bucket. Dump in around 8" of your hot mixture. Tap the sides of the bucket to make sure all the air pockets are out. Place wax paper on top of mixture and repeat making 8" blocks until the bucket is full. Place bucket in chest freezer. Put blocks out after ambient temps are below freezing.
I would imagine that if you wanted a warmer season block you could try replacing the peanut butter with dry molasses and use melted lard to bind it like a suet block for birds. May have to cut a round piece of plywood to fit into the bucket for a press and wax the bottom to prevent sticking.
Again I haven't done this but i don't know why it wouldn't work.
Powder
5 year old buck +
S.T.Fanatic
5 year old buck +
You might but I sure won't.
yoderjac
5 year old buck +
Because it is a public forum and it is not all about the OP. There are always folks who will directly address the OP's question as there were in this case. These forums are read by many more than just the folks registered and who post. Many of them are novices. It is important for them to understand that things like mineral/protein supplementation are not the best practices in most cases and while it is clear animals need both to flourish and even survive and there are plenty of studies to show how they help livestock and penned deer that don't have free access to the habitat, there is no evidence to show benefit in free ranging deer and there are risks to using point source attractants.
This does not mean they are illegal in some places or even express an opinion on the ethics. My post is simply to provide balance so the casual reader does not walk away with an unchallenged assumption that protein/mineral blocks are a best practice for deer management.
Keep in mind there are many areas where we don't have strong scientific support, and folks take what evidence is available and use their judgment. I'm not criticizing you for using them. It is a different judgment than mine and there is nothing wrong with that. We all weigh risks and perceived benefit and make choices.
Thanks,
Jack
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