What mineral you guys using?

[b116757]

Guys

I’ve always fed mineral to my deer for many years. I usually just buy a 50lb block of trace mineral a couple times a year so they always have access to some year round. Anyone use anything different and why do you use it in particular. I’m thinking of switching to using a cattle mineral tub anyone have any experience with them for deer? We always have mineral out for the cattle so I don’t doubt the deer do use it on occasion but I guess I’ve never really seen one using the cattle minerals but they are usually in a plastic feeder of sorts which the deer may avoid. Our mineral feeders are a ground feeder with heavy rubber cover to help keep it dry I kind of doubt the deer would use them.

 

[T-Max]

I have had a salt lick in the same spot for years. Started using goat mineral as I found it to have higher phosphorous levels than others.


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[Teeder]

I started using trophy rocks years ago. They seem to love it, so I don't bother with anything else.

 

[BuckSutherland]

Big gov't Nazis say we cant use minerals and attractants in our part of the serfdom cause we got the chronic faking disease. I use antler king just cause they have it at L and M in Grand Rapids and the deer we have seem to enjoy it. I didn't throw it down with the intention of helping the deer or growing bigger bucks. I don't throw it out for hunting attraction or to herd the deer. I think they like to use it from spring until about sept 1, and then the use really seems to drop. Its just a little something different for them and I've spent $20 on much worse things. I dont even bother with a camera anymore.


A woods down the road has some type of old mineral site or something I found. Its nothing but a chunk of earth pawed out about 2-2.5' deep about the size of half sheet of plywood. I assume they are still licking the soil. Gets deeper every year.

 

[drycreek]

I use trace mineral blocks from my local feed store. It may not do them any good but they like it. Like nearly all blocks, Trophy Rock included, it is mostly salt but when they eat lots of greenery, they need salt too. At least that’s what I’ve read. I did use some 30-06 granular minerals several years ago from Whitetail Institute and they loved that stuff. They would visit the site and dig the ground up weeks after the mineral was no longer visible.

 

[Wind Gypsy]

I did a search about what’s ideal a while back and found that the cheap blend fleet farm sold was better than most of the fancy brand name stuff. They haven’t had it in stock this year though..

They always have to put some bullshit scent or flavor in most of them and I worry that qualifies as “baiting” in MN if it’s not all cleaned up during hunting season so i avoid most of them.

 

[b116757]

I don’t do it for direct hunting value or as an attractant in my experience it’s not terribly effective for that purpose. So for you guys in no bait states I’d still do it just not near a stand location and maybe a bag mineral would be best for your situation. I simply provide it as a dietary supplement in hopes of effecting long term herd health. I think it’s likely a 5 year return on investment a fawn born from a doe using it during gestation will hopefully be better able to survive and be a larger healthier 5 year old. Kind of the same reason I’ve really been thinking of adding a protein cube feeder for winter and early spring herd health.

 

[Foggy47]

Has anyone ever seen someone "charged" by the DNR for putting out mineral blocks in a feeding ban area? Gotta beleive there is allot of these placed from the amount that seems to get sold. Not saying I am for or against.....just saying.

 

[b116757]

Probable be a pretty tough sell to a judge if there isn’t a visible block to photograph as evidence who’s to say for how many decades the deer have been using that location???

 

[Wind Gypsy]

Probable be a pretty tough sell to a judge if there isn’t a visible block to photograph as evidence who’s to say for how many decades the deer have been using that location???

If there’s clearly granular mineral in the ground?

Not a big risk I don’t think and I’d have to review the regs but I’ve had a couple unpleasant discussions with Mr green jeans and lots of good ones and I just don’t like leaving anything up to question.

 

[Wind Gypsy]

Has anyone ever seen someone "charged" by the DNR for putting out mineral blocks in a feeding ban area? Gotta beleive there is allot of these placed from the amount that seems to get sold. Not saying I am for or against.....just saying.

My land was in a cwd surveillance zone last year. I realized I forgot to buy a rifle tag when I bought my archery tag like I do most years when I got to the land opening morning and had to run to the gas station (which happens to be the federated coop in mora) to get a last second license. The guy in front of me had a shopping cart full of corn, attractant minerals, and feed pellets.

Every damn store sells not just minerals or supplemental feed, but marketed bait and people buy a shit load of it. I can’t imagine the hit rate is high but lots of tickets get written still.

 

[Skeeter]

I used to mix bags of mineral salt and dicalcium phosphate, then pour it on stumps by the bucket full. It was cheap and the deer seemed to like it. Eventually they'd dig the stump out. Problem I had was that it seemed to get bears to visit my property more often. I have no interest in having bears around so I stopped putting out minerals. Now they're back to passing through once or twice per year.

 

[Wild Thing]

Minerals are illegal in Michigan due to the CWD issue - especially since mineral licks/blocks will have multiple deer using the same lick which should be avoided to mitigate disease. At least that is the reasoning. I would tend to agree that disease is more likely to spread if multiple deer are using the same mineral lick, sugar beet or whatever. Pretty much common sense... For that reason I stopped using minerals even before it was outlawed.

The other reason I stopped using minerals is because I saw no benefit from their use. I did use minerals for at least 20 years before I gave up on them. As previously mentioned, they are only used by the deer here from spring through early September - when does are lactating and bucks are in velvet. They really are not used during deer season so they are not an attractant for hunting. I think I used every commercially available product at one time or another but I mainly mixed my own from a recipe given to me by a veterinarian and later another recipe by a serious hunter/habitat manager that was considering marketing a new product. Yes, primarily trace mineralized salt with selenium and Dicalcium Phosphate. I would mix up 200#-300# of it every year and deposit it in the same holes in the ground every year. 4 to 6 different licks throughout my 160 acres. The deer tore them up...

Unfortunately, I never saw any increase in antler growth or any other benefit after using them for at least 20 years. I have never seen a scientific study that proved that mineral licks did in fact, increase antler growth either, which is what most of the marketing hype claims and which is why most hunters use them. Sounds good on paper but doesn't cut the mustard in reality.

I believe that I can better contribute to the health of my deer herd by improving the nutrient levels in my soils and planting a diversity of forage that mines the minerals from the soil. It isn't illegal....it doesn't pose a disease risk .... and the deer like what I plant just as well as they liked the minerals I used to waste money on.

 

[Angus 1895]

I don’t put out mineral for deer. But I use trace mineral with selenium for livestock.

This year 56 pair ( cow, calf) with bulls came on the place. In late spring They ate 100#s of the stuff in 5 hours.

I think that livestock owner needs to talk to a ruminant nutritionist.

 

[Mtyhunter]

Minerals are illegal in Michigan due to the CWD issue - especially since mineral licks/blocks will have multiple deer using the same lick which should be avoided to mitigate disease. At least that is the reasoning. I would tend to agree that disease is more likely to spread if multiple deer are using the same mineral lick, sugar beet or whatever. Pretty much common sense... For that reason I stopped using minerals even before it was outlawed.

The other reason I stopped using minerals is because I saw no benefit from their use. I did use minerals for at least 20 years before I gave up on them. As previously mentioned, they are only used by the deer here from spring through early September - when does are lactating and bucks are in velvet. They really are not used during deer season so they are not an attractant for hunting. I think I used every commercially available product at one time or another but I mainly mixed my own from a recipe given to me by a veterinarian and later another recipe by a serious hunter/habitat manager that was considering marketing a new product. Yes, primarily trace mineralized salt with selenium and Dicalcium Phosphate. I would mix up 200#-300# of it every year and deposit it in the same holes in the ground every year. 4 to 6 different licks throughout my 160 acres. The deer tore them up...

Unfortunately, I never saw any increase in antler growth or any other benefit after using them for at least 20 years. I have never seen a scientific study that proved that mineral licks did in fact, increase antler growth either, which is what most of the marketing hype claims and which is why most hunters use them. Sounds good on paper but doesn't cut the mustard in reality.

I believe that I can better contribute to the health of my deer herd by improving the nutrient levels in my soils and planting a diversity of forage that mines the minerals from the soil. It isn't illegal....it doesn't pose a disease risk .... and the deer like what I plant just as well as they liked the minerals I used to waste money on.

I've tried about everything in all my years of hunting, too. From mineral block, deer "cane", all kinds of syrups, etc.. Yeah, the deer did use some of them, but so did the pigs. Last time I used anything like this was a trophy rock. Had many pics of deer at the rock, was pretty impressed. then a big boar hog came by, picked it up and carted it off. Bought another the next week, and it was also carted off before the weekend was up. I've kinda come full circle the last few years. No bait, no blocks, no scents, no scent blocker sprays, nothing. (Well, I still sprinkle a little corn on the ground in front of my cameras)
Point is, it hasn't affected my hunting success at all. I've used it all, seen it all, and I don't miss any of it honestly.
The trophy rock I used got more action than any other block i ever tried.

 

[b116757]

It is pretty well documented that cattle put on weight gains faster with mineral so I have little doubt it helps deer also.

 

[Wind Gypsy]

I don't expect small property owners use of minerals would ever cause an indisputable difference in the antler size just like I don't expect taking a daily multivitamin is going to improve my dad bod and raise my IQ, but it probably helps in some way. I look at it more from a mothers health impacting the genetic ceiling of a buck standpoint and those bucks aren't likely to even live on my property after they disperse but someone else may benefit. It's just a small thing in the big picture that MIGHT help.

 

[b116757]

I don't expect small property owners use of minerals would ever cause an indisputable difference in the antler size just like I don't expect taking a daily multivitamin is going to improve my dad bod and raise my IQ, but it probably helps in some way. I look at it more from a mothers health impacting the genetic ceiling of a buck standpoint and those bucks aren't likely to even live on my property after they disperse but someone else may benefit. It's just a small thing in the big picture that MIGHT help.

This is my thoughts also.

 

[Garrett S]

I’ve basically tried it all this year- Maximizer Plus, Maximizer, Black Magic, homemade (white, brown, dical), Redmond, TSC brown blocks and bagged, Crush and ?? A few more

 

[Barndog56]

I bought one of the cattle protein tubs from Tractor Supply in 2017. I raised and butchered a Jersey bull calf, but he never touched the thing. In 2019 I thought I'd try and get some use out of it, and stuck it out in my orchard plot, after removing it from the tub.

It sat for a couple years without any sign of use. But boy did the plants near it grow like crazy! They were twice the size of the the plants not near it, and a nice dark green. So I got the idea to put some chunks of it in my tree planting holes. I had to use a reciprocating saw to get chunks off of it. Don't know if it's helped those trees or not.

But now this year I noticed the deer have been using it! I have no idea why it took so long?

I've used a Trophy Rock for a few years, but then I got smart. I now buy a bag of cattle minerals at $10 for a 50 pound bag. Lasts longer but they use it just the same. It has the same mineral ratios as the trophy rock.