What mineral you guys using?

[Barndog56]

Here's a pic of what's left of the tub.

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[Brian662]

Redmond's fine #10 is the same mineral as Trophy Rock but in 50 lb bags and wayyy cheaper. I had to stop using it several years ago because the MN DNR is horrible in all aspects, but that's another story for another day.

Still have 4 bags I bought when they made it illegal here in MN and thought I would get to use them when I purchased in WI, only to find out it is illegal over there too. Nonsense.

 

[H20fwler]

I put out a #50 trace mineral block on a large cut stump, when close to gone I replace it. Deer and other wildlife hit it year-round, chew on the stump and eat the dirt around it. Have been putting them out over forty years.

 

[RGrizzzz]

I've used various DIY mineral recipes with mixed success. Are folks using any sort of flavoring in their minerals? I've used dry molasses. I see some of the commercial products use persimmon flavoring. Is there anywhere a regular person can get "small" quantities of these types of fruit flavoring? Let's say enough to flavor 100 lbs of mineral.

 

[omicron1792]

I put out a #50 trace mineral block on a large cut stump, when close to gone I replace it. Deer and other wildlife hit it year-round, chew on the stump and eat the dirt around it. Have been putting them out over forty years.

So I read about the stump think. First it makes them more comfortable not to have to bend over. As it rains and melts it soaks in stump and into roots. They lick and dig on it all the time. Sometimes I’ll pour crushed mineral around the stump and it soaks down the roots too.

Takes them a little while but I think I have as many deer at mineral stumps as I do feeders.

 

[T-Max]

I've used various DIY mineral recipes with mixed success. Are folks using any sort of flavoring in their minerals? I've used dry molasses. I see some of the commercial products use persimmon flavoring. Is there anywhere a regular person can get "small" quantities of these types of fruit flavoring? Let's say enough to flavor 100 lbs of mineral.

Not persimmon, but close. They sell nearly every kind of powder. Think deer like mangoes?

Red Apple Powder 2 lb.

Looking for superfood benefits without the hassle of storing fresh fruit? This red apple powder allows you to incorporate all the health benefits of this fruit into your menu with the added convenience and ease of a concentrated powder! Made from 100% pure dried Fuji apples sustainably sourced...

www.webstaurantstore.com

 

[RGrizzzz]

Not persimmon, but close. They sell nearly every kind of powder. Think deer like mangoes?

Red Apple Powder 2 lb.

Looking for superfood benefits without the hassle of storing fresh fruit? This red apple powder allows you to incorporate all the health benefits of this fruit into your menu with the added convenience and ease of a concentrated powder! Made from 100% pure dried Fuji apples sustainably sourced...

www.webstaurantstore.com

Is 2 lb enough for 100 lb of mineral?

 

[homerj]

Plain old Kool-aid concentrate used to be suggested as an additive to get deer using a mineral/salt site. May not be a great idea in bear country

 

[chucker66]

I use trace minerals for stump destruction and the damn deer eat it all. At least the stumps rot away faster.

 

[Telemark]

I have gone to adding Redmond products to everything. I did an immense amount of reading online, and Redmond products seem to outshine everything else. I finally tracked down a couple bags of bags of the Four 65 at TSC. This product appears to be just small bits of Trophy Rock ground up and bagged. It was about $13 for a 30lb bag.

Before I got ahold of these, I was just using salt blocks and trace mineral blocks on the ground. The get a bit of attention, but nothing impressive. My plan is to cut a big maple tree, leaving about a 3 for stump, and drill holes in the top of the stump to trap salt and force it to soak into the wood. Then I'll pile the Redmond salt on top of the stump and let the rain dissolve it. When the salt is mostly gone, I'll put the cheaper salt blocks and trace mineral blocks on top of the stump so the process continues while I'm away from the property.

Another recommendation I found online is to mix salt, dicalcium phosphate, and trace minerals into the soil. I plan to try this as soon as I can track down some dical and a bag of trace minerals. There is a lot of debate online about whether supplements help deer, but the studies I've read about seem so suggest it can help overall health as well as antler growth.

https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/10.1139/cjas-2018-0234#tab2

 

[TreeDaddy]

I have gone to adding Redmond products to everything. I did an immense amount of reading online, and Redmond products seem to outshine everything else. I finally tracked down a couple bags of bags of the Four 65 at TSC. This product appears to be just small bits of Trophy Rock ground up and bagged. It was about $13 for a 30lb bag.

Before I got ahold of these, I was just using salt blocks and trace mineral blocks on the ground. The get a bit of attention, but nothing impressive. My plan is to cut a big maple tree, leaving about a 3 for stump, and drill holes in the top of the stump to trap salt and force it to soak into the wood. Then I'll pile the Redmond salt on top of the stump and let the rain dissolve it. When the salt is mostly gone, I'll put the cheaper salt blocks and trace mineral blocks on top of the stump so the process continues while I'm away from the property.

Another recommendation I found online is to mix salt, dicalcium phosphate, and trace minerals into the soil. I plan to try this as soon as I can track down some dical and a bag of trace minerals. There is a lot of debate online about whether supplements help deer, but the studies I've read about seem so suggest it can help overall health as well as antler growth.

https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/10.1139/cjas-2018-0234#tab2

Good luck finding dicalcium phosphate

I was never able to find this ingredient

bill

 

[Telemark]

Good luck finding dicalcium phosphate

I was never able to find this ingredient

bill

Yeah, it will probably take a lot of time and effort. I figured I'd google "feed store" and then just shotgun emails to everyone and hope for an answer from one of them.

 

[roymunson]

Trophy rock for me. I'm sure there's other options and maybe a little cheaper, but for ease of handling and the volume of deer that seem to like it, I don't have a reason to change right now.

 

[cbw]

I try to use mineral with at least 8% phosphorous. This ratio keeps everything else in balance. Mix in dried molasses and garlic.


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[RGrizzzz]

I try to use mineral with at least 8% phosphorous. This ratio keeps everything else in balance. Mix in dried molasses and garlic.


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Garlic?!?! What's the thought on that one?

 

[bwoods11]

A friend of mine uses garlic in mineral . He swears it helps prevent the biting midges and EHD .

 

[bigbendmarine]

So I read about the stump think. First it makes them more comfortable not to have to bend over. As it rains and melts it soaks in stump and into roots. They lick and dig on it all the time. Sometimes I’ll pour crushed mineral around the stump and it soaks down the roots too.

Takes them a little while but I think I have as many deer at mineral stumps as I do feeders.

I too use trophy rocks and place them in stumps. Never hunt over them, instead placing them in sanctuary areas for trail camera census purposes.

Putting them inside old hollowed stumps has kept hogs and bears from ever moving a single one of them. Find that the deer lick both the trophy rocks (most common) and the dirt around the stump at times.

One note on the stumps I picked... didn't realize they were the remnants of ancient pines until I took a chainsaw to one a few years back after a fawn got its neck stuck in between a gap in the uneven stump top... as I cut the stump top even with the chainsaw, it showed some of the prettiest pine sapwood I think I've ever seen. Cut pieces made GREAT kindling. The heartwood stumps sure are durable over time, as I've been using the same stumps 10 years now without any sign of decay/wear in them.

Here are two pics of one of the stumps I use, and the same buck visiting about one week apart... didn't shoot a buck this year due to having WAY too much meat in the freezer, but was almost thankful this one broke his left G3 early in the season, as it made him FAR less tempting to target.

 

[omicron1792]

I too use trophy rocks and place them in stumps. Never hunt over them, instead placing them in sanctuary areas for trail camera census purposes.

Putting them inside old hollowed stumps has kept hogs and bears from ever moving a single one of them. Find that the deer lick both the trophy rocks (most common) and the dirt around the stump at times.

One note on the stumps I picked... didn't realize they were the remnants of ancient pines until I took a chainsaw to one a few years back after a fawn got its neck stuck in between a gap in the uneven stump top... as I cut the stump top even with the chainsaw, it showed some of the prettiest pine sapwood I think I've ever seen. Cut pieces made GREAT kindling. The heartwood stumps sure are durable over time, as I've been using the same stumps 10 years now without any sign of decay/wear in them.

Here are two pics of one of the stumps I use, and the same buck visiting about one week apart... didn't shoot a buck this year due to having WAY too much meat in the freezer, but was almost thankful this one broke his left G3 early in the season, as it made him FAR less tempting to target.

View attachment 61858
View attachment 61859

That’s really cool.

I think salt licks work well to help define buck movement pathways. I try to pick some high use areas and place these along the trail on stumps.

 

[Brian662]

In my experience in the upper Midwest, deer stop using salt and mineral licks before the season starts.

 

[Skeeter]

https://www.fleetfarm.com/detail/sprout-18-5-dicalcium-phosphate/0000000201642?Ntt=Dicalcium+phosphate&_requestid=5825145