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Deer Salt

Started by mike_belben, May 03, 2021, 12:42:26 PM

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mike_belben

Just a friendly reminder that now is the time when deer need salt supplements the most. When growing racks or feeding fawns etc.  Both calcium chloride and sodium chloride in granulated form.  By far cheaper at your local co-op vs walmart.  $8 for a 50lb sack here for example. 

They also need phosphorus and other trace elements.  I know its natural to tink ofnm this stuff in fall but youll be growing better deer to get that food plot and salt sack out now.   Salt leaches bad in sand or runs off on hills.  You want flat ground and clay soil to park it on ideally. 

Kent Kammermeyer has some good articles summarizing the vast studies done on deer and salt if you care to look into it. 
Praise The Lord

Southside

I would think a true trace mineral block would be a healthier option overall.  Might not grow the monster rack.  
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mike_belben

Im not any sort of authority on it... Maybe so.  The guy i referenced claims the studies have shown that the levels of sodium chloride and calcium chloride required by deer is not achievable in block form but is in granular form by the same manufacturers, according to those manufacturers.  

Now i have no idea why that is if it is at all.  Fwiw.. I agree with him out of unqualified common sense that salt is just one small part of total health.  Variety food plots, mast and forage being the rest of it i suppose.  

Praise The Lord

Silverfoxfintry

We farm a lot of Sheep around my area. It is common to see Roe Deer at the Mineral blocks the Shepherds put out for the Sheep.
On a slightly different topic.
We have had a long, cold spell lasting almost 3months. The Deer , both Roe and Red have had a very lean time. I Shot a nice Roe buck on Saturday. Not an ounce of fat round the Kidneys.
Usually by now they are starting to lay down reserves for the Rut in late July.

Happy Hunting.
Silverfox.

Southside

Selenium is an important mineral for cattle and equine that is often deficient in the soil resulting in low uptake. 

I would think the same rules apply to deer.

They will dig up quite a hole in a pasture where we have had a block feeder. 
Franklin buncher and skidder
JD Processor
Woodmizer LT Super 70 and LT35 sawmill, KD250 kiln, BMS 250 sharpener and setter
Riehl Edger
Woodmaster 725 and 4000 planner and moulder
Enough cows to ensure there is no spare time.
White Oak Meadows

TroyC

I have one of those brown mineral blocks at my feeder. Been watching the deer lick on it lately. There are 5 that come to the feeder daily, one is obviously a very pregnant doe. Sometimes, two or three will be licking on the block at the same time. There is a little button buck, he really enjoys the block when it is wet.

KEC

In New York it is illegal to put out salt for deer. I personally think we should be able to. 

Tacotodd

Yes, you should be able to. After all, it's something that they need. If nothing else then for good health for the future generations. I'm sorry but NY has some messed up laws.
Trying harder everyday.

Tacotodd

I'm also thinking about that chronic wasting disease. If it's spread by the saliva then a block would be a bad idea, but the loose minerals would be much more unlikely to have that happen. Just for the simple fact that the saliva will have much more time to "evaporate" or whatever goes on to make it less likely to effectively transmit to another animal.

I also know that from first hand experience that all sorts of animals will tear up the ground for commercial loose products like Deer Cane. It's a slow way for us to dig but great for us lazy folks 🤫
Trying harder everyday.

Walnut Beast

Good stuff and smells good. Used it for years. TSC carries it.

 

 

Skip

I have a mineral block and a salt block fairly close to each other , the deer will step over the salt to get to the mineral block and dig quite a hole to get to the good stuff when its dissolved . I always dig a small crater when setting them .

WV Sawmiller

   Everybody else is trying to raise big deer with huge racks. As I get older I have working on a selective deer breeding program on my property geared more to making the deer easier to hunt. If a group of deer come out while I am hunting I note which one is the most alert and careful and shoot that one first. My goal is to raise a deer herd with poor hearing, cataracts and susceptible to head colds. I shot a spike a few years ago who walked up within 6' of me and waited while I unzipped my bow case, got out my bow, arrow and release and shot him about 20' away. I honestly checked him closely to be sure he did not have a collar or ear tags as I did not want to shoot anyone's pet. He was just stupid. I regret shooting him to this day. He had the genes I am looking for. :D
Howard Green
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Dad always said "You can shear a sheep a bunch of times but you can only skin him once

mike_belben

Praise The Lord

KEC

I am fairly sure that New York origionally passed the law against putting salt out for deer because people would use it to attract deer during the season to shoot them. If everyone put salt out, then no one would have an unfair advantage. And deer most want the salt in the spring and summer. The D.E.C. now makes the case for not having deer swapping spit at a salt lick, which may have merit. The crazy thing is that it is legal to sell salt containing products labeled for deer and the stores are selling lots of it. You just can't legally put it out for the deer. On a side note, a few years ago, on a nature show on TV they showed film footage of elephants in Africa going into caves to get salt. They used their tusks to break off chunks of salt to eat. I'm thinking that as soon as they left the cave they probably made a beeline for the nearest waterhole. WV, did You know that ?

mike_belben

Quote from: Skip on May 04, 2021, 09:04:43 AM
I have a mineral block and a salt block fairly close to each other , the deer will step over the salt to get to the mineral block and dig quite a hole to get to the good stuff when its dissolved . I always dig a small crater when setting them .
Just something to consider, if any block uses mollasses as a binder, deer are gonna be on it like dorito dust.  
Apparently that is a frequent cause of consumption to the point of toxicity with the trace elements.   
Praise The Lord

Skip

All natural all the time .

mike_belben

Does that make the does feel like a natural woman?   ;D
Praise The Lord

Walnut Beast

Quote from: Skip on May 04, 2021, 09:04:43 AM
I have a mineral block and a salt block fairly close to each other , the deer will step over the salt to get to the mineral block and dig quite a hole to get to the good stuff when its dissolved . I always dig a small crater when setting them .
That's good on digging a crater. When you have a crater the water washes and leaches the minerals in the soil and they will always hit that spot

mike_belben

Quote from: Southside on May 03, 2021, 06:21:29 PM
Selenium is an important mineral for cattle and equine that is often deficient in the soil resulting in low uptake.

I would think the same rules apply to deer.


Ive put quite a bit of time reading into cervid mineral needs lately from university sources and selenium is necessary but toxicity is not far above minimum requirements for deer.. Its a narrow window.  

Deer specific blends are around 10ppm or less while weened cattle mineral at the co-op are all 30ppm selenium and goat blend was 80 which would probably harm deer.


Here is a geuine deer blend from a major manufacturer that i will get a price on today.



The hunting supplement industry buys from industrial producers, puts it in the fancy small bag or bucket with great marketing claims and charges 4- 500% more every fall.  Great business. Just like food plot seed.  $10 for a pound when you can get a 50lb sack of each component for $8bucks and blend your own to better suit your conditions.


I got 100lbs of trace mineral salt and 18.5 dicalcium carbonate for under $30 yesterday.  
Praise The Lord

mike_belben

Single 50lb bag of kaufmanns is $25.80 retail at their site, for perspective. 
Praise The Lord

Walnut Beast

Quote from: mike_belben on May 06, 2021, 06:37:54 AM
Quote from: Southside on May 03, 2021, 06:21:29 PM
Selenium is an important mineral for cattle and equine that is often deficient in the soil resulting in low uptake.

I would think the same rules apply to deer.


Ive put quite a bit of time reading into cervid mineral needs lately from university sources and selenium is necessary but toxicity is not far above minimum requirements for deer.. Its a narrow window.  

Deer specific blends are around 10ppm or less while weened cattle mineral at the co-op are all 30ppm selenium and goat blend was 80 which would probably harm deer.


Here is a geuine deer blend from a major manufacturer that i will get a price on today.



The hunting supplement industry buys from industrial producers, puts it in the fancy small bag or bucket with great marketing claims and charges 4- 500% more every fall.  Great business. Just like food plot seed.  $10 for a pound when you can get a 50lb sack of each component for $8bucks and blend your own to better suit your conditions.


I got 100lbs of trace mineral salt and 18.5 dicalcium carbonate for under $30 yesterday.  
Show me some pictures of the monsters your producing

SwampDonkey

A lot of deer (and moose) know where to find it some way in nature.

Rocky Brook mineral springs.



Photo taken by Don Dickey, 1920. Moose and deer share the lick. Some of Don's photos show more moose than deer at times at the lick. Don had a blind set up on the bank of the brook. The blind was moved back away from the lick as the animals eroded the banks by pawing. In 1922 the blind was removed. US congressman George Shiras III was the first to photograph wildlife here in 1905. ["Beyond the Trodden Path", Gerry Parker]
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

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Walnut Beast

That's pretty cool 👍

WV Sawmiller

   I have seen mineral licks on the Napo River, a main tributary of the Amazon River in Ecuador, where the Peccaries would come for the minerals. We spotted Jaguar tracks in the clay at the site. I watched elephants and a bunch of different African antelope in the Central African Republic visiting some mineral streams where they watered, cavorted and the elephants would blow bubbles in the mud and make big pools. Nearby were some chalky mineral deposits the elephants had dug caves many feet deep getting the minerals. I understand they'd dig so deep sometimes they would have cave ins when the whole top/ceiling area would collapse. 
Howard Green
WM LT35HDG25(2015) , 2011 4WD F150 Ford Lariat PU, Kawasaki 650 ATV, Stihl 440 Chainsaw, homemade logging arch (w/custom built rear log dolly), JD 750 w/4' wide Bushhog brand FEL

Dad always said "You can shear a sheep a bunch of times but you can only skin him once

mike_belben

Quote from: Walnut Beast on May 06, 2021, 03:56:50 PM
Show me some pictures of the monsters your producing
I sure hope to some day, im just getting started.  
Heres a neighbors 2 rows of bucks taken from the same area back in the 90s but ive not seen anything impressive.. I have seen a few heavy dew claw tracks on my place and heard lots of tall tales but nothing on camera or gambrel.






Seems the herd has suffered from a long spell of poaching and non management.  Im the only guy i have ever heard of in this area trying to grow better timber or deer.  Everyone else just wants an easy harvest.  Doe pee, corn or co-cane is about all anyone will invest.  People with land, money and brains invest in beef, not deer. 



Boy and i found a mega extrance into the 200acre pasture on the safer side where no one has set up because its difficult to get there.  I put about 30lbs of mineral tilled into a clay flat in front of a camera today for inventory.
When they leave the field at daylight it should be past the lick, down the hollar past the small food plot i put in and then down into a creek bottom for the day.  2000ft pasture elevation and 1800 ft in the creek bottoms.. Pretty steep.  Have a few trees picked out that hopefully provide a broadside parade.
Praise The Lord

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