What mineral is most important to deer?
Filed under: Deer Biology, Minerals
First off I’d like to thank you for being such a wonderful Christian example in the deer hunting industry. I think it’s awesome that you use your platform to help introduce people to the love Christ has for all of us.
I first started watching your weekly episodes a little over a year ago. Over that time I think I’ve learned more from your videos and articles than I ever did from any other resources.
I live and hunt in west central Kentucky where there is a good mixture of timber and agriculture. On the properties I hunt, I have food plots of the following combinations: standing beans, clover and chicory, and oats, turnips, and winter peas. There is also no shortage of natural browse as portions of these properties have been logged, while other portions have an abundance of mature red and white oaks. I feel like I’m meeting the needs of my deer herds nutritionally and I want to optimize their overall well being with mineral supplementation as well.
My question is this: What minerals are most essential when looking for a mineral supplement for my deer herd? Also, in what ratios and ppm of each component should I look for? I understand that there is no magic mineral that is going to make all the difference, I’m just wanting to provide my deer herds with everything I can to help them express their maximum potential.
I had a successful season this year as you can see below and I think I’m on the right track.
Thanks again for the wonderful resource you provide.
Jared
Jared,
Congratulations on tagging a very nice buck!
You are correct that there is no magic mineral known for deer. In addition, what minerals and in what amounts isn’t know and can’t be prescribed for wild, free-ranging deer because their diets are so variable.
Wikipedia and other sources summarize a scientific principle related to this as:
…where it was found that increasing the amount of plentiful nutrients did not increase plant growth. Only by increasing the amount of the limiting nutrient (the one most scarce in relation to “need”) was the growth of a plant or crop improved. This principle can be summed up in the aphorism, “The availability of the most abundant nutrient in the soil is only as good as the availability of the least abundant nutrient in the soil.” Or, to put it more plainly, “A chain is only as strong as its weakest link.”
The soils and plants may be low on one element and 100 yards away be low on a different element. This is exactly why I use Trophy Rock. It’s mined in Utah and is 100% natural and contains 60+ trace minerals all in proportions found in most mammals. I’ve used Tropy Rock for years and have been very pleased! I use the Trophy Rock Four65.
I haven’t found any other product that includes so many different trace minerals in the same ratios as found in most mammals.
Enjoy creation,
grant
December 10, 2015
