Mineral supplements can help when nature is lacking.
QUESTION: What are the best deer minerals and when should you put them out?
ANSWER: In most cases, deer get the minerals they need for body growth and maintenance from their environment, with calcium, phosphorus, magnesium and sodium being among the most important and abundant. Plants take up these minerals from the soil and make them available to deer as food. However, certain trace minerals like potassium, barium, iron, aluminum, zinc, strontium and manganese are sometimes lacking.
In that case, mineral supplements could be beneficial. Rather than trying to mess with home recipes, your best approach would be to use commercially available supplements specifically designed for deer, and there are plenty on the market.
When you should put them out depends partly on your objectives. Most people use them to promote antler growth, which occurs in spring and summer. However, deer also need minerals for skeletal growth and to maintain normal body functions like digestion throughout the year. If those minerals are lacking in the environment, those needs may go unmet.
For example, in spring and summer, deer often operate at a sodium deficiency as a result of high potassium and water content in their forage, which probably explains why they use mineral (sodium) licks more at this time of year.
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