Thehunter556
New Member
anybody know how to make a salt lick?
Trying to make my own salt lick
- Thread starter Thehunter556
- Start date
weekender21
Well-Known Member
A 50 pound bag of loose Mortan salt or cattle trace mineral block from your local feed and seed is all you need to make a “salt lick”. Adding other trace mineral is optional and won’t likely accomplish anything.
Mineral licks are becoming illegal in more areas thanks to CWD, check your regs.
Mineral licks are becoming illegal in more areas thanks to CWD, check your regs.
yoderjac
Well-Known Member
There are lots of formulas for licks, but we stopped using them years ago. The risks of disease spread don't justify any benefit in my opinion. There is no scientific evidence that free ranging deer (not penned) have any mineral deficiencies. Plants are the best delivery system for minerals and they provide needed energy as well. Most of a deer's diet comes from native plants. Each plant has unique abilities to mine different minerals. If folks really feel they need mineral supplements, the best application is applying them to plants, food plots or native plants.
If you want to demonstrate how deer don't need minerals, create a mineral lick with no salt or sugar. You will find deer ignore it. There attraction to mineral licks/blocks is for the salt and sugar.
If you want to demonstrate how deer don't need minerals, create a mineral lick with no salt or sugar. You will find deer ignore it. There attraction to mineral licks/blocks is for the salt and sugar.
T-Max
Well-Known Member
My dad got a bad batch of water softener salt a few years ago. He took the brine tank out and dumped it along the edge of a field. To this day, that spot gets 5x the traffic of any of the licks I have made. Long way of saying I think anything will work to start one, but location is very important when doing it.
MarkDarvin
Well-Known Member
I still like to use a Redmond block. One usually lasts me a year, and makes for some pretty cool stump art.
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I'm not sure this makes sense. Taste matters. There's a reason you swallow your multivitamin instead of chewing it up.
yoderjac
Well-Known Member
What it shows is that deer are not seeking out the minerals because they need them. They are seeking the salt and sugar. Penned animals on a limited diet can benefit from mineral supplements. That has been well demonstrated. It has not been shown with free ranging deer. Put the same minerals on your food plot. Plants will benefit and they will end up in the same place without the increased disease spread risks.
Drycreek
Well-Known Member
Jack, I don’t fool myself into thinking that a block is gonna help my deer herd, that’s why I feed protein and grow plots. The block is really good to inventory the deer that are using it though, especially if you put it in a secluded spot where the bucks feel comfortable.
yoderjac
Well-Known Member
Yes, back when we had them, that was the purpose, for camera inventory. When I went to a black flash wireless camera system running 24/7/365, I was able to get an equivalent inventory on small kill plots. It eliminated the camera avoidance issue that biased the data. The disease risk was not worth it'; especially when I found another way to inventory.
I know you're not deluding yourself, but many folks buy into the the hype the mineral supplement companies push.
Drycreek
Well-Known Member
I have read that deer need salt when they eat a lot of green stuff, and that may be what attracts them to the blocks, because they are all mostly salt. Even the high dollar natural blocks that the sporting goods stores sell are mostly salt. I have no fear of diseases as CWD is a long way from us, most of ours is found in penned deer or adjacent to pens.
MarkDarvin
Well-Known Member
In case anybody is looking for Redmond blocks, here's some links. I'm not affiliated with them at all, I just don't like to see people pay $1/lb for trophy rock, when they can get the same product out a different door at the same plant for 30 cents/lb.
shop.redmondagriculture.com
If you're in heavy tick or EHD country, I'd try to find this. It probably won't end EHD, but maybe it could help, and maybe it's only a $20 bill to try it. If ticks and EHD are bad there and nobody carries it, ask them to. I do this all the time with food plot seed, because nobody carries it except major warehouses, and they're marking up cereals 200% or more.
redmondagriculture.com
I don't have tick problems (still have lots of ticks, but they never seem to attach to the deer like other places), so I use the natural block. Fleet Farm has them if you're in Fleet Farm country. They're $13 for a 44 lb block, and it's max 96% salt. The rest is natural deposit minerals.
redmondagriculture.com
Store Locator - Redmond Agriculture
Browse and buy Redmond Agriculture products. Salt and Clay products to boost the production of your farm and animals.
shop.redmondagriculture.com
If you're in heavy tick or EHD country, I'd try to find this. It probably won't end EHD, but maybe it could help, and maybe it's only a $20 bill to try it. If ticks and EHD are bad there and nobody carries it, ask them to. I do this all the time with food plot seed, because nobody carries it except major warehouses, and they're marking up cereals 200% or more.
10 Fine Garlic | Redmond Agriculture
Our products are always natural and effective, so you can get back to what you love about your animals without having to worry about their health.
redmondagriculture.com
I don't have tick problems (still have lots of ticks, but they never seem to attach to the deer like other places), so I use the natural block. Fleet Farm has them if you're in Fleet Farm country. They're $13 for a 44 lb block, and it's max 96% salt. The rest is natural deposit minerals.
Natural Mineral Salt Block | Redmond Agriculture
Redmond Natural Block is nature’s perfect balance to nourish your livestock, works well for all classes of beef/dairy cattle, sheep, goats, and horses.
redmondagriculture.com
