Natural Forage is Best!
Listen to Dr. Craig Harper explain how forest stand improvement helps your deer.
Benefits of Mineral Licks
Early spring is the perfect time to establish mineral sites for the deer herd on your property.
There is no other time of year where deer are more worn down than they are at the end of winter. They have gone through the rigors of deer season, the rut, predation and winter. Ticks are thriving due to yet another mild winter in most areas, thus taking even more nutrients from a deer’s body. Bucks have lost their antlers and does are pregnant with fawns.
“Deer need these minerals year around to reach their full potential,” Stacy said. “Establishing mineral sites and keeping them fresh throughout the year will help your bucks grow antlers and will support milk production of the does in your area.”
If you have never added mineral sites as part of your deer management process, you should consider doing this on your property today. A mineral site is a great way to help provide nutrients lacking in a deer’s natural diet. Access to a balanced mix of minerals like Antler Builder Essentials during the spring will benefit your deer herd in many ways.
1. Boost antler growth potential
2. Supports fetuses and healthy lactation
3. Promotes healthier deer
4. Reduce tick and flea stress
5. Helps scout and manage deer using trail cameras
Bucks
Growing antlers are composed mostly of proteins, according to the National Deer Association (NDA). Calcium and phosphorus are by far the most two common minerals in deer antlers. Magnesium and sodium are also common, along with about nine other minerals according to a study conducted by the University of Georgia.
Calcium and phosphorus make up about 30% of the minerals inside Antler Builder Essentials. This mineral supplementation prior to and during antler growth will be beneficial.
Does
Minerals are very important for pregnant does. Does have a very high requirement for calcium and magnesium during gestation and lactation. Having mineral sites available during spring and summer will help the doe provide for their fawns. Antler Builder Essentials is a mineral that is made of up to 26% calcium and 2% magnesium.
How To Make A Mineral Site
When you are looking for a place to start a mineral site there are several factors you need to take into consideration. You want to pick a location where several deer trails come together. Find high-traffic deer trails that come together, preferably trails that are close to a water source.
Once you find what you are looking for, step about four to six feet off the trails. Make sure the mineral site is in the shade. Make a circle that is about three feet around and remove all of the foliage, leaves and grass so that dirt is visible. Remove about two to three inches of soil within the circle.
Pour about 10 pounds of Antler Builder Essentials or mineral of your choice in the cleared-out area of your circle. Work the soil with a shovel or rake to mix up the minerals and loose dirt. Repeat these steps until your mineral bag is empty.
Set up a trail camera to gain an inventory of the deer on your property. Watch your bucks start to grow in April, and welcome new fawns in May and June. Refresh your mineral sites in the spring and in the fall. Your deer will use them all year long.
Invasive Shrub and Vine Control
Non-native invasive plants such as autumn olive, bush honeysuckle, and multi-flora rose shrubs and Oriental bittersweet vine have become a problem in most of our woods and natural areas.
These plants very aggressively invade natural habitats crowding out native plants and degrading forested areas. Controlling these species and their spread should be a high priority. The easiest way to do this is by treating them with an appropriate herbicide.
Glyphosate has been the most commonly used herbicide for this purpose. A foliar spray of 3-4% glyphosate solution can work on bushes chest high or smaller however glyphosate is non-select herbicide so application should target only invasives.
Other herbicides such as triclopyr 3a and 2-4D are known has select herbicides and target only broadleaf/woody plant species. These herbicides can be applied at a rate of 3% mixed with water. However, using a mixture of 2% glyphosate (3 ounces of41% concentrate/gallon of water) and 1.5% imazapyr (2 ounces of 53.1% concentrate/gallon of water) works better as a foliar spray because it reduces re-sprouting, root suckers and new seedlings. Foliar treatments are effective during the growing season when the leaves are out and green or during the fall when plants are pulling in nutrients for winter storage.
Early spring and fall are a good time to do foliar treatments because non-native plants will leaf out earlier and stay green longer than native vegetation making them easy to see in the woods.
For larger bushes the most effective treatment is to cut all of the stems close to the ground and immediately apply herbicide to the stump. Triclopyr 3a, and 2-4D at a 50/50 rate is effective as well as Imazapyr at a 12% concentration (7 ounces of 53.1% concentrate in 25 ounces of water to make a quart mixture) is highly effective on cut stumps. Stump treatments should not be done between January and March due to the sap rise. If glyphosate is used for cut-stump treatment, it should be applied full strength.
Another potential option for treating invasives is to use a power mist-blower to apply herbicide either early in the spring or late in the fall when they are leafed out, but most native vegetation is dormant.
Antler Growth and Age of Deer
This information was taking from the MSU Facebook page
According to data gathered from our research facility in Mississippi and free-range deer in Texas, bucks typically reach their full antler potential at 6-7 years of age. On average bucks have reached about 25% of their maximum antler size when they are 1 year old, at 2 years ≈60%, at 3 years ≈75%, at 4 years ≈90%, and at 5 years of age they have reached ≈95%.
Once bucks reach their maximum antler size, they typically maintain their antler size until they begin to regress in health, much later in age. It is rare for a free-range buck in the southeast to reach an age advanced enough to shrink in antler size considerably. The graphic above illustrates this progression in antler size! For more information on deer antlers and developing a management strategy that will improve buck quality on your property, consult our book "Strategic Harvest System: How to Break Through the Buck Management Glass Ceiling" available in digital or hardcopy here!
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