salt licks

[beaver hunter]

What is the best stuff to use for salt licks? I've heard guys use the water softener stuff, but i'm assuming i can buy a salt lick from ufa?

[rammer]

Ya those Windsor pellets work good, I usually just buy the small or large blocks from UFA though.

[beaver hunter]

Thanks rammer, cams goin up right away!

[nube]

Don't use plain salt. Your doing nothing good for the animals at all. I use brown mineral blocks. There is more than just salt in those blocks

[beaver hunter]

get them at ufa nube?

[dmcbride]

Originally Posted by nube

Don't use plain salt. Your doing nothing good for the animals at all. I use brown mineral blocks. There is more than just salt in those blocks

X2

[KyleSS]

Originally Posted by beaver hunter

get them at ufa nube?

any feed store will sell them, UFA will have them. Just ask for the brown mineral lick blocks.

I think you can get it in loose form as well.

[andyhall]

the brown blocks are trace mineral, but they are 98% salt and 2% minerals, so really not worth the extra 7 to 8 dollars more they charge for them over the regular cobalt salt blocks( blue)

[rockymountaintrapper]

Originally Posted by nube

Don't use plain salt. Your doing nothing good for the animals at all. I use brown mineral blocks. There is more than just salt in those blocks

i agree amongst other minerals there is selenium helps with horn growth if you are too cheap to spend the extra few bucks maybe don't bother at all

[nube]

Originally Posted by andyhall

the brown blocks are trace mineral, but they are 98% salt and 2% minerals, so really not worth the extra 7 to 8 dollars more they charge for them over the regular cobalt salt blocks( blue)

Well I have tried both and will say the brown ones get more pics and more attention than the blue. I am thinking they like the minerals. I am not sure what the breakdown is on the % of them but to me I would rather give them the best that I can for the extra few bucks I tried the even better ones and they had a pile more stuff in them but the critters wouldn't touch them. I think there was medicine in them or something?

[nube]

I even made my own one time and got a lot of stuff at the feed lots. There was a recipe that had all kinds of good stuff for them in it. Selenium was one of them. It worked the best but also cost me a fortune to make it.

[st99]

this is the recipe I use, I found it while searching on other forums:

- 1 part dicalcium phosphate (this help milking does and cows)
- 2 part trace mineral salt
- 1 part stock salt

[honda450]

I just buy the blue large blocks and split them into 3 or 4. They are dang heavy whole..........and I ain't packing those things half a mile. hehe Deer, moose elk all love em.

I move my cams around a lot. I got 5 out.

Helps too if you know where the natural licks are. Been there for years and they teach the young. I know a few spots like that. Basically they are mud holes............but the critters sure like em.

[Mateo]

What are the regs for leaving them out? I have a blue block and am wondering what I can do with it. Does it have to be taken away when hunting season opens? Is it considered bait?

[albertabighorn]

Originally Posted by Mateo

What are the regs for leaving them out? I have a blue block and am wondering what I can do with it. Does it have to be taken away when hunting season opens? Is it considered bait?

Yes considered baiting

[Dunezilla]

Originally Posted by honda450

Helps too if you know where the natural licks are. Been there for years and they teach the young. I know a few spots like that. Basically they are mud holes............but the critters sure like em.

I know where a few of them are too, plus an underground spring that trickles to the top of the ground.

Does, fawns, bucks like to come to those spots.

Oh & now I can start buying a few brown salt blocks. I was going to go with blue because a few other hunters told me about the blue blocks. Maybe both.

[blakec]

never tried it on deer but for cattle, blue seems to be the preference

[mikey1]

Try a bag of lose range mineral.I put that in the tub for the cattle and the deer and elk go nuts over it.Champion feeds or UFA sells it-27.00/bag

[Bubs11]

I second the loose trace mineral, I've had bull elk spend up to two hours at a time hanging around the lick. Makes for lots of good pictures

[antlercarver]

Speep are susceptible to copper toxicosis. Deer may be similar. Some animal blocks have copper, read the contents label of the block .

[TUFFBUFF]

The brown blocks are 97-99% salt with 4-5 kinds of basic minerals added at low dose and bonded with and oxide - oxides are pretty much unavailable for absorption by the animal and go strait though. (ie zinc oxide)
The loose mineral bags have various formulations from 30-90% salt with mineral packages, most "all in ones" you see may be designed for specific areas. The better ones are usually bonded with sulfates which are more available. (ie copper sulphate)
There are also chelated minerals which are bonded with something else ( don't recall off hand ) and up to 90% available but 2x price probably so not to popular, just get em to eat 2x more of the other stuff.
If your hardcore and free with the cash I'd give them a diary supplement pellet, maybe 1/4lb per day. Equine blocks usually have molasses added and they may get after that more too.

Most important is calcium/phosphorus ratio, you will see problems over time if out of whack. This depends on what they are eating for plant matter and/or grains(grasses vs alfalfa), wild animals are free to browse so its hard to narrow that down.
Search mineral requirements of livestock and read away! Your area government livestock specialists are decent too.

[Grizzly Adams]

A "Famous" guide and outfitter once told me, if you use loose salt, it dissolves into the ground and isn't obvious.

Grizz

[Torkdiesel]

Are you guys just throwing the salt blocks on the ground and leaving them sit there ?

[honda450]

Originally Posted by Torkdiesel

Are you guys just throwing the salt blocks on the ground and leaving them sit there ?

Yup.

When I take down the cam I take the salt block too if there is anything left.

[Dunezilla]

Since I am heading to Leduc I will go to Peavey Mart because they sell blue blue & brown blocks & bags of cattle salt. I am going to view the one game camera, & put up a few more on Canada Day & so a small block or two shall be added as well.

[Recon]

Originally Posted by st99

this is the recipe I use, I found it while searching on other forums:

- 1 part dicalcium phosphate (this help milking does and cows)
- 2 part trace mineral salt
- 1 part stock salt

Where do you find dicalcium phosphate? I asked at UFA and the guy had no idea what I was talking about.

[st99]

Originally Posted by Recon

Where do you find dicalcium phosphate? I asked at UFA and the guy had no idea what I was talking about.

I buy it at keddies in GP, they call it "die cal", maybe the guy who served you is not used to the proper term

[Barry D]

I put a new one out every year in the same place. The animals learn over time and pass down these locations to thier offspring. Don't move them around every year looking for that big one. They will grow up knowing where it is and travel a mile or two on a regular basis during the summer seasons. I don't have them anywhere near my stands, so there is no conflict with baiting regulations. They pretty much stop the visits once they rub anyway. Then they are not back until the next spring.

After about ten years in the same locations they have eaten alot of dirt with the desoved minerals. The pictures show they lick the ground around the block more than the block its self. I got holes three feet across and a foot deep.

Bunnies in my area sure like the trace minerals as well. Funny how the coyotes visit alot looking for a meal. I keeep thinking l'll get a kill on camera one time. Only a owl with a mouse so far.

[Red Bullets]

I'm not playing devils advocate but merely asking a question...

Do the people that put down salt think the 'salted' area helps the predators zone in on a ungulate holding spot?

As Barry D mentioned, over time the ungulates become conditioned to use an area. The predators become conditioned too. I know there have been pictures posted of cougars hanging around hay bales.

And regarding the brown/red or blue salt blocks....

I believe the brown/red blocks are the ones with iodine. I know if you give blue salt to horses they will become difficent in iodine and long term can suffer with a lumpy look under their bottom jaw.

[honda450]

Originally Posted by Red Bullets

And regarding the brown/red or blue salt blocks....

I believe the brown/red blocks are the ones with iodine. I know if you give blue salt to horses they will become difficent in iodine and long term can suffer with a lumpy look under their bottom jaw.

All blocks contain NaCl. Below are the
different colors and what they include:
• White contains nothing more than NaCl or
table salt.
• Yellow contains sulfur.
• Red contains iron and iodine.
• Blue contains cobalt and iodine.
• Brown contains cobalt, iodine, iron, zinc,
copper, molybdenum, and manganese.
Some brown blocks may also contain
potassium and magnesium.
• Black blocks contain everything found in the
brown blocks plus selenium.