Aldeer.com Forums Alabama Deer Talk Serious Deer Talk Forum Minerals

When do ya start putting out your deer minerals? What is your favorite mineral to use?

Started a new mineral lick last Wednesday. Dicalcium Phosphate and Redmond Natural #10

I put some out last weekend. I imagine with the warm weather they will start hitting them pretty good before long. I just use Dicalium phosphate and trace mineral salt.

Where do you get your stuff from?

Any feed store or Co-op.

How much thought goes into the minerals we put out for deer?

For example, the level of copper in some cattle mineral mixes can be toxic to sheep. What level is toxic to deer? If we don't know, then how do we know that it is good for the deer to put out a cattle mineral mix or which minerals should be in our deer mix?

Feeding a high calcium mineral to cattle prior to calving can lead to milk fever (hypocalcemia) which can result in death. Many people are already putting out high calcium minerals for deer. Is there a milk fever type syndrome in does? If we don't know or aren't sure, how do we know what minerals to put out?

How many of the requirement levels and the toxicity levels do we even know for minerals in deer?

Put them out last weekend whitetail institute 30-06 plus protein is what we use

Have no idea where you got your info but milk fever is caused by a "LACK" of calcium & magnesium.

"Milk Fever, also called Hypocalcemia, is not really a fever at all. In reality, Milk Fever is quite the opposite and is characterized by a doe that has kidded, that is very lethargic, has poor muscle control, difficulty standing and enlarged pupils. While Milk Fever is less likely to occur in a doe that is receiving the proper type and amount of minerals, [b]when Milk Fever strikes, it is due to a lack of calcium and magnesium. Immediate attention should be given to a doe with Milk Fever. The cure is relatively simple and should be administered as injections of calcium gluconate and magnesium - all of which should be available at farm and feed stores. It is also believed that in conjunction with the calcium and magnesium injections (given together), the addition of liquids rich in calcium, vitamins A, D and E will also go a long way in a quicker recovery. Left untreated, the doe will die."

I think it would hard to give them too much calcium............

The maximum tolerable level of calcium is not known.

There's not enough copper in the soil in the south to give them too much copper either.

Feed a good high calcium cattle mineral and don't look back.

Milk fever is hypocalcemia. Grass tetany is hypomagnesemia.

Milk fever can be caused by feeding a high Ca diet to a dry cow. The theory has been that when a high calcium diet is fed during periods of low calcium demand, the cow's system is not "geared up" to efficiently use calcium. When her demand for calcium increases suddenly as she comes into lactation, if she has been on a high calcium diet she is not able to quickly and efficienty move calcium from the bones which can result in milk fever. By feeding a low calcium diet to a dry cow, she is able to mobilize and conserve calcium more efficiently when the demand increases and then you should increase the Ca intake. There is some more recent research that other mineral levels in the dry period may also contribute. Of course, I doubt we know the requirements of a deer for any of those minerals either.

Here is a cut and paste:

Management of the diet can be a valuable aid preventing milk fever. Cows should be kept on a low calcium diet while they are lactating (dry). This stimulates their calcium regulatory system to keep the blood levels normal by mobilising the body stores of calcium from the bone. When the demand for calcium increases as calving, calcium can be mobilised much more rapidly from bone than the feed, therefore preventing milk fever.

With cows at greater risk - Jersey cows of mature age and in forward to fat condition - green feed should be restricted and plenty of hay fed for at least 1-2 weeks before calving. Neither should contain a high percentage of clover or capeweed.

If it is necessary to improve the body condition of cows in order to improve milking performance, feeds high in energy but low in calcium may be used, for example cereal grain or oaten hay. Cereal grain is also high in phosphorus content, and this is of additional value.

Cows close to calving should be kept in a handy paddock to enable frequent observation and early detection of milk fever. On the point of calving, and afterwards, the available feed and calcium should be unrestricted. Calcium feed supplements may be helpful at this point, but should not be given earlier.




Also, you can dang sure poison a sheep with copper containing minerals on our soils. Sheep aren't cattle. Deer aren't cattle either...so what are the requirements for a deer and what levels are toxic?

Jeffrey Bewley and Donna M. Amaral-Phillips
University of Kentucky
Milk fever is a common metabolic disorder in dairy cattle that generally affects older, high
producing cows. It may also be referred to as parturient paresis or hypocalcemia. The majority
of milk fever cases occur within 48 to 72 hours of calving although some may occur in late
lactation. It is estimated that 3 to 8% of cows are affected by this disease with some herds having
a prevalence as high as 25 to 30%.
Symptoms appear when blood calcium levels are low, hence the name hypo (low) calcemia
(calcium). At first, cows experience muscle tremors, lack of appetite, and unsteadiness.
Eventually, cows will be unable to rise, body temperature will be low, and constipation may
occur. Death can occur if the cow is not treated promptly.
In order to understand how to prevent this condition, one must understand why it
becomes a problem. The onset of milk production drains on the animal�s blood calcium levels and
she is unable to replace this calcium. The body loses its ability to mobilize reserves of calcium in
bone and absorb calcium from the gastrointestinal tract. As a result, hypocalcemia affects the
cow�s muscle contractions and rumen motility.

In the past, programs have been aimed at reducing calcium levels in feed. Recent research
indicates that the key is potassium not calcium. The first step in keeping potassium levels down is
to change fertilization practices to prevent high levels in forage (grasses and legumes) intended for
use in the close-up dry cow program. About two weeks before calving, a transition diet should be
used paying close attention to the amount of sodium, potassium, and chloride in the diet.

Potassium is the "other mineral" I had in mind. It will be intersting to see how the potassium idea plays out over time.

Same thing is done in chickens. They are kept on a low Ca diet until the demand for Ca surges when they come into lay. Only then should they be put on a high calcium layer diet.

That's old school stuff. In our dairy we never had a case of Milk Fever in over 40 years. We fed High Calcium & Hi-Mag loose Minerals year round. Free choice.

The trick was keeping the high milk producers out of the lush grazing for the first week or so after calving.

I don't think I have ever heard of a dairy without a case of milk fever. I don't know how the lush grazing would effect calcium metabolism but I guess if it worked for you, that's good.

May be old school, but it's been the way it's been done for a whole lot of years. I've seen cases where feeding high calcium year round didn't work. High mag is fine, just a waste of money when it isn't needed.

Use Horse trace minerals... They love it!

What about the Macrominerals?

Liking the mineral mix and the mineral mix meeting their requirements are two different things.

Sheep also like mineral mixes containing a high copper level, or at least they like it enough to utilize it. They will utilize it even though it will kill them.

Deer and Feeds for Other Animals

People often want to feed deer what is handy, which might be sheep, goat, dairy, or even horse feeds. The problem is these feeds are not formulated for deer, do not meet their specific needs, and may even cause problems.

Sheep are very intolerant of dietary copper, so sheep feeds and, traditionally, most goat feeds contain very low levels of copper. They are also usually lower in protein than what deer will need. Deer, and elk, too, have fairly high copper requirements. Feed meant for sheep will be deficient in copper and most other trace minerals for deer and elk, and will likely not provide enough protein for optimal antler growth.

Shuter....you seem to be missing the point. I am not saying anything about the the requirements of deer in particular or their requirement for any particular mineral other than that people seem to make suggestions and decisions about what minerals are "good" for the deer often with little if any knowledge of what the requirements of deer are and particularly the requirements of deer during different phases of production.

The cattle, sheep and other species are simply examples to show that various species differ in their requirements from each other and the requirements vary during different phases of production.