Anybody know about mineral licks ????

[Jelvis]

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[boxhitch]

Only the critters know for sure. Look for game trails and tracks, or the presence of hair-on-the-hoof.

[Stone Sheep Steve]

Everyone who uses a trailcam knows about mineral licks:wink:.

SSS

[Seeadler]

The ones that I see all look like a hole in the ground where the animals have eaten the dirt.

[Fisher-Dude]

I ain't lickin nuthin with a white substance oozing out of it. :-?

[Chuck]

Here's something to consider.... About a year or so ago my brother picked up a salt block for free from someone, only because they didn't want it. So he took it home, and after about a week kicking around on the porch, he took it out to the bush on the property to get rid of it as it was making a mess on the porch. He parked it in a spot somewhere, and promptly forgot all about it. Some time went by, and he remembered about the salt block, so he went for a walk to see it. When he got to the spot he left it, it wasn't there, but the ground had been cleared in about a 10 foot area around where he left it and right down to the soil. He has since bought another, and put up a protective roof over it.... He now has regular visits to watch HIS deer, but I can't come with my gun, Oh no that won't do...

[pmj]

I only thing I need to know about mineral licks is the latitude and longitude:-D. Please pm them to me:wink:.

[bigwhiteys]

Everyone who uses a trailcam knows about mineral licks:wink:.

Anyone who hunts Sheep should know about a few too! :mrgreen:

Carl

[Jelvis]

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[Mr. Dean]

I ain't lickin nuthin with a white substance oozing out of it. :-?

Sounds as if you're speaking from experience... :wink:

[Wildfoot]

the white you see around kamloops is alkaline salts leeching from the soil. I cant say ive seen animals lick random spots. when you find a mineral lick you will know. usually its a dirt mound or a depression in the ground that has seen super heavy animal traffic. Usually the ground is trampled down to dirt for 20 - 50 feet around the lick. you will also see depressions and scrapes on the ground from animals digging up the dirt to lick.

[Fisher-Dude]

Sounds as if you're speaking from experience... :wink:

I read the books in Hygiene Class in High School. :wink:

[Monashee]

I think the heaviest use of licks occurs in May-June. Old Dept of Highways road salt depots attract deer and elk.

[mcrae]

The mulies tear up the forestry roads in my parts licking and scrapping at them? I have always just assumed that when the road was put in it made some minerals easier to access. Do they salt roads in the winter in the bush when they are logging? They sure do a number on them though!

[Jelvis]

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[Fisher-Dude]

The mulies tear up the forestry roads in my parts licking and scrapping at them? I have always just assumed that when the road was put in it made some minerals easier to access. Do they salt roads in the winter in the bush when they are logging? They sure do a number on them though!

They use calcium chloride or magnesium chloride on FSRs to control dust and compact the running surface in the summer. That stuff does a number on the metal of your vehicles too. :icon_frow

And yes, they do salt some roads in the winter when they are logging.

And for those buddies of mine who call me a road hunter...guess what? :mrgreen:

[Jelvis]

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[Ubertuber]

Here's a nice lick I found. You can compare the size to my rifle.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v11/splck/lick1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v11/splck/lick2-1.jpg

[Jelvis]

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[lapadat]

How do you sheephunters utilize a lick? Is it a place to find rams during pre-season scouting or during the open season???

thanks

[mapguy]

you know its a mineral lick when you see the butt end of the deer out of the hole and his head burried in it . they hardly even notice you . southwest side arrow lakes has a spot .

[Wildfoot]

East side of North Kinbasket .. i think at KM 5 there is a mineral lick beside the road on the left. You can see all sorts of animals in there all summer. but as soon as deer season opens you rarely see animals there.

[Jelvis]

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[7mmag]

Now that I saw the pics from ubertuber I realized that I know where a few of those are.

Is it worth hunting them in the fall?

Limestone forms on the edge on continents for the most part. Many parts of BC have been that place over the millennia so it’s pretty common here. It is generally high in Calcite content which I assume is the mineral the deer are after. If there is a geologist on this site I’m sure he’ll have a conniption over how simplistic this description is, but there it is.

If you’re convinced of a connection between Limestone and big antlers the government geological surveys are a good place to start.



Just tell them you’re a geo... I do.:wink:

[Jelvis]

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[ratherbefishin]

If it's correct that they utilise licks in the spring,I'm wondering if the animals search out sources of mineral when they need it for rebuilding their body strength coming off the winter as well as antler growth[and does recovering from bearing young]

[Stone Sheep Steve]

Jelvis-I was referring to those blue ones you almost always see in trailcam pics:roll:.
I see Cabelas now sell ones that look just like a rock:wink:!

SSS

[Mr. Dean]

Deer lick the salt from roadsides in winter. So it must be an important staple to their diet year round (?).

[Jelvis]

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[boxhitch]

Jel - youkeep harping on limestone, but not getting any support info. What makes you think it is so important ? Share the info, thanks.

[boxhitch]

Try this info
http://www.bchydro.com/pwcp//pdfs/mountain_goat/hengeveld_habitat_supply_modeling.pdf

[boxhitch]

or ......
http://www.bchydro.com/pwcp//pdfs/mountain_goat/bc_goat_workshop_summary.pdf

[boxhitch]

or......
http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0022-2372(194911)30%3A4%3C379%3ANGLITR%3E2.0.CO%3B2-V

[Jelvis]

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[Jelvis]

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[hunter1947]

How I recognize mineral licks when I come across one is the ground is all dug up and there are tons of tracks around the area. There are also 3 or 4 main runways entering the lick. I have seen in some cases a hole that has become 2 feet in depth ,it can be anywhere from 4 to 6 feet in length and might go down over a foot in depth.

[CanuckShooter]

I have seen limestone walls with caverns licked into them by the animals. One fellowclaimed they walked up on a sheep licking one of them and booted him in the arse to see how big his horns were. Said he pulled out looked at them and went right back in to lick some more.

[dino]

Hey Jel you ask alot of questions that you already know the answer to.I think your fixing to write a book one day.
How much and where can I buy it.

[coldbuc69]

A mineral lick that just has a salt block is ok, but If you want to see some awsome results try. so I've heard :roll:

Dicalcium Phosphate, 2 parts trace mineral salt (loose), and 1 part loose
stock salt. All of these are available to purchase at most local feed and
farm supply stores. Just to give you a little background on these minerals
and what they are designed to do lets start with the Dicalcium Phosphate.
Dicalcium phosphate is used primarily as dairy cattle feed additive and
other animal feeds. It promotes feed digestion, weight gain, and milk
production, which is obviously beneficial to a lactating doe deer.
Dicalcium phosphate contains roughly between 18 and 21 percent phosphorus
and 19 to 23 percent
calcium. You're probably asking why this is important by now. Well if your
talking about growing antlers on deer you need to take a look at what is the
make up of a deer antler.

Hardened antlers contain 40 to 50 percent organic matter from mostly
proteins while the most abundant minerals consist of calcium and
phosphorus. The demands for these minerals on a daily basis can be
significant for antler production. In addition, a lactating doe's milk
contains high percentages of both calcium and phosphorus to pass on to their
young, also causing a significant mineral drain on the doe.

What makes all this significant is the fact
that phosphorous cannot be synthesized by the body so it must be provided in
needed levels in the animals diet. This is where a mineral mix such as this
could be very valuable if an area is lacking in these naturally.

Trace mineral salts do two things for deer. The first and foremost is it
does have the salt/sodium to attract the deer and promote the use of the
mineral. Secondly, it provides the trace minerals such as magnesium and
potassium that are very important to herd health but are not found in
significant quantities like others.
Stock salt is again like part of the above. It has the sodium to attract
deer to the minerals.

Most mineral mixes have salt as their most abundant ingredient since a mix
of just posphorus, calcium, and other trace minerals have little attraction
to deer once mixed with the soil.

Dried molassess. once you smell it you know it will bring them in

As for directions of use we suggest using a 3-pound coffee can to measure
out 1 part dicalcium phoshate, 2 parts trace mineral salt, and 1 part stock
salt. Mix all these together once ready to use but keep components separate
during storage. Dig a hole in the soil about 36 inches wide and 6 inches
deep and mix the mineral well with the soil. This should be replenished
after 6 months and then once a year thereafter.

And if you have a trail cam setup, try straping a jar of peanut butter to a tree so your camera can catch it.

[Jelvis]

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[Jelvis]

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[Jelvis]

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[elkdom]

some mineral licks can consist of just a small "puddle', water oozing from the ground, or a bank of a creek or a river, I have found mineral licks that cover an area 2 or 3 hundred yards long and just as wide, all the soil gone from eons of hundreds of big and small game animals coming to taste the "JUICE", just like someone has taken a backhoe and removed all the soil sometimes as deep as two meters and acres across,in the Forest,the surrounding hill sides a maize of game trails all leading to the LICK, when you get near it smells like rotting eggs, when the deer elk, moose, sheep, caribou, bears and wolves get close they all RUN like kids to an ice cream truck, then the funny thing is it seems like it is a place of "TIME OUT" wolves feeding near elk and deer, all intent on getting their "JUICE" and ignoring the other species, quite a place to visit,,, at night you can sit there in the dark , hear them slurping, walking in the "GOO", even hear them let out some GAWD awful belches,all night long there is activity, everything you can name coming to that big LICK for some stinkee "JUICE"

yeh them critters run for the juice !,jelly haha

[ve7iuq]

If it's correct that they utilise licks in the spring,I'm wondering if the animals search out sources of mineral when they need it for rebuilding their body strength coming off the winter as well as antler growth[and does recovering from bearing young]

A retired biologist friend of mine who has studied the issue, says that animals know when they need minerals, such as in the spring. I have l looked at a lot of mineral licks in the past and all animals seem to leave the licks about early September. Though, one great September evening while sitting around our tiny goat hunting camp, two of us watched 31 goats come to a lick and stay there until it was too dark to see them anymore.
Moose will beat their trails into the ground, nearly a foot deep, as generations of them come to a favourite lick.
Bear in mind that most mineral licks just look to us like a hard clay.

[Caveman]

I was told of one near Elkford. When my dad and I found this thing, it was amazing how much the moose had been using it. Every evening we had a half inch of snow or more and there were beds in it from each day that we had been there. This was in late Oct. You could smell moose from 50 yards of the lick.

[Jelvis]

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[steelheadSABO]

just buy a mineral block and set it out

[Jelvis]

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[srupp]

hmmm the moose mineral licks have been pretty mucky/ wet and they actually were ating mud water and the contents..that was June...


the sheep (stone) mineral lick was just off the river and was more stone actual minerals coming out of the rocks..we did see stone sheep licking the well WORN rocks...as well as a moose and a elk...traffic was stoopind busy...Im sure the big boyz use it also but the couple days we were in the area..it was imature animals...

Going up the Muskwa with Scott we did encounter a mineral lick approx 1/2 way in..bluish/grey muck with lots of tracks..and it had a particular smell..but the tracks were extreme in #...

seemed to be seeping out of the ground...


Steven

[sawmill]

We have them here on the St.Marys Lake road,they look like clay banks with big deep holes licked into them.I tasted some of one,no salt at all in it,must be calcium or something.

[Jelvis]

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[lightmag]

i found a secluded lick with alot of elk tracks!! you know where i will be in 2 weeks