food plots, or mineral licks??

[keith44]

I have a couple of small clearings in my woods (1/4 acre or less) that the game trails run right next to, but very little sign of anything (rabbits, squirrel, deer etc) actually using the clearings.  Would this be a good place for a food plot? or would a mineral lick work better here (for deer)?  I haven't determined how much sun these small areas get through the summer, but I am wanting to do something to improve the habitat and overall game holding of the land.
 
 

[streak]

keith44,
Have you got any feeders setup anywhere on your property?
If not I would start with on in one of your clear areas and see what action it gets. If it shows a fair amount of activity than I would put in a food plot around that area.
In the other area I would probably go ahead and put up a mineral block and then check for activity and go from there as to whether it warrants a food plot or not.
Good luck!
Depending on your hunting pressure, sometimes the food plots and feeders are only visited at night time by the deer.

[Land_Owner]

Certainly could not hurt, or be too expensive, to establish them as food plots AND include a mineral lick in each...could it?

[keith44]

Certainly could not hurt, or be too expensive, to establish them as food plots AND include a mineral lick in each...could it?

No I suppose both could be both.  I usually incorporate the mineral, and salt source, deeply into the soil, this has brought deer for many years back to the same spot, it ends up being very bare and dished out after only a couple years.  But if the mineral is kept away from the planting, it might work...

[Land_Owner]

I tried salt and minerals.  Neither works for me.  The creek and lake within one-mile are called "Salt Creek" and "Salt Lake" respectively.  Go figure why I had trouble interesting the deer with my little salt and mineral blocks...food plots however, got their undivided attention.  They eat my 4-acres of iron and clay peas to the dirt line soon after the plants get between 4 and 12 inches in height.

[mcbammer]

How   much   sunlight   does   your   clearings   get  ?    I  have  some   of   that   size   that  I  dont  plant any  longer  because   trees   have   matured   an   the  plots   only   get    half   days   sun  .   

[ICEPICK]

I tried a different kind of lick this year.  It's 10lbs. of mineral lick( with a sweet taste) in powder form in a bucket with small holes in the bottom in which you screw to the top of a tree you cut at 8 ft. high.   When ever it rains the bucket fills with water and seeps to the bottom of the bucket which in turn leaks all down the tree.  If you can find a old rotten tree it will work better because the deer will chew off all the bark.  Mine was on a good tree and you can still see all the chew marks from the deer on it.  It attracted quite a few bucks this year.

[Land_Owner]

With the sufficiency of naturally occuring salt and minerals throughout the deer habitat near me, I tried a sweet alternative with excellent results.  There are 5-lb. and 10-lb. molassas licks that screw into posts or hang from limbs.  You can make your own too melting sugar, poured into the reminents of former screw-post containers, or other.  Just don't burn it. 
 
If you add peanuts, it is called Peanut Brittle.  Any Christmas ideas from this?
 
The animals love it...particularly when they get salt and other minerals through the water.

[mcbammer]

I Have  never tried   this   but  a   fellow   deer   hunter   told    me   that    peanut   butter  is  a  strong   attractant  .

[keith44]

I Have  never tried   this   but  a   fellow   deer   hunter   told    me   that    peanut   butter  is  a  strong   attractant  .

Many things can be used to temporarly attract deer, what I am wanting is more of permenant or semi permenant feeding area.  I have resident does I want well tended 

[keith44]

How   much   sunlight   does   your   clearings   get  ?    I  have  some   of   that   size   that  I  dont  plant any  longer  because   trees   have   matured   an   the  plots   only   get    half   days   sun  .

The one clearing ,about the center of the property, gets about 6 to 8 hrs of direct sunlight during the summer.  This may be used for mineral lick, and a brush pile.

The other clearing is on a north eastern slope and gets upto 10 of direct sunlight during the same time.  This is also close to woodland edge habitat so a perennial planting is what I think would work best here.

[Empty Quiver]

I have read that by the time deer season comes the lick use will have plummeted. Long ago I came to the same conclusion on my own about licks, tracks and never any deer. Food however is a different story. With the right plantings you can offer fresh salad as the mast is being finished up out in the oaks. Deer will naturally brouse on a bit of everything anyway even if given a  bunker of sweet feed they will eat other things through the day.

[keith44]

My mineral / salt licks experience differ from yours.  I always place them close to cover, and look for ways to make the does feel at home.  It is the bucks that travel after all

[Ranger99]

kinda late this year for all that ain't it?
(is here anyway)


i use small food plots now instead of
feeders cuz when i wasn't there, the
trespassing poachers were using the
feeders as a "hunt here!" sign.
try postholing some corn and put
out a little no-plow type seed for now.
i'm using acorn rage this year and i'd have
tagged one if not for the bad weather
opening weekend. i've planted oaks
and hickories for mast, and more pines
for cover.
i'd hold on the serious plot work until
after season end and go to work on
soil ph and improve soil quality with
whatever amendments needed.
the i&c peas like l.o. recommends are
good and mixed with maize if it does
good in your area. i like that and red
clover too. of course, all the good grass
i have helps too
good luck with it

[keith44]

Yup it is late for this season, but then I am looking at future seasons.  What I am trying to do is get things set up for permanent food sources without the need to disturb the area for seasonal short term foods (corn, wheat, milo, etc).  We already have hickories (three different types), we have black walnuts, white oaks, dog woods, ash, box elder, and likely others... I am working toward having a year 'round food supply for deer and small game (rabbit, quail, turkey, and squirrel) without using feeders to artificially grow the wildlife population.


(to be continued...)

[keith44]

Some excerpts from the KDFWR (Ky Dept of Fish and Wildlife Resources) website:


The planting of food plots is possibly the most implemented and, in most cases, the least needed wildlife management practice in Kentucky. Many landowners believe that food plots provide everything that wildlife need when in fact they comprise the smallest piece of the wildlife habitat puzzle. The key elements for wildlife survival are food, water, cover, and space. However, given the mild climate and diverse vegetation in the state, food is seldom a limiting factor for wildlife. In fact, animals feed on a wide variety of native vegetation, some of which is often considered to be worthless weeds by most landowners. Cover, because it is most often lacking, is virtually always much more important than food in determining the abundance of local populations. However, food plots can be a piece of the puzzle, when they are done properly.

Calcium and phosphorus are the most abundant minerals found in antlers, followed by magnesium and sodium. This gives us the ingredients to concentrate on for our mineral lick. You may have noticed that most mineral licks are readily used in spring and summer. This may reflect the increased nutritional demands of gestation for does and antler development for bucks. Bucks generally start antler development in late March and finish growth by mid September. Most does give birth in May or early June. If you choose to develop mineral licks, make sure they are available during these important months.

Kentucky’s prairies were once known for their breathtaking floral displays. Prairie wildflowers coexisting with prairie grasses formed one of the most complex and intricate plant communities in the world. The native prairie is now one of the rarest plant communities in North America, having been largely destroyed by modern land use practices. Wildflower prairies enhance biodiversity in any given area, providing unique wildlife habitat while at the same time returning the land to its natural beauty.

For public use:
http://fw.ky.gov/howto.asp


So while planting and finishing my orchard, and other gardening ideas, I'm also trying to develop natural wildlife habitat without annual inputs.