Rock salt

[2571]

Would deer eat rock salt? If I throw some out & it has other chemicals in it, will I hurt the 5-6 deer I do have at my deer camp?

Is some tree cop gonna give me a ticket for illegal baiting? Read recently of some guy getting a ticket from DNR for having too much bird feed out for the wild birds.

[CnA]

Deer like salt, but that's a problem in winter.

More salt means they need more water. Eating snow or drinking extra cold water increases their stored fat being burned to generate heat and keep warm.

It's OK for them in the summer where there is plenty of water, not so much in winter. The legality is another problem.

[sourdough44]

Yes deer like to eat salt, porkies too. You could just dump some rock salt on a semi rotted stump. The salt will leach in & the critters will lick the wood.

I used to sample a little 'road salt' in the county bin growing up as a kid, I'm still here. I'll leave the legal ramifications up to the others.

[Cackler]

Would deer eat rock salt? If I throw some out & it has other chemicals in it, will I hurt the 5-6 deer I do have at my deer camp?

Is some tree cop gonna give me a ticket for illegal baiting? Read recently of some guy getting a ticket from DNR for having too much bird feed out for the wild birds.

Deer seek minerals in the summer, I doubt tossing out rock salt now will do much but melt snow.

[Cackler]

Would deer eat rock salt? If I throw some out & it has other chemicals in it, will I hurt the 5-6 deer I do have at my deer camp?

Is some tree cop gonna give me a ticket for illegal baiting? Read recently of some guy getting a ticket from DNR for having too much bird feed out for the wild birds.

Deer seek minerals in the summer, I doubt tossing out rock salt now will do much but melt snow.

[MichiganShootist]

Sorry--- but deer like salt all year round. Just a couple weeks ago when one of our county roads had been salted by the road crews.... I came up over a rise and there were 6 or 8 deer in the road licking up the salt.

If you want to put out something better for them ... pick up a deer block. The have some salt in them but also lots of other items that are good for the deer.... like calcium etc.

[crankythunder]

If you could dish out the top of it and fill it up with salt, that salt will soak into the stump and the deer will lick the wood. Since their tongues are rough like a cats, their tongues will sand the wood down in the middle of the stump and they will come back to that stump for a couple years. add more salt as it soaks into the stump or put a block on top. Furthermore, if you put it on the ground it will soak into the ground and they will dig it up for a couple weeks or months, depending if the soil is sandy or clay.

I personally see them at the stump primarily in the summertime. wintertime, I think there is better pickings along the roads with the salt.

Regards,
Cranky

[Farmer Dan]

we leave salt and mineral blocks out in the back pasture for our horses and it's not uncommon to find deer licking them. During bad winters I find them eating hay next to the horses too.

[wadevb1]

I keep trail cams on my mineral blocks sitting in food plots. I managed captive deer for a few years too. Their requirement for salt intake is highest during the summer, minimum during fall and almost nil during winter.

Salt is salt

[Cackler]

Their requirement for salt intake is highest during the summer, minimum during fall and almost nil during winter.

Well now, were those CLARE COUNTY deer?