How To Make Salt Lick for Deer

On our hunting property, we like to do all we can to keep the deer around and help them grow bigger and fuller. One of the things we like to do is give the deer something they’ll come back for every day. That ingredient is salt. We have been making our own salt licks and mineral licks for years so I wanted to share our recipe on how to make your own salt lick attractant.

The Ingredients

You can buy the following items from your local feed store, Rural King, Southern States, Tractor Supply, etc.

1 part Di-Calcium Phosphate
- This is used as a feed additive for cattle, horses, goats & swine. Comes in a 50 lb bag for around $30.
2 parts Trace mineral salt
- This helps promote digestion and growth. Comes in a 50 lb bag for under $10.
1 part Stock salt
- Just ice cream salt. Comes in 50 lb bag for under $10.

Our Recommendations

These are the items we use year round – two come from Amazon.

Di-Calcium Phosphate

Crazy as it sounds – there’s no great online option for this that we’ve found. Our local Tractor Supply usually has it in stock, though – the brand we get is Sprout and runs ~$26

Trace Mineral Salt

North American Salt Salt 41004 Trace Mineral Bag Silver Salt Pet Supplement, 50-Pound

50 Lb. Trace Mineral Bag Of Salt
Contains The 6 Core Micro Minerals: Zinc, Manganese, Cobalt, Copper, Iodine and Iron
All 6 Elements Are Required For Basic Animal Health
Formulated For All Classes Of Beef and Dairy Cattle, Pigs and Horses
Contains The 6 Core Micro Minerals: Zinc, Manganese, Cobalt, Copper, Iodine and Iron

Salt Stock

North American Salt Salt 41018 Fine Stock Silver Salt Pet Supplement, 50-Pound

50 Lb. Fine Stock Ag Salt
Contains The Anti-caking Agent Yps
Is Used As Both Mixing Salt and Stock Salt
For All Classes Of Beef and Dairy Cattle, Sheep, Pigs and Horses
Purity Levels For Fine Stock Is Guaranteed To 95-percent

Making the Salt Lick

Once you have all your ingredients purchased, do the following:

Mix all minerals together in a large bucket.
Find a spot where deer frequently walk and dig a hole about 8 inches deep.
Pour the bucket of mineral mixture into the hole. If you have an old tree stump pour it all around it too.
Place your trail camera next to your mixture hole and watch for deer.

Hope this helps you save a few bucks. With the 50 lb bags, you will have enough to create salt licks in different locations on your property (ideally near a food plot to keep that deer heard growing while you wait for hunting season to start.)