The Math of Deer Mineral

The Math of Deer Mineral

Let’s use a 130 lb deer eating 2.7% of their body weight in dry matter = 3.5 lbs dry matter per head per day.A deer needs a minimum of 0.38% phosphorous in their diet.

If we have brassica, clover and perennial food plot sources and native browse that average 0.28% phosphorous, we need the following amount of supplemental phosphorous.

Daily browse 0.28% x 3.44 lbs of dry matter consumed per head per day of forage = 0.0096 lbs phosphorous a deer takes in.

Needed in a diet 3.5 x 0.0038 = .0133 per head per day phosphorous taken in

.0133 - .0096 = .0037 lbs phosphorous needed supplementally

.0037 / .06 lbs per head per day of deer mineral = .0616 (6.16% phosphorous needed in the deer mineral)

So you need to get a deer to eat 1 ounce per head per day of a deer mineral that is 6% phosphorous to balance themselves out.

Now moving onto salt.

A deer needs .014 lbs salt per head per day. If we use a deer mineral that they eat 1 oz of it per head per day to get their daily requirement the math is…

.014/.06 = .2333 or (23.33% salt needed in a deer mineral)

Lastly, let’s look at Zinc

We need 40 ppm of zinc in a diet. If that 130 lb deer eats 3.5 lbs dry matter per head per day here is the math. 3.5 x 40 = 140 ppm

140 ppm / .06 lbs per head per day of deer mineral = 2,333 ppms zinc needed in a deer mineral to meet their requirements