Big Springs Home	Big Springs Trophy Deer Mineral is a specifically designed nutritional supplement for feeding deer. It will promote and enhance antler growth and development, and improve herd health, especially during gestation and lactation. Research indicates deer supplemented with Calcium, Phosphorus, trace minerals and vitamins are healthier and have substantially larger antlers.
Mineral Facts
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	The summer of 1995 saw the introduction of Big Springs Trophy Deer Mineral  A cooperative effort between an outfitter, a life long trophy bow hunter, a livestock feeder and a nutritionist with wildlife feed experience, created a high quality complete mineral, vitamin feed to supplement the natural food sources of deer.

Mineral composition of deer antlers is: Calcium 19%, Phosphorus 10%, Magnesium 1.1%, Iron 55ppm, Zinc 116ppm, Sodium 5%, Potassium 1%, Manganese 6.6ppm. The ingredients used in  Big Springs Trophy Deer Mineral exceed these requirements. Antlers are one of the fastest growing tissues in the animal kingdom Therefore, if any one or all of the nutrients are in short supply during the growing season, antler growth slows.  Since antlers grow for a short period of time, smaller antlers will result. Less mass and density will occur as well as reduction of desirable characteristics such as number of points, inside spread, and beam circumference. Nutrients in a buck's diet are first used for life functions, only nutrients in excess of these are used for antler growth.

Food plots, or farmers growing crops of corn, soybeans, alfalfa, and clover are supplemented with mineral. Why? To maximize genetic potential.

For over fifty years livestock feeders, be it swine, beef, poultry, or lamb, include protein, minerals and vitamins in a carefully balanced diet. Why? To maximize potential.

Good herd management continues by emphasizing year around mineral feeding.

After the rut, those dominant bucks need a real strong balanced diet before winter. Get'em back in shape.

Early spring is a time to offer mineral to the gestating doe. This doe's fawn will be larger and stronger. This fawn accompanying his mother to a mineral feeding station during lactation will himself begin consuming mineral.

Adult deer show evidence of mineral feeding after several months, for example, shiny coats, heavier body weight, and larger racks. Please consider the results of several years of mineral feeding.

 Choose a high quality mineral. What this involves is an ingredient source that is readily available to the animal and economical. Insist on a high calcium and phosphorus level mineral. Maintaining a 2 to 1 calcium phosphorus ratio. Salt should be present, but not comprise more than 1/5 of the mineral. Lesser minerals and trace minerals: cobalt, zinc, iron, sulfur. selenium, iodine, manganese, magnesium, and potassium. Add to this Vitamin A 50,000 IU per pound.  Vitamin E at 5,000 IU per pound and Vitamin D3 at 20 IU per pound and you have the perfect deer mineral, at a reasonable price.