The best way to attract and hold more, healthier and bigger deer on your land is by providing food that meets their year-round nutritional needs. The more food and habitat available, the more deer you’ll attract, the healthier they’ll be and the longer they’ll stay. This means providing sufficient sources of energy, protein and minerals when they’re needed most. Big&J has a suite of supplements specifically designed to meet the changing dietary needs of deer 365 days of the year.
Winter:
Winter is often the biggest nutritional bottleneck for deer. Both bucks and does are depleted by the rut, while plants are dormant and at their lowest level of availability and nutrition. The quicker the deer recovers, the sooner bucks can start growing new racks and provide more nutrients to the fawns growing inside them. A high-quality feed is at a premium, making this prime time to provide supplemental sources of digestible energy, degradable protein (DP) and undegradable protein (UP) and minerals to replenish stores in the body.
Spring:
Spring green-up means new sources of nutrition, but there are still gaps in the deer’s diet that could stall production. The new greens are high in energy and DP but often very limited in UP. Meanwhile, antler growth is escalating, which requires both protein and minerals. But mineral content is diluted in the growing forage. Now is when your deer need supplemental feed that is high in UP, along with the right concentration of minerals like calcium, phosphorus and other trace minerals.
Summer:
Early summer is the most critical time for protein and mineral supplementation. Bucks are experiencing peak antler growth while soon-to-be-born fawns place ever-increasing nutritional demands on does, which will peak when the fawns are born and begin nursing – the single largest nutrient draw on the females in the herd. While late summer is a period of abundance, natural vegetation begins to go dormant and become less nutritious. Minerals become less important, but the need for supplemental energy and protein increases as bucks and does prepare for the rut and the oncoming winter.
Fall:
Energy demands are peaking now, along with the rut. Deer also need protein to keep their fitness up before entering winter, and it becomes more difficult to get the food they need as breeding often takes priority overfeeding. That’s why it’s important to provide the most attractive and nutritious food you can because every bite counts.
Big&J® helps you meet the numerous and varying nutritional needs of deer in a variety of ways.
BB2TM Granular and Cube
In addition to being a strong attractant, BB2 is over 90% digestible and makes an ideal year-round supplement. Energy comes primarily from digestible fiber and fat instead of starch and fermentable carbohydrates, preventing acidosis or digestive upset from other sources like corn. The protein content is guaranteed to be 18% at a minimum and is comprised of approximately 30% DP and 70% UP, the latter of which is often in limited supply in the wild. Mineral content includes some calcium (Ca) and phosphorous (P) and trace mineral needs for healthy bone and antler growth.
BB2TM Liquid
Poured on the ground or blended in with other feeds year-round, BB2 Liquid super-charges feed site with its attractant power. But unlike other liquid attractants that are flavored sugar water, BB2 Liquid offers nutritional value with a protein content of 8%, a fat content of 2%, the salt that deer love and the Ca and P they need to promote bone growth.
Deadly Dust®
Another year-round supplement, Deadly Dust, adds variety to the deer’s diet through a sweet corn base, changing the palatability profile to keep deer interested. It consists of 10% protein that is approximately 60:40 UP to DP, digestible energy around 90% and Ca and P at a 10:1 ratio to meet the deer’s needs.
To-Die-For®
The guaranteed 20% protein and 7.5% fat in To-Die-For offer a great combination of digestible protein and energy in one product. Its Ca and P content nearly meets a deer’s requirement, maximizing herd health and growth potential, and its sweet corn flavor profile is a similarly stronger attractant to keep feed sites from getting boring. In total, it helps fill year-round nutritional gaps.
Liquid Luck
Packaged in a convenient carry bag so getting it to that secret spot for year-round feeding is easy, Liquid Luck can be used alone – by pouring on the ground or stump – or added to other ingredients to increase palatability, protein profile and bring salt/sodium content to an optimal level. Although the protein level is only 8%, that’s mostly much-needed UP. There’s also enough Ca and P to help balance the mineral needs in your deer herd.
Headrush
The salt-based formula of Headrush includes Ca (a major component in bone and antler growth) and bioavailable trace mineral sources of zinc, manganese, copper and cobalt that aid in adding inches of bone and in cellular function and overall herd health year-round. We all know deer love salt, but Big&J® take it to the next level by adding an attractive aroma.
Legit®
Apple flavored for greater attracting power, Legit offers a great source of Ca and P, which are needed for bone/antler growth and often deficient in natural habitat, particularly from late winter through early summer.
Melt Down
Similarly, Melt Down is a great source of sodium from late winter through early summer, which is the next part of the puzzle once Ca and P needs are met. Sodium aids in cellular function, including amino acid (building blocks of protein) transport.
Deer Dig It
In both powder form and as a premixed liquid, Deer Dig It is also a great sodium source from late winter through early summer. In addition, it also has bio-available trace minerals, including zinc, manganese, and copper, which have greater absorption rates when compared to traditional sulfate mineral sources. This means it gets where the body needs it instead of being excreted by the animal and wasted, so you get more bang for your bag.
The folks at Big&J® feel it’s not just about feeding deer in the fall. If you provide superior nutrition, your land will hold more and healthier deer. Bucks will grow bigger antlers and will produce more fawns. They’ll also be more inclined to stick around, adjust travel and feeding patterns, and bedding areas closest to the best food sources. Smart management of feed, supplements and attractants for your deer herd can lead to greater herd health, greater inches of antler on the wall, more meat in the freezer and overall increased success rates in the field.
To purchase online or find a retailer near you, please visit: WWW.BIGANDJ.COM.
