Minerals: What Are They and Why Are They Important?

By WHITETAIL INSTITUTE STAFF

For hundreds of years, people have recognized the need for mineral in animal diets.  This, of course, includes the need for mineral in human diets. Though I cannot say this as fact, salt was probably the first mineral recognized as important in animal diets. Hunters long ago knew they could find game where natural salt deposits were found. They may not have known why the animals needed mineral or what functions the minerals performed in the animal’s body, but they knew animals were attracted to minerals. 

Mineral supplements have been used for many years in domestic livestock diets and for the past 12 years, we at the Whitetail Institute have been stressing the importance of minerals in a deer’s diet. And just in case you still may have doubts, research studies have long established the fact that minerals are needed in all animal diets including deer diets.

Well, now that we have established that deer need mineral in their diets, what are minerals and why are they needed? To most, mineral is just a generic term that, among deer hunters, is most commonly associated with salt. Salt, however, is only one of many minerals. In fact, other minerals are much more important than salt. In order to further understand minerals, let’s first look at what a mineral actually is.     

Webster defines minerals as, “an organic substance, neither animal or vegetable; a solid homogeneous crystalline chemical element or compound that results from the inorganic process of nature.” Nothing against Mr. Webster but that doesn’t tell me all that much. In simpler terms, minerals are inorganic (not containing carbon) compounds that have specific functions that are critical for life. For example, salt (NaCl) is a mineral compound consisting of sodium and chloride. Both sodium and chloride perform specific functions in the body. For instance, the function most commonly associated with sodium is maintaining cellular osmotic balance. Both sodium and chloride belong to a group of minerals called macro-minerals.

Macro-minerals are defined as those minerals needed in large quantities to support life. A few of the minerals belonging to this group are: calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, sodium and chloride. All these minerals are vital in a deer’s diet, but two that I would like to point out are calcium and phosphorus. Together, these two minerals comprise approximately 33 percent of a hardened antler (calcium 22 percent, phosphorus 11 percent). As you can see, both of these minerals are vital for maximum antler growth.

The importance does not stop with antler growth. For instance, high levels of these minerals are also found in does’ milk. Furthermore, these minerals are needed for proper skeletal and muscular development in young deer. Calcium functions in muscular contraction and hormone secretion. Phosphorus plays a role in many metabolic functions. These are only a just few of the functions these minerals perform, so as you can see, without them or with a low level in the diet, many problems can occur. In Figure 1, I have listed all the macro-minerals and a handful of their functions.

The second group of minerals is called trace minerals. Trace minerals are those needed in small amounts but still vital for life. A few of these minerals include: zinc, manganese, iron, copper, cobalt, selenium and iodine. Do not let the words “trace” or “small amount” fool you. These minerals are every bit as vital as the macro-minerals but they are only needed in smaller amounts. As with macro-minerals, all of the trace minerals perform many functions in a deer’s body that are vital. For instance, copper is involved in the production of collagen which is the protein matrix found in antlers. Iron is involved in production of blood, specifically hemoglobin, which is needed in large amounts both during milk production and antler growth. I have listed some trace minerals and there functions in Figure 1.     

With all of this being said, one might think that mineral product formulation and development is a fairly easy thing to do. Just throw a few of these minerals together and you have yourself a deer mineral product. Unfortunately, this is not the way it works. Minerals do not function independently of each other. Rather, they have complex interactions. If you have too much of one mineral and not enough of another, none of the minerals will be properly utilized by the deer. For example, if too much calcium is in the diet and not enough phosphorus, neither mineral will be utilized efficiently.

Furthermore, if too much zinc is in the diet and not enough calcium, neither will be utilized properly. Each mineral can be affected by the amount and type of another mineral. Mineral product formulation is very exacting and complex. In fact, misformulation of minerals can not only cause diminished positive effects but can actually cause serious problems including death. Minerals can be toxic, some very toxic. Feeding too much of one mineral and not enough of another can cause deer to have more than small antlers, you may kill them. The moral of this story is to make sure you use minerals formulated by professionals who understand deer nutrition.

There are literally hundreds of books written about what minerals are and what functions they have. In fact I have several sitting on my reference shelf. The purpose of this article, however, was not to have you read a thesis on minerals but rather give you a better appreciation for them. Hopefully, now when you are considering using minerals in your deer management plan, you will be better informed on this complex subject and better understand deer/mineral and mineral/mineral relationships.

Figure 1

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