How important are minerals to a deer's diet?

Question:
Q: How important are minerals to a deer's diet?

Answer:
A: Extremely important. Just as humans need minerals in their diets, deer need them to stay healthy and productive. Minerals provide many benefits to deer, including: increased conception rates in does, delivery of more fawn, distribution of calcium and phosphorous for antler production and increased overall health of the entire deer heard. Pennington's Rackmaster brand of deer mineral offers the required 2:1 ratio of calcium to phosphorous and is an all natural, soil colored formula that is easy to use when making mineral licks.