shootingmagpie Posted September 28, 2009 Report Share Posted September 28, 2009 Hi just wondering how often to feed a small duck pond we have cleaned up and also whats the best time of day to feed it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dangerzone Posted September 28, 2009 Report Share Posted September 28, 2009 Every morning if you can, put the ducks off and pour barley into the shallow margins ......if not, as often as you can manage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anser2 Posted September 29, 2009 Report Share Posted September 29, 2009 Just make sure you do not feed at flight time. Any time of day apart from dusk will do , but if you have swans or a lot of moorhens delay until mid afternoon. Feed as often as possible , cutting down if there is uneaten corn left the next day ( otherwise you will end up feeding the local rats ) or increasing if its all gone. barley is fine , but mallard will usually go for wheat first. On stubbles they seem to like barley best , but I suspect its easier for them to find or get out of the ears than wheat. Give some mallard a bowl of mixed wheat and barley and you will find the next morning all the wheat will be gone and only barley left behind. So they do like wheat best. There are a lot of other foods you can feed with , potatoes , oats , acorns and so on , but wheat and barley are so easy to feed so i would stick with them. If you can scatter the grain widely to the birds have to search for it , but not in water too deep for them to reach. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henry d Posted September 29, 2009 Report Share Posted September 29, 2009 Remember not to shoot it too often either :blink: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
humperdingle Posted September 29, 2009 Report Share Posted September 29, 2009 Do you just leave piles of feed, or would you use some kind of feeder? I'm guessing it'd be sprinkled around the edge? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ballymac Posted September 29, 2009 Report Share Posted September 29, 2009 (edited) Feed the shallows and don't leave it easy for the rats. Was talking to a very experienced duck shooter last week, he has a small pond that he feeds and has 400 duck most nights on it. He used to feed potatoes that had been smashed up (he used to drive over a sackful in his truck) but he stopped that years ago as it is thought that it turns the water sour and puts the ducks off. Also you need to identify the type of duck that is on the pond, are they divers or dabblers? that will determine how deep the feed should be in the pond Edited September 29, 2009 by Ballymac Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcw65 Posted September 29, 2009 Report Share Posted September 29, 2009 I just back up a 8 ton trailer of wheat cleanings,brushing ups and tip the lot in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry P Posted September 29, 2009 Report Share Posted September 29, 2009 I just back up a 8 ton trailer of wheat cleanings,brushing ups and tip the lot in. Need to be careful doing this.I've read that this can cause a mold to build up on the feed,as it takes a long time to eat.This mold is deadly to ducks and many will fly away only to die later.Far better to adjust the feed to how much is being eaten,as someone has already said,if food left,feed less,all gone feed a little more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roadkill Posted September 29, 2009 Report Share Posted September 29, 2009 Need to be careful doing this.I've read that this can cause a mold to build up on the feed,as it takes a long time to eat.This mold is deadly to ducks and many will fly away only to die later.Far better to adjust the feed to how much is being eaten,as someone has already said,if food left,feed less,all gone feed a little more. we dumped 13 tonnes in are pond and it turned it black , but the ducks seem happy enough Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anser2 Posted September 29, 2009 Report Share Posted September 29, 2009 (edited) There was a guy who was stopped dumping corn by the trailer load because a lot of his duck died from posioning ( it caused lung infections which killed them after a few days ) from the moldy food. A lazy and bad pratice. Most of the duck died several miles away on their roost. The guy consernned did not realise what was happening as new birds to the area kept arriving replacing the ones he killed. Edited September 29, 2009 by anser2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shootingmagpie Posted September 30, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 30, 2009 Thanks for all the replies and I think ill be feeding in the morning from now on. I cant get to feed it every day but ill feed as often as I can. Thanks again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjimmer Posted October 1, 2009 Report Share Posted October 1, 2009 Remember not to shoot it too often either I've found that once you have about 20 ducks coming in at flight time, there will be enough come in the next night to shoot 20. Isn't that enough? If your in a good position, you might be able to shoot once a week. Wait for a lot more coming in and you might find that they get fed up with that pond and numbers start to fall off. Another way might be to shoot the first pair that come in and go home. That way you might be able to shoot every evening of the season. Driving them off in the morning and stopping shooting when there are still plenty coming in is most important. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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