Pilky Posted October 22, 2009 Report Share Posted October 22, 2009 Hi, anyone have any tips on keeping the ducks i put on my pond to stay there? Its been really dry the last few months so the water is getting low. Would be very grateful for any hints/tips. Cheers Pilky! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr D Posted October 22, 2009 Report Share Posted October 22, 2009 soak a couple of bags of barley or wheat in cheap bottles of cider. I am not joking. feed it intermittedly with the usual grain. They won't want to go anywhere else. Or maybe they won't be able to. Depends on how you look at it I guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jack123 Posted November 2, 2009 Report Share Posted November 2, 2009 i let 500 duck go on my pound keeping the feed they will keep them they ..... went you do shoot the pound just shoot it evey 2 weeks .... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamestodd Posted November 2, 2009 Report Share Posted November 2, 2009 yes, barley and dont over shoot the pond, they will keep happy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snipe Posted November 20, 2009 Report Share Posted November 20, 2009 yes, barley and dont over shoot the pond, they will keep happy Sorry to jump in on Pilky' thread, but thought better to ask here before starting a new thread. How often should these ponds be fed please? and do some foods have more holding power than others? e.g corn vs. barley. Have been shooting a little flight pond since the start of the season. Not shooting it that often now, perhaps once every 2-3 weeks. Feeding every 2-3 days. Had great numbers of teal coming in at the start, but mostly mallard now - haven't shot that many of the teal, so should/could there be a reason for this? Thanks, Snipe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anser2 Posted November 24, 2009 Report Share Posted November 24, 2009 (edited) Feed wheat if you can and perhaps some barley. Forget about potatoes they will only pollute the pond and kill a lot of the invertebrates the duck love to eat and while mallard will eat potatoes , most other types of duck are not so keen. Acorns are good too. Feed as often as possible , daily is ideal otherwise every few days. Shooting it every 2-3 weeks is about right. Any more frequent and yyou will lose your lead in unless you are in a very rich duck area. As for the teal moving on , do not forget teal are very mobile migratory birds and do not expect them to stay on your pond all season. Take them while you can as they may well not be there a few weeks later. You will find the same with mallard. Local floodwater may tempt them off your pond for a while. Try to avoid shooting close to the full moon. At this time duck have all night to flight. Better to have a dark night and a short sharp flight. Edited November 24, 2009 by anser2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snipe Posted November 30, 2009 Report Share Posted November 30, 2009 Fantastic insight, many thanks anser. Couldn't have wished for better advice in one reply! A couple more please, if I may. 1. Do teal feed on barley the same as the mallard? or will feeding a pon tend to attract one breed more than another? 2. Is it true, in general, that when one duck finds the food that they will start to attract more into the pond? i.e. they will bring their 'mates'. 3. Can you shoot too many ducks from a pond? i.e. if you shoot a lot one season, will that affect the numbers the following season? Thanks once again, Snipe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snipe Posted November 30, 2009 Report Share Posted November 30, 2009 Also, are decoys worth putting out and leaving on a pond? Does it give ducks confidence to come in rather than circle out of range? Snipe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anser2 Posted November 30, 2009 Report Share Posted November 30, 2009 1. Teal will feed on barley 2. yes once the duck find your food they will bring their mates to dine. 3. Yes you can over shoot a pond. Take a few birds and leave before the last birds come in and you will preserve your lead in. Shoot until total darkness and after a couple of shoots your duck will look elsewhere for a feeding spot. The exception to this is if you live in a very rich duck area where there plenty of new birds comming in that do not know about your shooting. Do not shoot a pond more than twice a month. 4. Do not leave the decoys on the pond or the duck will realise what they are and ignore them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snipe Posted November 30, 2009 Report Share Posted November 30, 2009 Top notch. Top bit of advice there Anser, much appreciated. Thanks for getting back to me so quickly and for sharing your knowledge so freely. Snipe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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