Cover Crop Choice

[fortune82]

I am currently a member of a small syndicate with around 650 acres of land. This year we have released just short of 500 birds in total but are having trouble finding them. The cover crops we have are not holding them.

 

What cover crops do you use? Do they hold birds? Are they next to woodland / hedges or out on their own in blocks? What area of crops do you use?

 

Thanks for any help

Paul

[Highlander]

There could be any number of reasons you’re not finding your birds not simply poor cover crops.

 

Often on small self worked syndicates it’s down to lack of time/resources/knowledge etc.

 

Some of the best shoots I know hold 10’s of 1000’s of birds BUT they have to work at it. Regular hand (quad-spreader) feeding, covers in the morning, woods in the late afternoon, not too many cocks on the ground (territorial and push others around), not just one cover crop but mixtures that give good shelter as well as food. Also the standard maize crop if (again usually due to time/resources) planted in rows is next to useless, it’s draughty and gives poor cover especially in bad weather. Wind just whistles through it.

 

Have you considered the possibility that someone else is enjoying your birds either on your land or over the boundaries?

[proTOM1]

We have tryed alsorts of game covers over the years we are this year trying maize drilled with millet which in most of our drives has worked well ,its made the cover nice and warm for the birds but also fine for them to move in . We also hand cast alot of mustard down the side of each cover strip and sorghum aswell on the sides which gives good wind protection .

As for not finding your birds there could be many reasons ,we are not seeing the amount of pheasants that we hoped for but we have put that down to it being very mild still and they are able to feed from other sources .

 

As for the placement of cover strips we have them mainly next to a hedge tho have them also out in the middle of a field around a field from a wood it should not matter to much where you put them as long as the birds have some where to go to when there pushed and the cover is warm and well fed to keep them there .

 

Our maize this year is very tall thanks to the pig poo that is put on tho only problem is we have lost a few beaters in some of the plots

[fortune82]

I had been thinking along those lines. The birds are fed by hopper as none of us have time for hand feeding. The cover we have is mainly "game mix" which looks like it has a lot of mustard in it. There are shoots in the surrounding area but they all appear to have much poorer levels of habitat compared with our patch. Basically the farm is a dump with overgrown hedges and fields as well as a lot of un harvested crops from last year. First few shoots produced lots of birds but since then it has been pretty poor.

 

Thanks

[proTOM1]

I had been thinking along those lines. The birds are fed by hopper as none of us have time for hand feeding. The cover we have is mainly "game mix" which looks like it has a lot of mustard in it. There are shoots in the surrounding area but they all appear to have much poorer levels of habitat compared with our patch. Basically the farm is a dump with overgrown hedges and fields as well as a lot of un harvested crops from last year. First few shoots produced lots of birds but since then it has been pretty poor.

 

Thanks

 

 

It might be a good idea to ask the owner if before the start of next season you could clear some of the over grown hedges a bit a bit of general clearing of the shoot to get the birds where you want them will go along way !

[Highlander]

IMO cover crops should be sited near to or adjacent to a wood/copse etc...birds roost in trees and if your cover is way out in the open you'll have one hell of a job keeping the birds in it as they'll wander to the nearest wood for safety during the night and may not come back during the day. Maybe that's where your birds have gone!

[al4x]

IMO cover crops should be sited near to or adjacent to a wood/copse etc...birds roost in trees and if your cover is way out in the open you'll have one hell of a job keeping the birds in it as they'll wander to the nearest wood for safety during the night and may not come back during the day. Maybe that's where your birds have gone!

 

 

best way to avoid that scenario is once they are well established feed the covers more than the woods, we find a maze and millet plus sunflowers works well but you do need them well positioned not too far from woods but far enough to be able to make them separate drives. What we've also found is if your farmer overwinters any stubble talk to him about "green manure" which entails planting a lush cover crop after harvest and then ploughing it in before cultivating for spring established crops. This usually means you can get away with just paying for the seed and getting large areas of cover on stubble, mustard broadcast works very well especially if you do it in strips with bare stubble in between

[RichS]

Dont think you can beat Kale really, if you can get it to grow.

 

We've tried Triticale this season on our poorer ground where we've struggled with weeds (mainly Redshank), it grows really well and the birds loved it, until the Deer nipped the tops off!

[nipper]

Tried Kale for years and its always a dissapointment !!

The last couple of years we have put in Fodder rape , six foot high ,thick as you like and it stands well in the snow .

There is so much still there that the farmer is going to put cattle on it instead of ploughing it back in .

Worth a try

 

Forgot to say , Its a 1/4 the price of Kale seed !!!

Edited January 24, 2010 by nipper

[flyingfisherman]

Interesting thread.. I was going to ask the same sort of question.. My plan with game covers for this year is to put them within flying distance of the woods and feed the birds to the cover crops.

 

One question... You know these 6m setaside strips, if your a private shoot on your own land, are you allowed to drill game cover and class them as set aside still? after all, it will provide a lot of shelter and food for small birds and wildlife as well as helping the shoot out?

[al4x]

if they are the 6m stewardship stips I don't think you can

[Andy75]

Gents,

On our shoot we're looking at cover crop for next season, but have a Deer problem - when Maize was tried before, the Deer have knocked it all over. Only way around this would be to electric fence it I guess - the Deer cannot be shoot on this farm, as the Farmer's wife will not allow it...something to do with the all the neighbouring farms being shot and ours then is the only safe haven for miles around.

I quite like the look of kale and mustard seed - whatever we put down must be deer-proof essentially! Any ideas?

[RichS]

Andy75,

 

Apparently Deer are not fond of Sorghum and it is growing increasingly popular as a replacement for maize where they are a problem. We tried it here but we're too high up so it struggled but maize struggles here too so it may be worth looking at?

 

Cheers,

 

RichS

[Andy75]

Rich,

Good stuff, will look into it straight away.

Thanks, Andy.

Edited February 1, 2010 by Andy75

[Red 9R]

this is a brilliant thread, rather than start a new thread on the same lines I hope you don't mind if I ask a question in here?

 

The farmer on the small shoot I beat on will not let us put cover crops in on the field edges but there are a few steepish slopes and wide ditches (only a small stream in the bottom) that we could put cover crops in, this would have to be done by hand, so what would be the best cover crop to sow by hand?

 

Thanks

Edited February 1, 2010 by Red 9R

[M ROBSON]

I have 18 acres or game crops on my shoot with all sorts of mixes. Oats, Barley, wheat, Triticale, sunflowers, Quinoa, Kale, fodder Rape......etc.

 

 

I personally prefer the kale and rape mixes, epecially if you have hoppers or spin your feed, or both.

 

You get several varieties of Kale and it will often last at least 3 years if grown properly.

 

Cheers,

Mark.

[Andy75]

this is a brilliant thread, rather than start a new thread on the same lines I hope you don't mind if I ask a question in here?

 

The farmer on the small shoot I beat on will not let us put cover crops in on the field edges but there are a few steepish slopes and wide ditches (only a small stream in the bottom) that we could put cover crops in, this would have to be done by hand, so what would be the best cover crop to sow by hand?

 

Thanks

 

Red,

I have read elsewhere on the forum that Mustard Seed is easily sown by hand - if a more experienced chap could confirm this

 

I like the idea of Kale, as have shot over it before, and it always works well. Problem is, ideally we want feed in the cover crop too, rather than having to put in more feeders. Have found some nice sorghum mixes that have seed mixes in them, here :

 

http://www.bostonseeds.co.uk/page64.htm#123

 

Anyone tried this?

[Red 9R]

Cheers Andy

[M ROBSON]

 

 

Most of my game crops with lots of standing grain in them were hammered by the pigeons when we had hard weather, the pheasants didn't really bother with them, favouring the ones with hoppers instead.

 

I've had all sorts of game crops on here for the last 10 years and my personal favourite is Kale/Rape mixes with feeders and a bit of maize spread with the quad.

 

I understand this may differ from one area to another but it works well for me.

 

 

Cheers,

Mark.

[al4x]

Mustard is fine spread by hand, the only thing to mention is talk to your farmer about it as often they will have an idea what will grow and what won't and also what they don't want grown. For instance mine hates any form of perenial grass such as canary grass and he also won't have cereals mixed in as they could carry and host disease that could spread to crops nearby.

we tend to use maize and sunflowers seems to work well and provide the birds an extra source of food.

[sandersj89]

You also need to check with the farmer to see what he is allowed to grow if he is in any of the stewardship schemes.

 

For instance this may dictate that you cannot grow maize but have to use a "wild bird" mix of small seeded varieties for the benefit of small wild birds.

 

This may also dictate the size of bird cover plots allowed as well, though the rules have recently changed and acreage has been increased.

 

If in doubt check with the landowner or his agent.

[Spaniel]

This is something what we were talking about yesterday for this seasons cover crop.

We just have to agree what we can and cant do with the farmer and then get some work parties organised

[Red 9R]

As far as I am aware the farmer is not in any schemes but I will double check.

 

Thanks again for the info

[scolopax]

Mustard can be simplicity itself. About a week or 10 days before they plan to combine you can broadcast into standing cereal. I walk along the tram lines with a bucket scattering seed as far as I can throw. You will need to cast much less seed than you initially think. I throw a pinch at a time not a handful. In the shade below the crop there should be decent moisture retention allowing the seed to germinate and start small seedlings. Once teh corn is cut the light gets at the plant and it is up and away. This should produce a nice gappy crop which both pheasants and partridge seem to like, if its too thick, which often happens if its spun on, then nothing will use it unless tracks are cleared.

 

We have tried broadcasting onto stubble immediatly after harvest but this usually fails unless the weather is wet for a good while, other wise the seedlings get a start and then wither in the heat of he sun.

[Teal]

 

 

Most of my game crops with lots of standing grain in them were hammered by the pigeons when we had hard weather, the pheasants didn't really bother with them, favouring the ones with hoppers instead.

 

I've had all sorts of game crops on here for the last 10 years and my personal favourite is Kale/Rape mixes with feeders and a bit of maize spread with the quad.

 

I understand this may differ from one area to another but it works well for me.

 

 

Cheers,

Mark.

Hi Mark how well does this last to the end of the season, could you show a picture of it now? I have found the cereals starve out the kale/rape early in the growing season, as a result by the start of january the crop is looking very bare making it quite hard to hold birds.