Mr pigeon Posted May 23, 2013 Report Share Posted May 23, 2013 Hi guys we have two lakes next to each other on our shoot about an acre apiece. At this moment there is a pair of Canada's and two it three pairs of mallards. One lake has three islands and is 4-8ft deep and the bottom lake is 2-8ft deep with no islands. My question is could I possibly feed them to keep them for the season and hopefully pull in some more and also what is the best feed for them? Also where is the best place to feed them? Cheers in advance!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigadam Posted May 23, 2013 Report Share Posted May 23, 2013 Cover the island in maize u will have a thousand but its weather they stay or not Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the pigeon man Posted May 24, 2013 Report Share Posted May 24, 2013 Fill island and around edges of the lakes with barley and you should have the shooting season of your life Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr pigeon Posted May 27, 2013 Author Report Share Posted May 27, 2013 Hi guys how much food barley/ maize would you start off putting in? One place two places? Cheers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the pigeon man Posted May 27, 2013 Report Share Posted May 27, 2013 Bucket full once every few days around the edge of the pond all the way around Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teal Posted May 27, 2013 Report Share Posted May 27, 2013 Wouldn't start feeding yet unless you have a very healthy bank balance. The shooting season is a long way off still! In any case I suspect the Canadas will end up very tame! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr pigeon Posted May 27, 2013 Author Report Share Posted May 27, 2013 Hi mate when would u suggest to start feeding then? Would wheat be as good, as have to feed pheasants there aswell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scotslad Posted May 28, 2013 Report Share Posted May 28, 2013 Generally we start about august time for shooting start of Oct or occasionally a mid sept flight. All depends on ur locality and the ponds. A nature reserve i help out on feeds his duck all year with a spring hopper the way u would for pheas, possibly fence the geese out so only the duck can get in they will get used to it and won't cost u a fortune feeding fat canadas Ducks are not really fussy and will eat almost anything, generally folk feed the cheapest stuff they can which tends to be barley and keep ur wheat for the pheas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr pigeon Posted May 29, 2013 Author Report Share Posted May 29, 2013 I have spring feeders around the lakes. Would it be an idea to bring them closer to the waters edge and hand feed until they get used to the feeder or would the feeder need to be in the water? Cheers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malantone Posted May 29, 2013 Report Share Posted May 29, 2013 They`ll get used to spring feeders in no time, you`ll get sick off filling them, ducks are worse than Labradors for eating. our pond gets hand fed to limit waste, and in the past they`ve found the pheasant feeders 70/80 yds away from the pond. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malik Posted May 29, 2013 Report Share Posted May 29, 2013 I suspect the Canadas will end up very tame! You maybe right. You only have to go to St James park with a bag of peanuts to see how tame wildlife can be. The geese where taking peanuts out my hand! Had pigeons landing on my shoulder and all sorts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scotslad Posted May 30, 2013 Report Share Posted May 30, 2013 I also only feed the ponds once a week sometimes just once a fortnight, just chuck a bag or 2 in the shallows and try to only have a we bit left next time u go, don't want masses going off. Possibly not as ideal as feeding every nite just before dusk klike the books tell u. When i used to keeper we would put large ammounts (1/4T + at a time) in once a week and held both reared and wild duck no prob's Ducks never got tame that way Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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