Maize going in

[Good shot?]

Maize is to be grown for the first time on one of my perms.

I am not familiar with this crop, can I expect any sport to be had with pigeon or Crows for example at any time from sowing to harvesting.

Thanks in anticipation.

 

[Walker570]

Keep an eye on it because as soon as the tips start to show through the rooks will be on them in a flash. They walk up the rows pulling each plant out. One of my best mornings on sprouting maize with over 140 shot in a few hours.   The drills put the seed in so cleanly these days the foraging by birds on spilt seed is over and done with in a day or two.   Then be ready for the few days after harvest as fields get ploughed up very quickly afterwards.   Have fun.

[Good shot?]

Hopefully😀

Thanks for that.

[Old Boggy]

My own experience of maize, now grown for biofuel, is at drilling time, if there is any seed at all left on the surface (now fairly unlikely with modern drills) and this is usually dressed with a red anti-fungal dressing, the pigeons don`t appear to take any notice whatsoever. I don`t think that it`s the dressing that puts them off as a similar dressing is used on barley and wheat and the pigeons certainly aren`t put off by it then. Some seed is invariably spilt around the headlands where the tractor turns but this can be quite minimal and therefore doesn`t seem to attract much attention.

As said above, once it starts to sprout, the rooks will be all over it and some good shooting can be had for crop protection if that is what your farmer wants.

However, once harvested and particularly if this is preceded by heavy rain and strong winds flattening parts of the crop, many of the cobs are not picked up by the combine and remain on the ground. In this instance, the pigeons will be on this until most, or all of the crop has been gleaned off. I had one particular field direct drilled afterwards with wheat and the pigeons were still finding maize when the wheat was well established and around 8 inches tall.

Hope this helps.

OB

 

Edited April 29, 2021 by Old Boggy

[Walker570]

100% as above. I have to eye up a field being hit by rooks tomorrow. Just spend time watching as it will often happen very quickly when the weather warms a bit and those shoots start to show.

[old'un]

3 hours ago, Walker570 said:

Keep an eye on it because as soon as the tips start to show through the rooks will be on them in a flash. They walk up the rows pulling each plant out. One of my best mornings on sprouting maize with over 140 shot in a few hours.   The drills put the seed in so cleanly these days the foraging by birds on spilt seed is over and done with in a day or two.   Then be ready for the few days after harvest as fields get ploughed up very quickly afterwards.   Have fun.

^^^This man knows what he’s talking about...one thing I will add and that's, when it is just starting to show keep a close eye on it after a downpour as this softens the soil and makes it easer for the blacks to pull up.

[mossy835]

i have one farm that grows it, and they go mad for it,they keep coming back for more so watch the field, you will have some fun.

[Old farrier]

There’s about 500 acres of it just been planted here 😁

For biofuel 

 

 

underneath 500 acres of polythene 😢

its bonkers 

I really struggle to see the sense of it 

[Jim Neal]

On 28/04/2021 at 19:38, Old farrier said:

underneath 500 acres of polythene 😢

its bonkers 

I really struggle to see the sense of it 

A bit like a neighbour of mine.  He bought an electric car so he could save the planet.  Only trouble is, he's got an astro-turf front lawn which he constantly has to treat with weedkiller and he burns coal on his fire!!

Edited May 4, 2021 by Jim Neal

[flycoy]

Evening All,

we have a lot of it by us , acres and acres. its sown and covered with a biodegradable polythene, by the time it breaks through its too big for the crows to pull up.

I think our local farmer is growing it for animal feed so its cut late in the summer and they use a tractor with two spinning disc blades on the front which throws it everywhere. Its then picked up and clamped into bails.

we wont get any pigeon interest until its cut then they and crows etc will hammer the field until its all cleared up.

if any strips are being left for game cover, you can get a good mid field hide in the edge of it and be unseen.

make sure your out of it before the machine comes back!!!😄

 

[Walker570]

Yes, a lot gone in around here in the last 10 days and this welcome rain and slightly high temps., will see it poking through any day now.  I have a couple of fields on which I am keeping watch daily because once they get a taste they can do a lot of damage.   Now remind me what size shot do I need to kill a crow?

[Morkin]

Won't them 4/10 home loaded trim them up ?.