Planting for ducks

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surplusshooter

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Does anyone here plant for ducks? their are 3- 5 acre beaver ponds behind my cottage in Georgian bay Ontario that I want to plant in july with wild rice, Milo, millet wild celery and anything else I can find that will help increase the duck population. these ponds used to have a lot of ducks however the water is stagnant with no drainage, so I was planning to remove the old beaver dam from the lowest pond, plant it, and when the plants are 6 in tall or so begin to release the 2nd pond slowly into the first, planting the 2nd, and then draining the 3rd into the 2nd so I can plant the 3rd. Their will still be smaller ponds a acre or so in size for the birds to be on while this is happening. As well I was going to add a bunch of roosting boxes to encourage more of the ducks (pretty much exclusively wood duck early season) to nest there and thus imprint the area on their young for future generations of nesting. I realize this year it may not help a ton, but my hope is that it will increase the future population in the area. Has anyone else done this, and have any advice? Where should I be buying the seeds from that won't charge an arm and a leg? any advice on planting?
 
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Milo and Millet aren't well suited to growing in ponds, don't bother with those.

Check to make sure draining these ponds is acceptable with local governments.

How do you plan to seed these ponds? Please get video, stuck stuff and the recovery of it is always entertaining.

I'd stick with nest boxes, maybe the rice, and plant various clovers around the edge of the pond for grazing. Forget the draining, filling and other ideas.
 
To get waterfowl using your pond before the season you may just want to buy a few hundred lbs of whole corn and spread it in shallow areas. Where they can get to it. Check your regs on baiting. Another idea would be to contact ducks unlimited or Delta waterfowl for best practices to improve your waterfowl habitat.
 
look up delta waterfowls research on hen houses. hen houses along with wood duck boxes would help a lot i would think. like stated before contact the local delta waterfowl or ducks unlimited and see what they recommend as they would know the best way to utilize habitat in your local region.
 
We had some clowns decide they wanted better duck hunting up by my hunt camp.

Seeded a nice hardy rice in a bunch of the shallows on the lake where they liked their blinds.

Now there is goddamn rice growing all over the shallows, the river, the landings, etc...

Sure, great for them when they paddle over to their blind. Not so great for the people who have to run motors, had cleaned swimming areas, etc..

I guess my point... be prepared for it to pop up and potentially cause headaches later down the road.
 
That practice would be considered baiting here in Manitoba if hunted over. Manitoba has some stoooopid draconian game laws for the ones that have to follow the rules...
 
M12shooter said:
That practice would be considered baiting here in Manitoba if hunted over. Manitoba has some stoooopid draconian game laws for the ones that have to follow the rules...
Click to expand...

Yup...Pretty much everything that makes sense or could be fun is illegal in Manitoba if you are a licenced tax paying hunter...Otherwise it's the wild west and anything goes.
 
hillbillyreefer said:
Milo and Millet aren't well suited to growing in ponds, don't bother with those.

Check to make sure draining these ponds is acceptable with local governments.

How do you plan to seed these ponds? Please get video, stuck stuff and the recovery of it is always entertaining.

I'd stick with nest boxes, maybe the rice, and plant various clovers around the edge of the pond for grazing. Forget the draining, filling and other ideas.
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I was going to seed by hand, pretty sure it is ok to drain them but will check to be 100% sure. we do get a decent amount of woodducks back their, I just want more, mabe i'm being greedy. the draining part isn't that hard, should take 2 days to do all 3 dams, and they drain into each other so would fill each other up.
 
Yotarunner said:
look up delta waterfowls research on hen houses. hen houses along with wood duck boxes would help a lot i would think. like stated before contact the local delta waterfowl or ducks unlimited and see what they recommend as they would know the best way to utilize habitat in your local region.
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will try a hen house or two. Sent an email to ducks unlimited for any advice. if it is successful I have a bunch of family friends who will do the same to little lakes around their place, so could be a real boost to the local population. Their used to be a large amount of wild rice in the area, but it has all been gone in the lake for last 10 yrs since the carp started coming in
 
I had the chance to attend a presentation put on by delta waterfowl and although i cant tell you the exact numbers they had i can tell you the use of hen houses coupled with good predator management more than doubles nest success leading to more birds. If the wood ducks are already in the area i would build a bunch of nest boxes to give them reason to stay around. Im not sure on the legalities in your area but if you can legaly do so, shoot each an every corvid (crows ravens magpies) you can get your sights on and you will see even greater nest success in the area.
 
You might want to do some research on wild rice, seeding & planting before you forge ahead.
Wild rice generally does not do well in stagnant water, has a preferred PH range and is normally planted planted either spring/or fall ... not mid-summer.
Certain seeding methods and seeding depths should be followed. Simply broadcasting the seeds is not the best way to obtain good results.
Seeding rates ( the recommended amount of seed required per acre ) may floor you ! Seed is pricey stuff, so you need to make sure your seed is viable for germination.
Check with some of the "wildlife nursery" companies that provide waterfowl specific seeds.
 
beretta boy said:
You might want to do some research on wild rice, seeding & planting before you forge ahead.
Wild rice generally does not do well in stagnant water, has a preferred PH range and is normally planted planted either spring/or fall ... not mid-summer.
Certain seeding methods and seeding depths should be followed. Simply broadcasting the seeds is not the best way to obtain good results.
Seeding rates ( the recommended amount of seed required per acre ) may floor you ! Seed is pricey stuff, so you need to make sure your seed is viable for germination.
Check with some of the "wildlife nursery" companies that provide waterfowl specific seeds.
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I have looked it up and I know I will have some germination issues as they must be frozen first. From what I have read for my purposes I only need 2-5 lbs per acre, so total of 45 would be worst case, but will be planting other stuff, so leaning more towards the 2lb per acre. I am hoping by releasing the water and having a small continuous flow from one to the next I can provide enough fresh water to allow it to work. From what I have read some strains of wild rice do grow well in beaver dams, but only for a few years then the water must be released. PH range is a good point, but that being said have to do all my research before I go in july, can't go earlier due to work. Also I should mention in that part of Georgian bay when the lake fully freezes, spring doesn't really start until april and sometimes may, so puts the timing back a bit.
 
Years ago the ONR used to give out bags of wild rice to anyone wishing to seed rice in northern Ontario. Wild rice will not grow in stagnant ponds. There needs to be at least some fresh water flow hence why it does so well in rivers. It also needs about 3 ft of water. It can be fussy stuff not taking seed if water depth and conditions are not optimum. It will often lay on bottom for a couple seasons and suddenly conditions are just right and suddenly it's everywhere. It sure draws birds though. PS: We always seeded in fall.
 
the spank said:
Years ago the ONR used to give out bags of wild rice to anyone wishing to seed rice in northern Ontario. Wild rice will not grow in stagnant ponds. There needs to be at least some fresh water flow hence why it does so well in rivers. It also needs about 3 ft of water. It can be fussy stuff not taking seed if water depth and conditions are not optimum. It will often lay on bottom for a couple seasons and suddenly conditions are just right and suddenly it's everywhere. It sure draws birds though. PS: We always seeded in fall.
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good to know, their are a few places on the lake itself which used to have large number of ducks when it had wild rice, may just plant the rice their and keep the ponds with more natural stuff. The water in parts of the ponds are up to 6 feet deep, with the area around the shore being around 2-3 depending on location.
 
surplusshooter said:
good to know, their are a few places on the lake itself which used to have large number of ducks when it had wild rice, may just plant the rice their and keep the ponds with more natural stuff. The water in parts of the ponds are up to 6 feet deep, with the area around the shore being around 2-3 depending on location.
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Six feet is definitely too deep. 3-4 seems to be the preferred depth for it to take root. In areas that didn't have a very soil friendly bottom the ONR paperwork suggested we use clay balls with seed in them in and drop them overboard. We tried it but it was so time consuming so we ended up just dumping seed and it worked much better.
 
the spank said:
Six feet is definitely too deep. 3-4 seems to be the preferred depth for it to take root. In areas that didn't have a very soil friendly bottom the ONR paperwork suggested we use clay balls with seed in them in and drop them overboard. We tried it but it was so time consuming so we ended up just dumping seed and it worked much better.
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the wild rice was just for the area around the edge, with my origeonal idea being the deeper sections would get wild celery, which I have been told can grow in up to 10 feet of water. That being said ducks unlimited is suggesting I just drain it and let it grow back before re filing
 
M12shooter said:
That practice would be considered baiting here in Manitoba if hunted over. Manitoba has some stoooopid draconian game laws for the ones that have to follow the rules...
Click to expand...

Lastgun said:
Yup...Pretty much everything that makes sense or could be fun is illegal in Manitoba if you are a licenced tax paying hunter...Otherwise it's the wild west and anything goes.
Click to expand...

Laws in regard to migratory game birds are pretty much the same in all of North America.

From Environment Canada website:
Question: What is bait?

Answer: Bait means: corn, wheat, oats or other grains, pulse or any other feed, and includes any imitation thereof that may attract migratory game birds.

Question: Is it legal to hunt in areas where bait, such as grain or corn, has been deposited in order to attract waterfowl?

Answer: It is illegal to hunt migratory birds within 400 metres (437 yards) of a place where bait has been deposited, unless that place has been free of bait for at least seven (7) days. Also, the depositing of bait must cease 14 days before the first day of any open seasons for that place.

Question: While hunting waterfowl, I have noticed certain areas which are posted with "Lure Crop" or "Waterfowl Feeding Stations" (Bait Station) signs. As a hunter, what restrictions do I have when hunting near areas posted with these signs?

Answer: Lure crops and waterfowl feeding stations are lands managed by the federal and provincial governments for the purpose of luring waterfowl away from farmer's unharvested crops. You are not permitted to hunt or enter a lure crop or waterfowl feeding station without prior written authorization from a game officer.


http://www.ec.gc.ca/rcom-mbhr/default.asp?lang=En&n=f566470e-1#_008
 
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