feeding a duck pond

max12

have a small pond that a few mallard are coming to and want to start feeding it.

local agri place only has rolled barley. will this do or does it hav to be full barley as in non-rolled.

or what else anyone might suggest

Liam_D

Vegetable scraps, potato/carrot peelings etc.

useurowname

Rolled barley is fine.

Kiltris

I was thinking of doing the same thing myself. I presume you just scattered the food around the edge of the pond?

marty555

Do you mind me asking is the pond inland or close to coast ?

max12

marty555 wrote: »

Do you mind me asking is the pond inland or close to coast ?

inland - why do you ask. does one work better than the other.

marty555

Well I tried feeding a pond cost to the coast and found that once the first couple of shots went off birds were gone and didn't come back till very very last light. Fed it rolled barley full barley chopped potatoes, tried feeding at different times. Just could not get it to shoot. Birds were feeding well on it but as I said after first shots they were gone, and just wouldn't come back to it until dark.

allan450

if you want a evening flight feed last thing in the evening. barley and molasses soaked in an onion bag leave it on the edge of the pond.when the other ducks get the sweet smell of molasses off the ducks beeks they will come in droves.

marty555

How much should you be feeding

allan450

I was going through a 40 kg bag every 5 days.feed for a week then hit it.

marty555

Well I was feeding about 150kg per week and tried to shoot it twice a month. So any ideas what I was doing wrong ??

breakemall

For what it is worth I have fed a pond for a few years now and through trial and error have found that a good size bucket of barley will feed 100 ducks, the secret is to do it every day. If you put in too much then the ducks can drop in all night and know they will get a feed. Put in less and there will be competition among the ducks for the feed so they will come earlier to get first in line.
Whole barley is better than rolled in so much as you can feed the shallows where the ducks can dabble whereas rolled barley can float away to sink in deeper water.
Pick a windy evening to shoot the pond, then the sound of the shots will be dampened and not deter too many of the incoming ducks.
Quit shooting while the ducks are still coming in, collect shot birds as they fall if possible (that way when you finish shooting you can leave the late comers undisturbed) and leave a fortnight between shoots but be flexible to allow for wind etc.
When the main rivers flood the mallard will not come to a pond so often, but by then you should have teal on tap to make up for it.
Happy shooting.

Kiltris

What about size? I have a pond I call to, it's only a handy pond, roughly 30ft long by 12-15ft wide. It is only a field away from a main river and does hold a few duck from time to time but is it worth feeding, does size matter?

breakemall

Over the years I have shot some good flight ponds that you could walk past without a second glance so size is not always the main thing. If the feed is there and they are not hounded out of it they will come.
Being too close to a river can be an issue if the birds are roosted near by but again I have shot ponds only 100m from main waterways that consistently produced the goods.
Regular feeding is the key.

marty555

Has anyone tried to feed a tidal river ? I have thought about it but with current running as tied comes and goes ! How best would you do it ?

Straffan1979

marty555 wrote: »

Well I was feeding about 150kg per week and tried to shoot it twice a month. So any ideas what I was doing wrong ??

150 kilos a week! It must have been the bullocks in the field you were fattening

FISMA.

max12 wrote: »

or what else anyone might suggest

Make sure they have cover.

Put out some decoys to coax others in.

Keep as little pressure on the spot as possible. Don't visit it with the kids and dog...

Worth a read- Wetland Habitat Managment from Ducks.org.

Chucken

FISMA. wrote: »

Don't visit it with the kids and dog...
.

Why?

marty555

The 150 kg would of been put on pond over the space of of a week usually 2 day intervals. Their would of been 200+ teal and a dozen maybe 2 mallard on it every time I went to feed. So a lot of birds.

mallards

I feed one of mine through two auto feeders. One spits out about 100kg of whole wheat per week and a half, the other about 20kg in that time. It's bringing in over 100 mallard and around thirty teal to this small pond at any one time. I have the advantage of another pond and a large lough or two quite nearby though.

marty555

If I'm looking for a morning shoot on my duck pond ! What time / times should I be feeding ??

mallards

After dark or before dawn

marty555

Hi mallards. Do you mind me asking where you got your spinners for feeding and where they costly ?

mallards

I got them from solway feeders in Scotland. Cost around £80 posted. I got them a year apart though, building up the shoot a little at a time. Barrels were just standard blue plastic barrels I bought of some lad from Drogheda for €10 I think. Legs were some off cuts of wood and then I think I spent a tenner on paint also. Best investment I ever made for the ducks. I go home every couple of weeks to fill them. Charge the battery every couple of months and in the meantime they're pulling duck in for me and holding them. I couldn't feed them otherwise.

Tommyaya4

We put a pallet in the middle of the pond put the feed on that ducks land on it they sink it enough for feed to be washed off so the rest are getting fed it's a shallow pond only 50 x 30 and knee high in most of it but full of bull rush with 3 parts of the pond open

mallards

Tommyaya4 wrote: »

We put a pallet in the middle of the pond put the feed on that ducks land on it they sink it enough for feed to be washed off so the rest are getting fed it's a shallow pond only 50 x 30 and knee high in most of it but full of bull rush with 3 parts of the pond open

Do you get much trouble with crows eating the feed?

Tommyaya4

mallards wrote: »

Do you get much trouble with crows eating the feed?

No lad goes in in the evening ducks have it well gone

grassroot1

If shooting in the evening run ducks off the pond around 2.30 to 3 and only put out enough feed that the first ducks will eat, this will ensure that the ducks will come in early to feed

welsummer

We have a couple of ponds that are too far too feed on a regular basis. So they get a a full 8st bag of barley scattered finely once a fortnight or less. Always have 20 or thirty in the air most evening we shoot it.

breakemall

A scout cam is a great thing if you want to see what is really going on at your pond and get an idea of when the ducks are coming and how many. At the moment as well as the dusk flight there seems to be all night arrivals so the winter arrivals are here I guess. It is still hard to beat feeding the pond daily so you can see if any of the grain has been left through over feeding or increase the rate now the teal have arrived. As well as grain you should keep your potato peelings as they love them.