There are other crops like soybeans, Egyptian wheat, milo and sunflowers that ducks also love to eat, but don’t last long in the water. On average, corn needs 100 days to mature so it is ready before hunting season. Corn is expensive and somewhat labor-intensive to plant since you have to apply nitrogen and usually spray for weeds. Corn also attracts invertebrates that ducks need in their diet as it breaks down in the water. They can swim into it and not feel so exposed to avian predators. This is proven time and time again.Ĭorn is a popular crop and it - without a doubt - attracts waterfowl. However, having “groceries” in your duck pond dramatically improves its ability to attract and hold waterfowl. The actual planting has to occur in midsummer when everyone else is fishing at the lake or enjoying the air conditioning. It would allow you to raise the water level as you want and flood the majority, but leave some available to be flooded later in an effort to have more food later in the season. So how do you make food plots for ducks? In an ideal world, you would have a water control structure that would enable you to catch and drain water at will. When a duck hunter is also a gamekeeper, each duck season seems to improve. That means providing a food source they prefer, but equally important, you have to manage hunting pressure. These birds will imprint on the spot - if you treat them right. Over time, you will have more and more birds utilizing your offerings. Ducks, just like deer and most other wildlife, are always in search of that next meal and once they find a good location, they will steadily utilize it until it’s either gone, the need for migration takes over or hunting pressure forces a move.Īnd there’s more. We really don’t refer to them as food plots when in regards to waterfowl, but in essence, that’s what they are. It’s a fact that you can attract and hold waterfowl if you plant areas with specific crops. Bobby Cole | Originally published in GameKeepers: Farming for Wildlife Magazine.
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