# attracting ducks



## RBoleman (Jun 8, 2009)

what and when can I plant or do something to draw more ducks to my swamp I have a pretty big swamp but a few woodies and very few mallards just wanting to make it a honey hole and make it legal for hunting


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## Hoyt (Jun 8, 2009)

test


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## BigDogDaddy (Jun 8, 2009)

does the water have a decent flow to it?


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## Boudreaux (Jun 8, 2009)

Since you'll mostly have Woodducks in a GA Swamp, this is from the Delta Waterfowl website:



> Wood Ducks eat a broad variety of foods. Their diet, similar to dabbling ducks, consists of seeds, fruits and aquatic and terrestrial invertebrates. Some of their favorites include acorns, smartweed, wild cherry and duck weed. Just before laying eggs and during laying, hens eat insects rich in calcium and protein – elements necessary for egg production. Late in the summer, Wood Ducks eat fruits and vegetative plant parts while in the winter months they consume more seeds, which are high in fat for gaining and maintaining weight.
> 
> Ducklings eat a wide variety of plant and animal matter like their parents. This way, they are able to ensure they receive all the necessary nutrients to grow and develop. Young ducklings consume mostly invertebrates in their first week of life and add more plant matter as they get older.


 
Millett is always a good choice for a variety of ducks, as are other various grains - sorgrum, milo, corn, soybeans, wild rice etc.  Various ducks feed on aquatic insects, wild rice and sago pondweed in shallow lakes.

If you can drain it and plant it, then let the crops get established an then flood it, it should attract ducks in the area.  If you're in a bad area where there are no ducks, you'll probably be just wasting your money.


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## RBoleman (Jun 8, 2009)

BigDogDaddy said:


> does the water have a decent flow to it?



yeah it does one of the better creeks in the area


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## RBoleman (Jun 8, 2009)

hey hoyt .... i am trying to cheat on my test just like school


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## Mark K (Jun 8, 2009)

Local GW told me if planted for sole purpose of attracting ducks then it may not be hunted over if it's been manipulated with in any way the first year (Baiting). If it reseeds by itself next year then it may be hunted over. Sorta like planting corn for ducks. Perfectly legal as long as it's still on the stalk. The only way for ducks to feed on it is to get the water level high enough for the ducks to be able to get to it.


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## injun joe (Jun 8, 2009)

That's why I'm not asking the GW.


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## chase870 (Jun 8, 2009)

Corn whole kernal corn


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## Dpsmith (Jun 8, 2009)

what if you plant the corn then knock the stalks down to the ducks level!! or a strong wind comes and knocks them down!


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## 91xjgawes (Jun 8, 2009)

chase870 said:


> Corn whole kernal corn



x2

10 char


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## Boudreaux (Jun 9, 2009)

Mark K said:


> Local GW told me if planted for sole purpose of attracting ducks then it may not be hunted over if it's been manipulated with in any way the first year (Baiting). If it reseeds by itself next year then it may be hunted over. Sorta like planting corn for ducks. Perfectly legal as long as it's still on the stalk. The only way for ducks to feed on it is to get the water level high enough for the ducks to be able to get to it.


 

HMMMMM.  DNR plants several areas every year and then floods some of them for the managed waterfowl hunts.  Some are left on dry grounds - as in the goose pastures on Clarks Hill lake.

And grain will fall off of the stalk eventually even if it is not manipulated.  What they will ticket you for is walking all over the planted area to knock the grain off the stalk.  If it falls off on it's own, should not be an issue.


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## BigDogDaddy (Jun 9, 2009)

RBoleman said:


> yeah it does one of the better creeks in the area



So if you poured out 100lbs of millet on Monday, would every seed be gone by Saturday?


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## RBoleman (Jun 9, 2009)

BigDogDaddy said:


> So if you poured out 100lbs of millet on Monday, would every seed be gone by Saturday?



I hope so


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## waddler (Jun 14, 2009)

I don't know how big the swamp is, but if you have as much as 5-10 acres you can have Mallards around Royston. The beaver ponds along the Hudson and the other small rivers North of Royston have mallards periodically.

If you have this much swamp, the first priority is to control the water level. Get your structure in, dry up the swamp and burn it in the early summer. if it was me, I would plant rice, sorghum and Jap Millet in appropriate sites. Just harrow and sow.

Then put the water back on for a flood to water the seeds in. Take the water back off and let the seeds sprout. In the lower areas where the rice is, put water back on careful not to cover the plants. The rice will grow in mud, without flooding, but the water will control the weeds and let the rice make a better stand.

I wouldn't fool with Woodies unless there are water oaks in the swamp, they will come if they want to. 

Don't worry about the planted stuff being legal to shoot over. It is, so long as you just flood it and do not try to manipulate it in any way other than regular activities such as happening to step on some of it when walking thru the area. Do not mow, burn, cut or ride the crops down for the birds to have better access. That is illegal, but shooting over flooded, planted crops that have not been manipulated by anything but nature is perfectly legal. 

The number one rule with N GA Mallards, "DO NOT TRY TO BANK THEM." Shoot'em when you got 'em, they can be gone tomorrow.

Good luick.

waddler


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