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Gadwall diet

4K views 5 replies 3 participants last post by  C-Hawk19 
#1 ·
I've got a pond that I've planted millet in for about 7 years now. Most years the song birds or early frost gets it but this past year it did good. Problem is that not many ducks use it. There is a lake about 400 yards away that holds a lot of gadwalls but they never come to my pond. Is there anything to plant that is more gadwall specific? I've noticed that they like the shallow mud flats on the lake but I have no idea what they are eating.
 
#2 ·
i know they really like duck weed, if you can control the water level i would go with corn, maybe try smartweeed, barnyard grass, or sprangletop grass(all msp and will come back each year with proper drawdown)
 
#3 ·
I would have to agree with KAhunter if possible try corn there is no duck that i have come across that will not eat corn. also according to stanford university this is the typical gadwall diet. Grass, aquatic plants, nuts, grain; aquatic invertebrates, small vertebrates. Dives for food more than most dabblers. In winter, mostly aquatic veg, algae. hope this helps some their info is somewhat vague but if possible try the corn idea thats what i'm doing for woodys teal and mallards at my place.
 
#5 ·
Well it looks like the whole pond food plot is out for this month. We've been getting a lot of rain (raining hard as I type) so I guess I'll wait till late July and try again. I guess it'll be too late for corn by then so I'll just let the millet come up again.
 
#6 ·
that would be what i would do just remember as a rule of thumb field corn usually takes 120 days to mature so if you have an early frost then millet is the best bet jap millet is around 30 days to 45 days to mature proso is around 45 and browntop is around 60 days and i'm sure that ducks of all kinds love millet :biggrin: . good luck and i hope this helps also corn likes water it is not very drought tollerant but it also is sensitive to too much water so if you cannot regulate the water corn will likely drown just keep this in mind for next year. :thumbsup: . good luck and happy killing :biggrin:
 
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