I'm leasing a flightpond, what shall I feed it?

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I'm leasing a flightpond, what shall I feed it?

"Half a bucketful each evening for modest pond."

By Graham Downing, shooting consultant and sporting author

Saturday, 16 May 2009

Q) I have been given the opportunity to lease a flightpond for next season. What should I feed it, and how often?
J. COWLEY
By email

A) Barley is considered to be the best food to attract wild duck to a flightpond, though any cereal will be equally effective. Approach a local farmer when he is cleaning out his grain store prior to the next harvest and ask if you can remove the waste grain that is left in the auger pits and around the edges of the bins. A few hours with a shovel and plastic sacks can gather enough grain to keep you going well into the shooting season. Though the kernels may be broken and dusty, they will still be good enough to feed your pond. Feed little and often. Half a bucketful each evening for a modest pond will be sufficient. Put the grain into shallow water where the duck will find it, but where it will be out of reach of rats. If you can’t find a source of grain, then a pile of frosted potatoes at the water’s edge is another option. However much you feed, don’t shoot more than once a fortnight on average.

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What's in this issue?

Don't miss our partridge and duck special in this week's Shooting Times (on sale Wednesday 1st September).
Plus, how to save money on feed on your shoot and as his Labrador nears the end of her pregnancy, Tony Jackson gets ready for the new arrivals. For all this and much more get down to your newsagents today!