wats the best to feed a pond for mallard

[macster 1]

i have a right size of pond but iv only ever had teal use it

never have i seen a mallard in it or come into it at dusk iv sen them fly past

but tats it . was wondering if i feed the pond with something would they start to use it

an if so wat is the best to feed it with

 

 

 

macster

[scotlandforever 0]

Bag of Barley

[wag 13]

if you want to attract more ducks to the pond then yes feed it , i would have a walk round the pond and see were the shallow parts are, then feed that area put some just in the water , some out of the water , dont go to deep with the feed because teal will not be able to reach it also mallard, they like to up end in the water but if the feed is to deep they will not get it . wheat is good also barley, you can put potatoes in too but if you have fish in the pond then i would not bother potatoes send the water stagnant and relise acids into the water which could kill the fish .

[hily 379]

if you want to attract more ducks to the pond then yes feed it , i would have a walk round the pond and see were the shallow parts are, then feed that area put some just in the water , some out of the water , dont go to deep with the feed because teal will not be able to reach it also mallard, they like to up end in the water but if the feed is to deep they will not get it . wheat is good also barley, you can put potatos in too but if you have fish in the pond then i would not bother potatos send the water stagnant and relise acids into the water which could kill the fish .

Barleys best if you don't have a rat problem try rotten spuds.

[macster 1]

thanks lads must feed as soon as i can an ill keep use posted on how it turns out

 

 

macster

[bullmastiff 610]

When I was an underkeeper I was told unless you already have a high concentration of duck then never to feed the bank (encourages rats) and to only feed water betwween 1/2 and 1 foot deep (unless the pond/lake's big enough for geese) then out to 3 feet. We always fed Barley a couple of hours after lunch so as not to disturb the lake too much.

Even a small amount of feed might help, then as long as the barley's disapearing then increase the amount.

 

Cheers

 

Luke.

[Sako.243 1]

WHEAT !!!!!

[fishfish 17]

a couple of mallard decoys.

[greylag 0]

a few years ago we got our hands on a pile of bananas which were well past there sell by.we fed the ponds with them and the ducks went mad for them,and i swear the ducks we took tasted slightly of banana when cooked.

[dicehorn 38]

Nobody has asked what the margins of your pond are like - have you got brambles up to the margins, have you got trees/bushes near the margins? If you are not getting ducks to it and the ones you see are just flying by, putting barley down may not change their minds. The couple of decoy ducks idea is a sound suggestion but only when you feel the pond is right for your visitors

 

Therefore see where you can improve visibility (Not yours - the ducks) for flying in and possibly leaving in a hurry. Is there a river nearby - do mink get into the pond. There is more to it than chucking a bag of barley down.

[small bore 0]

Bananas