Help Building Duck Habitat

[Split Arrow]

I'm interested in building a levee system on some land I own outside of Houston so I could flood some millet/corn/etc for duck hunting, but dont have a clue on how to do it....

Do yall have any suggestions or contacts that I can visit with about this project?

[EZE]

You may contact Ducks Unlimited. I've heard that they sometimes partner up with land owners to build habitat but I don't know that for a fact.

[friscopaint]

number 1 is getting water. Once you have that covered there's nothing other than diking, planting (brown top millett for me) and flooding 6-12 inches. DU never returned email from me. Now the crop isn't supposed to be "manipulated" and hunted over, I will turn horses "loose to feed in it" prior to flooding and hunting.......

[Killer]

You may contact your county extension agent or soil conservation office in your county they should be able to help

[friscopaint]

I'm interested in building a levee system on some land I own outside of Houston so I could flood some millet/corn/etc for duck hunting, but dont have a clue on how to do it....

Do yall have any suggestions or contacts that I can visit with about this project?

1. bring in soil/material for dikes
or
2. use dozer/scraper to dig down

[BrokenJ]

I have been apart of building zero grade duck ponds and a green tree reservoir. To pull it off you need correct soil types, Dirt scrapers with zero grade capabilities, and transfer pumps or big water wells to get water into impoundment. Also need exit structures to quickly remove water. The way we built them was a mirror image at 3 to 5 acres each side with a center levee. In the center levee we sank pit blind. Worked great could adjust decoys with different winds. Flooded millet at 6 to 7 inches.

[captainsling]

I'm interested in building a levee system on some land I own outside of Houston so I could flood some millet/corn/etc for duck hunting, but dont have a clue on how to do it....

Do yall have any suggestions or contacts that I can visit with about this project?

I would recommend getting in touch with the DU field office in Richmond. They have local biologists that would be of help. If you need contact info shoot me a PM.

[quackadikt]

number 1 is getting water. Once you have that covered there's nothing other than diking, planting (brown top millett for me) and flooding 6-12 inches. DU never returned email from me. Now the crop isn't supposed to be "manipulated" and hunted over, I will turn horses "loose to feed in it" prior to flooding and hunting.......

Better be careful with that. Grazing livestock on standing crops prior to flooding can be considered manipulating...


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[quackadikt]

Straight off the FWS website.




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[quackadikt]

I'm interested in building a levee system on some land I own outside of Houston so I could flood some millet/corn/etc for duck hunting, but dont have a clue on how to do it....



Do yall have any suggestions or contacts that I can visit with about this project?

Aside from getting with DU, check with your local NRCS office. They sometimes have cost sharing programs for this kind of work too. But water rights will be priority to make sure you can flood.


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[offthemap]

Here are a few good websites I've found as far as the cover crops are concerned:

http://www.kestersnursery.com/New_Folder/nrcs142p2_016986.pdf

https://plants.sc.egov.usda.gov/java/

http://fowledreality.com/food-plots-for-ducks/

[Razrbk89]

Before you sink a bunch of money into a project, make certain it’s in a good spot.

It’s hard to attract ducks (in my area) if it’s not in a good spot, even with good habitat work or food when talking about fields. There’s a lot of places up here that look great and lease for high dollar that are gar holes due to location!

As mentioned above, DU and NCRS would be where I’d start. You can do a lot in a hurry with a scraper and a dirt pan.

[Split Arrow]

Before you sink a bunch of money into a project, make certain it’s in a good spot.

It’s hard to attract ducks (in my area) if it’s not in a good spot, even with good habitat work or food when talking about fields. There’s a lot of places up here that look great and lease for high dollar that are gar holes due to location!

As mentioned above, DU and NCRS would be where I’d start. You can do a lot in a hurry with a scraper and a dirt pan.

Thanks for the feedback- I have a lake on my property and have countless ducks using it, so I think that's a decent sign!

[Split Arrow]

You may contact Ducks Unlimited. I've heard that they sometimes partner up with land owners to build habitat but I don't know that for a fact.

Thanks- I've called and haven't heard back from them- will try back later this month

[eastxhunter]

Following. One of my dreams one day.