Habitat Improvements on your training area

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hi-tailyn
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Habitat Improvements on your training area

Post by hi-tailyn » Wed Feb 11, 2015 8:42 pm

What have you done or seen what others have done for habitat improvements on your training areas?

Any success or failure stories?

41magsnub
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Re: Habitat Improvements on your training area

Post by 41magsnub » Thu Feb 12, 2015 10:09 am

We had to go the wrong direction last year. To keep it under CRP we had to graze cattle on it for a season and beat the crap out of it.

Improvements over all though, we are opening up more irrigation ditches, spreading cattail seed on the wet areas. and creating some nesting shelters. We'll see how it goes.

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Deuce
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Re: Habitat Improvements on your training area

Post by Deuce » Thu Feb 12, 2015 10:28 am

We partnered with the DNR to turn one of their shallow, open water ponds into much more usable duck search water. We sunk trees, will be adding lily pads and bull rush as well as adding landings to send dogs from. It's been a successful partnership. They appreciated the habitat improvement and we have extra space to run dogs.

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birdogg42
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Re: Habitat Improvements on your training area

Post by birdogg42 » Thu Feb 12, 2015 4:45 pm

Edge feathering,down tree structures and burning. Been very successful.

Mike

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Grange
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Re: Habitat Improvements on your training area

Post by Grange » Thu Feb 12, 2015 5:32 pm

My dog club has partnered with the DNR to buy prairie seed for the dog training and trial grounds. We've had mixed success. One issue right now is invasives. Crowned vetch and multiflora rose are the two biggest culprits, but there are some others that are present. The little bluestem does seem to be growing well though.

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birdogg42
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Re: Habitat Improvements on your training area

Post by birdogg42 » Thu Feb 12, 2015 6:37 pm

Grange wrote:My dog club has partnered with the DNR to buy prairie seed for the dog training and trial grounds. We've had mixed success. One issue right now is invasives. Crowned vetch and multiflora rose are the two biggest culprits, but there are some others that are present. The little bluestem does seem to be growing well though.
Blue stem takes 3 yrs to get established

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Grange
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Re: Habitat Improvements on your training area

Post by Grange » Thu Feb 12, 2015 8:34 pm

birdogg42 wrote:
Grange wrote:My dog club has partnered with the DNR to buy prairie seed for the dog training and trial grounds. We've had mixed success. One issue right now is invasives. Crowned vetch and multiflora rose are the two biggest culprits, but there are some others that are present. The little bluestem does seem to be growing well though.
Blue stem takes 3 yrs to get established
We last seeded more than 3 years ago.

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birdogg42
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Re: Habitat Improvements on your training area

Post by birdogg42 » Thu Feb 12, 2015 8:37 pm

I'm sorry. I misread. I thought u said the blue stem wasn't growing very well.

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hi-tailyn
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Re: Habitat Improvements on your training area

Post by hi-tailyn » Fri Feb 13, 2015 8:45 am

Does anyone do food strips or plots to provide winter food and shelter?

I started many years ago with 500 acres on a friends property with 50-80 head of cows and calves that ate the property down to bare dirt. We even found over a hundred golf balls in the pasture that were the tallest thing on the ground.

Ejected the cows and started plowing strips and trying to seed. Very dismal crop production due to waiting till june to plant. Reason was wanted shelter to be for winter/spring and not fall season.

Now 3 yr of plowing and planting. Just plowed another 9 miles of 20' strips and will disc again in 6 wks and seed with some wild life mix.

We hadn't seen wild birds for several years. Now we got 6 or 7 coveys and are doing great.

They are the magic in training of young and old dogs.

Still not having great success with the crop production due to limiting budget. No fertilizer or weed spray.

Any ideas of a crop that would grow in TX w/o treating it like a harvestable crop, but just food and shelter?

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Tejas
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Re: Habitat Improvements on your training area

Post by Tejas » Sun Mar 01, 2015 12:40 pm

Scott,

Did you see the Ray Sasser article in the outdoors column in the Dallas Morning News sports section? It discusses a hunting reserve over close to Yantis that plants 40 feet wide strips of grain sorghum that provide feed and cover. They have the remainder planted in CRP time cover.

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Re: Habitat Improvements on your training area

Post by Scott Linden » Sun Mar 01, 2015 8:13 pm

Not an expert, but wouldn't a PF or QF biologist be of help for your place?

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hi-tailyn
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Re: Habitat Improvements on your training area

Post by hi-tailyn » Sun Mar 01, 2015 8:46 pm

Tejas wrote:Scott,

Did you see the Ray Sasser article in the outdoors column in the Dallas Morning News sports section? It discusses a hunting reserve over close to Yantis that plants 40 feet wide strips of grain sorghum that provide feed and cover. They have the remainder planted in CRP time cover.
Did search, but didn't come up with the article. Any idea on where to look?
Scott Linden wrote:Not an expert, but wouldn't a PF or QF biologist be of help for your place?
Not my property, but owner will let us do what we want to help habitat. Don't know if QF or Wildlife Biologist would do a report or give ideas if the owner doesn't want to get involved. I will check it out and give a call and might be our answer.

Thanks

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Tejas
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Re: Habitat Improvements on your training area

Post by Tejas » Mon Mar 02, 2015 9:59 pm

It was in the Sunday March 1 Dallas Morning News page 16C. I'll keep it if you can't find it and send it to you.

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mm
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Re: Habitat Improvements on your training area

Post by mm » Mon Mar 09, 2015 3:53 am

I have some property to train on and I keep a johnny house there. The property is open with several strips of trees through it and is mowed several times a year. Does anyone know what I could plant for cover for planted birds. I don't have any equipment and would do it by hand and rely on rain for water. I don't own the land but I am the only one allowed on it and the only use is for training my dogs. I would like to plant seeds in strips and patches in several spots so I can plant birds in different locations. I don't know much about farming or growing things or even where to get seeds. Any recommendations ?
mm

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birdogg42
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Re: Habitat Improvements on your training area

Post by birdogg42 » Mon Mar 09, 2015 11:03 am

Ask whoever mows it to stop mowing. Or mow strips in it. If they mow it then your plantings are worthless. Jmo

Mike

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oldbeek
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Re: Habitat Improvements on your training area

Post by oldbeek » Thu Mar 12, 2015 8:37 pm

I live on the edge of the desert. Most of the property is owned by foreign investors. We have nice coveys of valley quail. On good wet years they will be up to 100 strong. I spread a little milo to help them out on drought seasons and during nesting time. I provide 2 watering stations covered by heavy brush. Mother nature does the rest.

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