Help me make a bird field

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nowicki2005
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Help me make a bird field

Post by nowicki2005 » Wed Mar 14, 2012 7:57 pm

So I finally got some land, a whopping 2.93 acres lol. have of it is my yard and the rest is just overgrown field. I want to plant some kind of grass in a couple of rows so I can plant some birds in it. I plan on having at least a pigeon coop with some homers and made a johnny house for some quail. I live in Michigan. I just want this to be a nice little spot where I can do controlled bird work to refine things a little when needed. The grass I would like to be pretty good cover so that if I release some quail they have something to hold tight in.

Any ideas what would be a some good grass to plant?

I guess my thinking is if you did like a football field looking at it the long way, having four or five rows of some sort of grass the long way.

Jiminla
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Re: Help me make a bird field

Post by Jiminla » Wed Mar 14, 2012 8:17 pm

I would let the grass grow natural and cut a couple of strips with a bush hog. That way you can have two clean lanes with grass for cover. It's so much easier with the lanes for dog work. You have the cover to plant your birds and the lanes for you and the to go in and out of. You should have some fun with it!

RayGubernat
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Re: Help me make a bird field

Post by RayGubernat » Wed Mar 14, 2012 8:53 pm

Couple of sugestions...

You could till strips and plant lovegrass in rows. It is a bunchgrass that grows up about 12-18" and flops over like a mushroom. Plenty of places to hide a quail and the bunches are big enough to hide a trap behind. It is apparently tough on the digestive system of rabbits, if that matters to you. VERY hardy once established.

You could kill everything in row with a herbicide like Roundup and reseeed with broom straw or another tall bunchgrass. Broomstraw grows about 3 -4ft high and if you plant a strip about 3 or 4' wide, that should be plenty to hide a bird or trap in. Broom straw is fairly good cover but it does not hold up to heavy traffic.

RayG

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nowicki2005
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Location: Portland, MI

Re: Help me make a bird field

Post by nowicki2005 » Wed Mar 14, 2012 9:02 pm

I should note that I am poor lol. I am 25, just bought a house and truck, paying student loans still, and getting engaged soon probably, money is limited.... I don't even have a lawnmower yet :(

Also, I don't have an exact picture of it, but the field is at the back:

Image

There is a little berm that you see which is the mound system for my septic, but it goes back about a hundred yards past that with that being the type of grass now (what you see in the pic)

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llewellinsetter
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Re: Help me make a bird field

Post by llewellinsetter » Wed Mar 14, 2012 10:08 pm

Let it grow thats what we did on our 300+ acres its about 200+ hard wood and the rest is just all the wild grasses and stuff its great for dog work, i like to disc some of it every few years but nothing crazy, its amazing what nature will do if you just let it go. I'm building a coop now and i feel your pain on being broke, im 23 with a house and getting engaged soon to. if you need any major help your only an hour and a half from me shoot me a pm ill come out and give you a hand if you need it.

C
The great pleasure of a dog is that you may make a fool of yourself with him and not only will he not scold you, but he will make a fool of himself too. ~Samuel Butler

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4dabirds
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Re: Help me make a bird field

Post by 4dabirds » Thu Mar 15, 2012 6:19 am

I train sometimes where i work . There is a big field of mowed grass that gets cut twice a year. When it is high it is better but i have trained on it when it is low and just tear up some grass and bury the birds or launchers in the grass the dog does not see it. If you just leave some rows uncut you will be fine. Looks great I wish I had that for a backyard. Thats a million dollar yard on long island !

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PntrRookie
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Re: Help me make a bird field

Post by PntrRookie » Thu Mar 15, 2012 9:00 am

4dabirds wrote:If you just leave some rows uncut you will be fine. Looks great I wish I had that for a backyard.
ditto...don't overlook the tree lines. When the wind is right use them for planting. Your dog will learn birds are in both grass and tree lines. Nice setup for after work tuneups!

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pinebrookkennel
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Re: Help me make a bird field

Post by pinebrookkennel » Fri Mar 16, 2012 5:36 am

Nowicki
Look into your local phes forever chapter. The chapter should have some type of cover crop you are looking to put in. Some chapters even
Have all the equipment to drill it for you. There shouldn't be any cost for the size plot you are looking for.
If you have time, help the chapter when they plant plots this spring and you can get left over seed and fertalizer for free. :D
Make no distinction between practice and combat !
Miyamoto Musashi.
Knowledge, once gained can never be stolen or repossessed.
Jered

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nowicki2005
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Re: Help me make a bird field

Post by nowicki2005 » Fri Mar 16, 2012 5:39 am

Thanks for the advice!

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AzDoggin
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Re: Help me make a bird field

Post by AzDoggin » Fri Mar 16, 2012 7:12 am

25 years old nowicki and you've got a yard like that? You ain't poor, my friend! :D

You are going to have a blast with your dog on that property (possibly literally, eh?). :lol:

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sniperjon
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Re: Help me make a bird field

Post by sniperjon » Sun Mar 18, 2012 5:48 am

Looks like you got a
Nice deck to shoot some clays ftom

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