Hen Houses

[Trigger]

Fowler, How many ducks would 100,000 structures add to the fall flight? If 80,000 are used. 10 eggs each, 800,000 ducklings, 50% survival rate gives you 400,000 more ducks. That's .08% added to the population with impossible succes rates.... yeah, thats a difference maker. Just saying.

[h2ofwlr]

Bottom line is hen houses are not a practical way to increase duck production in the long run. It's only benefit is making people feel warm and fuzzy after putting them up.

My warm and fuzzies are called the 300+ ducklings that have hatched each year from the MHNs that I have out.

[prairie hunter]

They are called feel good projects. I have done them and it did feel good.

Weather and habitat (much of it weather/climate influenced) are the primary driving forces to a good fall flight.

Most ducks still hatch and flight from traditional wetland areas. DU may make a small measurable impact under severe drought conditions, but in most years especially during these wet, liberal times ... have minimal if any measurable input to the fall flight.

Predator control works when the predators are intensely trapped in the SPRING otherwise the predators simple backfill into these areas because their food sources are plentiful. Most traditional fall and winter trapping and winter coyote hunting is done on a sustainable basis. You are killing (harvesting) the part of the populations that would have died (traffic, starvation, disease) anyways... compensatory mortality. Again - only intense spring trapping puts you into the additive mortality category on predators. This is verified in Delta, USF&WS, USGS supported research publications.

Ag programs and the USF&WS push on private land easements have some measurable impact especially if you believe without them that those areas would be intensively farmed or worse yet - drain tiled and permanently lost.

[h2ofwlr]

Fowler, How many ducks would 100,000 structures add to the fall flight? If 80,000 are used. 10 eggs each, 800,000 ducklings, 50% survival rate gives you 400,000 more ducks. That's .08% added to the population with impossible succes rates.... yeah, thats a difference maker. Just saying.

Well as usual you numbers are off, which is no surprise really....

800k eggs with 30% to fledged stage = 240K I wish that they did achieve 50%!
At current Mallard pop that 240K is about 2%, not .08%. And if LTA pop is used it is about 3% added to their population.


2015 Mallard Numbers
2015: 11.643 million. +7% change from last year
2014: 10.900 million
Mallard are +51% over the long term average.

[get-n-birdy]

They are feel good projects for the most part. But if it makes a dude feel good, gives them something to do for a hobby and possibly gets any interest from some kids, it's a cumulative plus, when combined with other projects. Yeah it's a drop in the bucket, but it's at least something positive. If a guy has the time, ambition and funds to finance it, more power to them. At least they are making an attempt to do something and it could lead people into doing other stuff to help increase the population, all be it nothing monumentally game changing, it's still something.

Micro managing is about all waterfowlers are left with anyways. To do anything on even a small scale, considering the habitat challenges, is a plus. Again, granted it's small peanuts, it's something a guy can do for a hobby vs sitting on the couch or in front of a screen bitching about how apathetic everything is.

[Bullet21XD]

Hen deathboxes are great! If every duckhunter put out ten...we'd have hundreds more ducks every fall. Keep up the good work!

[lumbertick]

My problem with "feel good" projects are that they fuel complacency. It makes most participants feel like they are doing enough. I have been at few of the "death box" building activities and never once was the fact stated that the project is a good start but much more needs to be done in the form of permanent habitat restoration. In fact I'll bet that of all the boxes that get built...few ever get hung up and even fewer maintained. I always left feeling that it was just a waste of good lumber.

lt

[get-n-birdy]

Hen deathboxes are great! If every duckhunter put out ten...we'd have hundreds more ducks every fall. Keep up the good work!

Hawks and eagles need to eat too.

[Trigger]

Fowler, How many ducks would 100,000 structures add to the fall flight? If 80,000 are used. 10 eggs each, 800,000 ducklings, 50% survival rate gives you 400,000 more ducks. That's .08% added to the population with impossible succes rates.... yeah, thats a difference maker. Just saying.

Well as usual you numbers are off, which is no surprise really....

800k eggs with 30% to fledged stage = 240K I wish that they did achieve 50%!
At current Mallard pop that 240K is about 2%, not .08%. And if LTA pop is used it is about 3% added to their population.


2015 Mallard Numbers
2015: 11.643 million. +7% change from last year
2014: 10.900 million
Mallard are +51% over the long term average.

50% was used for ease and to show that even impossibly high numbers still make no impact. Which you just proved for me, by correcting me. Thanks.

[Trigger]

My problem with "feel good" projects are that they fuel complacency. It makes most participants feel like they are doing enough. I have been at few of the "death box" building activities and never once was the fact stated that the project is a good start but much more needs to be done in the form of permanent habitat restoration. In fact I'll bet that of all the boxes that get built...few ever get hung up and even fewer maintained. I always left feeling that it was just a waste of good lumber.

lt

I agree. And it's a waste of good time that could be used for something else. If a guy wants to throw a hen house in the backyard pond, sweet. If a guy wants to litter with a bunch of eye sores in every pothole along hwy 212, fine, whatever. Just don't lie to everyone, especially to kids, that these are making a difference. Teach them what these actually are, toys, not tools in waterfowl management.