abandonded buildings

[ducksmuggler]

I have been to two waterfowl conventions and one of the big topics was predator control around abandoned farm buildings. In a nut shell it is to increase nesting success by reducing the # of fox, coons, coyotes, possums and so on. They as in DU and Delta have tried to get the building removed buy $$ the land owner but ran into problems later to find out that the farms that your grandpas lived on during the "dust bowl" or the "great depression" that are still standing are things of great family value.

have any of you guys noticed any kind of common ground with fox,coon, coyotes, possums and their useing abandoned buildings.

Thought I might be able to use some of this "duck" info to help my hunting

[Tim Anderson]

Most guys know that have been hunting awhile that abandon farm sites are a great place for calling or trapping Pred. and most seem to produce year after year.. I could see if a vacant farm site was close to a wet-land then yes by removeing it would help some. On another note there are alot of other animals that use these farm sites like deer, pheasants and so on. By destroying them they also destroy cover for the other animals that depend on it.. I think there best bet would be to take that money and pay someone to trap it instead...
I think it was Delta water-fowl that did a big study up north someplace on how pred. like fox and skunks and coon where hard on the ducks when nesting, they also recommended that the coyotes be left alone so that they could also help control the smaller Pred.. It might help for ducks but it dose'nt work here for pheasants.. I know fox are really hard on the birds but so are the coyotes. I've seen more kill sites where a coyote caught and killed a pheasant than i have fox doing the same.. Right now the big thing going on for the ducks and pheasants is takeing out all the big trees that hawks and eagles can purch on and watch for a duck or pheasant to come out into the open for them to prey on. Most of these areas consist of public DNR lands or waterfowl production areas..
If Delta water-fowl wants to help ducks and geese they need to take a closer look at state hunting seasons and bag limits.. As most know the ducks head south for the winter and have certain areas they go to every year like Arkansas. These areas are hunted more and harder than any of the northern states and more ducks are harvested there than in most northern states. And Canada also does the same before the migration starts. The guys in the mid to mid northern states are screwed, less time to hunt them and smaller bag limits so that the southern guys can get more than their share..

Years ago i really enjoyed calling ducks which came second to Pred. hunting, still have a rack full of calls and the whole upper floor in my shed full of decoys that no longer get used. Now days it don't even pay to buy a lic. and i have long since sold my waterfowler gun... Oh well still got coyotes...

[Coyotehunter]

the coon and skunks are the biggest problem for ground nesting birds. they are easy to trap. I use to target those old farmsteads in the Red River Valley when I was younger. a bucket and a 22o conibear and you were golden.

[LeviM]

so if they remove the farmstead arent the predators just going to move, maybe to the wetlands? Sounds like they should promote trapping and get to the cause of the problems. Removing the old farmsteads is just a bandaid ontop of the problem

[Dcoy]

If trapped,I can't see the buildings making much difference.I've got a few old buildings and they sure do attract em though.Without much effort I get a dozen skunks and coon a year,year after year,around them PLUS at least 2-3 feral cats.On the other hand,from my experience it appears there's a basis for concern if the old buildings aren't trapped.No doubt they are shelter and security for predators.On my land its not fox or coyotes,its skunks,coon and cats.The buildings shelter them from the bigger predators.Shelter LOTS of them.Here there often are many vacant/abandoned buildings per section and no one trapping them.No $$ in furs,no bounty=no trappers.Wildlife control has neither the time or $$ to deal with them either.
By the way,are there multiple munition type M4s for rabbits? The type that when triggered scatter further death in every fricken direction?If so where can I get them?Rabbits and new trees don't mix.I'd even consider going nuclear if available in rabbit size.

[barebackjack]

I just hate ducks. Where I grew up it was ducks this and ducks that. Ducks ducks ducks.

Id like to know who determined that a stupid duck is more important than a fox. Personaly, id like to see more fox than stupid ducks.

[Tbush]

less ducks means more people hunting fox which means less fox which means more ducks I'm happy either way but in real terms means more ducks=more fox

[bucksnbears]

i know abondon buildings harbor vermin but i still get pissed when someone tears them down. their just a very cool piece of the landscape that i see as treasures. i'd love to hear the stories about them also.

[lyonch]

Aroung my area when it comes to nest raiders or something hard on the critters, it goes from the ditch tigers, to the coon/skunks, possum, fox, then the occasional coyote. I would leave the out buildings alone and promote the trapping. If they were to take the money and effort to remove a building a stuck that into someone trapping, i feel they will have a more immediate response to there problem in a given area. This way the shed is a place the trapper can set and help use as a means of getting rif of the critters.

[ducksmuggler]

Tim- the Delta trapped areas are Woodworth ND and Mendoza Manitoba and there probably is a few other places I've forgot.
for population of preds. low food #s = low pred. #s IMO
I have always loved duck hunting and it is my life till winter oh ya turkeys in the spring to

but I just put this out to see what you guys say about it at a non duck biologist level. and THANKS

[ducksmuggler]

and Chris your are right let the trappers in there first.... I fully agree, if someone wants to use it for a good purpose more power to ya. I was just thinking!! being an opportunist......never turn down the opportunist to shoot something...

[Tbush]

I vote leave the farms and promote more trapping

[Prairie Ghost]

In the wide open places in ND and MN and MT the abandoned farmsteads are some of the only cover that the deer and pheasants ect can use. Trap it hard and keep the shelter.

[Pilgrim]

I'm with PG, leave the buildings alone. Doze the building and the only remaining impedement looks like old trees & weeds. Even the best of intentions can't grow ducks on the prospect of 150 bushels per acre.

"...I don't care about spots on my apples,
Leave me the birds and the bees - please
Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you got till it's gone
They paved paradise and put up a parking lot..."