# Geese in a plowed field ?



## if it flies it dies1 (Mar 22, 2008)

went out scouting tonight and seen around 2000 geese in a plowed field. I was wondering if anyone knows why they are in it. There were about 10 different fields that were combined corn and they were in a totally black field. Any help would be appreciated.

Brian


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## KEN W (Feb 22, 2002)

Looking for grit for their gizzards.


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## gsehnter-bloms (Dec 16, 2007)

I also found a field like that which was holding a couple thousand honkers.


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## Ron Gilmore (Jan 7, 2003)

Geese are grazing birds. They prefer green shoots and such. Freshly tilled fields provide tender roots to eat as well as sprouted grains. Geese will feed on this when temps are in the range they are currently. They need less fuel to keep the body warm thus eat what they like vs what they need.

We where set up on a wetland and had two geese come into the spread from feeding in just such a field. We checked the crops during cleaning and found just what I listed.


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## cut'em (Oct 23, 2004)

Ron Gilmore said:


> Geese are grazing birds. They prefer green shoots and such. Freshly tilled fields provide tender roots to eat as well as sprouted grains. Geese will feed on this when temps are in the range they are currently. They need less fuel to keep the body warm thus eat what they like vs what they need.
> 
> We where set up on a wetland and had two geese come into the spread from feeding in just such a field. We checked the crops during cleaning and found just what I listed.


Very well said :beer:


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## USAlx50 (Nov 30, 2004)

I think what Ron said holds some water. I also think it has something to do with them getting banged up by hunters coming out of good hides in harvested corn fields a lot.


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## MDV89 (Sep 8, 2008)

I would also throw in a vote for the pressure scenario. Seems at times when they are receiving heavy pressure they seek out fields that might not necessarily have prime feed but they feel safer in (i.e beet fields, edible beans, plowed black fields). If you got shot every time you decided to hit up the buffet you would probably just settle for leftovers at home :beer:


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## MN goose killa (Sep 19, 2008)

regrowth regrowth regrowth


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## 6162rk (Dec 5, 2004)

too much pressure


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## Gildog (Jan 30, 2007)

geese go for the green, while ducks go for the grain.

best of both worlds is a swathed barley field that gets too much rain...both the ducks and the geese will be fat and happy...until you touch off the 12 ga!


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## Chuck Smith (Feb 22, 2005)

Like others have stated... Fresh shoots in the plowed fields. Also they are more loafing now instead of getting the hi energy foods needed.....ie corn and other grains. They will eat sod (golf courses, soccer fields, etc) or go for the fresh plowed fields to get the shoots that are exposed.

Plowed fields are little gems that people over look. But if you are hunting them.....you will have to wait because the will circle a couple times extra to just make sure all the "bumps" are dirt clumps and not danger. ;-)


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## Bloodyblinddoors (Oct 25, 2006)

I hunt plowed fields for half my entire season. Why you ask? I dont have a choice and neither do the birds. As soon as the crops come out here in MN the farmers get to plowin. It sucks. I'm enviouse of you guys who get to hunt the no-till states.

It can be harder to run traffic in a black field cause the spread is'nt as visible, And it took me alot of trial and error to learn how to hide 6 blinds in a plowed field as well. The hide was by far the hardest to figure out but I got it now.

If you guy's have any Q's on the black field hunting just let me know. I've become pretty efficient at it.


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## greatwhitehunter3 (Sep 15, 2006)

What's your best way to hide? Dig em down?


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## mach (Aug 29, 2005)

If the roost has no gravel then they will go to a sandy plowed field to get grit for their gizzards to grind up feed as they do not have teeth.
It is a common site to see them in a black field in the morning and then by noon they would have walked into a grain field to feed


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## Bloodyblinddoors (Oct 25, 2006)

OK guy's. This is a busy weekend for me. I've gotten a couple PM's asking how to hide in a plowed field. I'm anctiuose to explain how in detail with pictures.

I'll take care of everyone in a single crack on this thread when I get a chance. May not be till Monday.

This mornings hunt.... Low sun=Squinty faces :lol:


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## TheDrake (Apr 20, 2009)

Bloodyblinddoors said:


> This mornings hunt.... Low sun=Squinty faces = Quick limit


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## Bloodyblinddoors (Oct 25, 2006)

K I'm gonna try to get straight to the point here. If I leave anything out dont be affraid to ask.

Not only do you want to match the color of the plowed field, You also want your blinds to match the texture of the dirt. The reason for matching the texture is some farmers get knida nutz with the plow and plow the heck outa the field making for very little stubble. In this situation, You wont be stubbling your blind much at all. In any case, Priority #1 is matching your surroundings wether it be stubbling alot or stubbling a little.

Matching the color:
Theres no need to paint your blind black. Though it would look better, Most people wont paint there blinds. Go find some German camo mesh. Paint it black and zip tie it to the stubble straps of your blind to fit well. Get the doors, the foot bag, and behind your head.

Digging in:
Dig the blinds down a few inches at least. The more the better but I usually go down only a few inches. Unless the ground is easy to work, I'll go down deeper. That and I usually have 6 blinds to dig in before each hunt. It takes awhile.

After the blinds are dug in, Pile dirt against the sides, Footbags and behind your head. Then get to stubblin. Remember...... Match the field.

In the years past when I knew I'd be hunting a plowed field I'd have to transition all 6 blinds the night before the hunt. It would take me about 3 hours to do 6 blinds by myself. I got tire of that so I bought 6 seperate blinds this season and turned them into black field blinds exclusively. First I painted them black, Then added the black camo mesh. It's already saved me a ton of time having blinds that are ready for plowed fileds.

Here are a few pics.

This is a decent one. Look to the left of Allans head on the far left. There you can kinda see how the blind should look if meshed and stubbled correclty. You can kinda see the flag sticking out of it. If you look behind the heads of the guys in the center you can see we ripped the stubble off those blinds. They match the color and texture of the dirt, But were no longer stubbled at the time of the pic.


















Only reason you can see the blinds in this pic is cause the doors are open.


























8) 


















Here the blinds have already been pulled out and the stubble has been removed.













































Here is another pic where the only reason you can see the blinds is cause the doors are open.


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## Bloodyblinddoors (Oct 25, 2006)

Here are a couple pics I took this morning after everything was in place. I asked two of the guys to close up like we had incomming. This is'nt the best example of hunting a plowed field as this field had a decent amount of stubble but you get the picture.

Even in this field I doubt the birds would have worked nearly as close if I did'nt have the blinds set up like I do. Alot of the guy's hunting in my area have givin up cause there are so many cacklers around and they're nearly impossible to decoy. We killed 7 today and had several finish.


















The end result of a good hide on warry geese.


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## TheDrake (Apr 20, 2009)

Nice job on those chickens.
All look like great hides!


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## Bloodyblinddoors (Oct 25, 2006)

Another thing I should ad. It's a requirement of everyone hunting with me to wear either face paint or a mask. The mask must come up to just under their eyes covering their nose, Cheeks and ears. If they're wearing a hat it needs to come down to just above their eyebrows. Nothing kills a good hide like exposed skin.

We as callers ALWAYS paint the backs of our hands. Why? Because many times we need to have our hands/calls outside the head holes to project the sound. Exposed skin is poision to our presentation even at a distance. Esspecialy in a black field. We wear masks and Paint our hands on EVERY hunt no matter what we're hiding in.


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## PJ (Oct 1, 2002)

Phil,
Lucky for the geese most guys wouldn't put in half the effort you do. All I have to say is wow. Thanks for the tips!


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## markbrower (Mar 4, 2009)

thanks for taking the time to share and explain. very generous. you are not a lazy one are you.


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## gsehnter-bloms (Dec 16, 2007)

BBD, I like the idea of always having face paint or a face mask. I dont know if the guys I hunt with would do that though. We'll have to see..


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## Bloodyblinddoors (Oct 25, 2006)

gsehnter-bloms said:


> I dont know if the guys I hunt with would do that though.


Then you invite people who will. It's that simple. Hunting is like anything else in life... You get what you put into it.


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## Labrador Man (Nov 24, 2009)

Bloodyblinddoors said:


> Another thing I should ad. It's a requirement of everyone hunting with me to wear either face paint or a mask. The mask must come up to just under their eyes covering their nose, Cheeks and ears. If they're wearing a hat it needs to come down to just above their eyebrows. Nothing kills a good hide like exposed skin.
> 
> We as callers ALWAYS paint the backs of our hands. Why? Because many times we need to have our hands/calls outside the head holes to project the sound. Exposed skin is poision to our presentation even at a distance. Esspecialy in a black field. We wear masks and Paint our hands on EVERY hunt no matter what we're hiding in.


Thanks for a great discussion on how you hunt geese . I learned a bunch from this as I was thinking about how I could camo up my Final Appraoch blind using other materials instead of stubbling up. Here in Manitoba, we hunt a lot of stubble and a few field that have "greened up" after harvest. Your info has helped a lot. Nice to see those dogs working too!
Most of our birds have gone your way now as we got some snow and frost yesterday. Time to go deer hunting!
Best of luck.


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## gsehnter-bloms (Dec 16, 2007)

[/quote]Then you invite people who will. It's that simple. Hunting is like anything else in life... You get what you put into it.[/quote]

True. We are heading out tomorrow and I got the face paint packed!


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