Planting a Dove Field - Should I Bait

Now that the dove field is all planted, my thoughts have turned to managing the field.  There will be work to do this summer; fertilizer to add, weeds to spray, crops to mow, landing zones to make bare, and countless other tasks to complete to prepare the field for dove hunting.  Fortunately, I’ve received some advice from a few people I know who have done this before, and part of that advice has been about baiting.



Surely, the Georgia DNR would consider this
pile of corn an act of baiting



I am not sure where most people fall on this issue.  I do know that baiting a field is illegal, but there is a general question of what is considered baiting.  Most DNR’s and Wildlife Commissions will state that a person can perform any normal agricultural practice to prepare a dove field.  That includes plowing, planting, mowing, disking, and all the other practices it takes to grow a crop.  It does not however include spreading seed on top of the ground to attract doves.  Georgia’s DNR states that a field is considered baited for 10 days after all the “bait” is completely removed.  Since doves are migratory birds and covered by federal regulations, most states have the same rules for preparing a dove field.  Georgia provides a detailed brochure on their website.

Some of my friends have told me that it is perfectly ok to get doves familiar with the field by spreading some wheat seed on disked areas in June and July.  This would give the doves three weeks in August to clean the field as well as then the 10 days required by Georgia before hunting over it.  The Georgia brochure claims that this type of activity is not a normal agricultural process, thus it could be considered baiting.

Too much work?
Get some help!

There are also those who question the whole idea of baiting’s illegal status.  What is the difference between throwing corn on the ground and growing corn, mowing it, and leaving the corn scattered on the ground?  In both cases there is corn placed in a condition attractive to doves.  I guess the biggest difference is the amount of work and money that is required to grow the corn.  This supports the argument of some who claim the baiting rules are unfair because the person who can’t afford to plant and grow a crop, does not have the same opportunity to attract birds.  I have to give credit to this point of view, it isn’t cheap to plant and manage a dove field, but I believe that the person with a little ingenuity can find ways to keep the costs down as well as others willing to share the costs.

I’ll admit that I’ve considered the advice to throw some wheat out periodically this summer.  So far I’ve ignored it and don’t plan to do anything that isn’t a normal agricultural practice.  My mind may change if the millet and sesame are not producing like I think it should.  I’ll start mowing in mid to late July, hopefully in time to start attracting all the resident doves to the field.

What are your thoughts?  Please take the poll.