Maybe a Duck Disease??

sharpshooter · Postby **sharpshooter** » Wed Jan 09, 2002 8:58 pm

Hi All,
I was wondering if anyone else had heard about this. I was talking to a friend the other day from Wisconsin. He said that the word up there is that the ducks have caught some sort of disease or parasite that drastically reduced numbers of both adult and hatched ducks. He went on to say that it is a direct result of Ducks Unlimited not spraying the nesting areas in order to get rid of this problem (i.e. killing the bacteria or parasite). DU has sprayed these areas for many years by using the money we give them, but has not done it in the last 5 years. He ventured to say that DU is not telling anyone this information because they of course want our money which usually parallels enthusiasm for the season. He also gave numbers: 95% of ducklings lost and 45% of adult ducks lost. I don't know how true this is and I was wondering if anyone else had heard anything similar.

Ringbill · Postby **Ringbill** » Wed Jan 09, 2002 10:17 pm

I have heard no such think and would love to see some data on that inference. Sorry, I gotta call Bull$hit on that one.

Ringbill

Dutch Dog · Postby **Dutch Dog** » Wed Jan 09, 2002 11:16 pm

sounds like a futile attempt by DU to drum up support for their dwindling programs...like, uh, I don't know...hunting dall sheep, going to old mexico and having limitless duck hunts, and going to canada in september and october to give the ducks a good spanking before they start their journey southward. Hell no! If DU wants to cater to the big money corporations then let the big money corporations fund all their extracurricular activities also!

chris blaine · Postby **chris blaine** » Thu Jan 10, 2002 1:11 am

well i know that du is not doing a whole lot for us southern states but alot of the reason is that most of our breeding grounds for our ducks up north. But i also heard and did a survey that mississippi wetlands has a better hatch rate than du. for the crazy thing about some disease i doubt it. I was at my parents house in st. louis and saw alot of ducks on the way and in the southern part of missouri. Alot of ducks are sticking to the refuges.

Delta Duck · Postby **Delta Duck** » Thu Jan 10, 2002 4:16 am

If they are feeding more than one time, then I can see where you could have a problem with disease. If you have a duck hole that loads up with ducks and geese by the thousands day in and day out it stinks like a pig pen. The field will be rotten. It helps to get a good rain.

It just can't be good for the ducks to be in a situation like that!!

sharpshooter · Postby **sharpshooter** » Thu Jan 10, 2002 3:36 pm

Good replies. I have been a DU member since I was 8 years old, and have been a sponsor in the past, although I am not now. I enjoy the information DU puts out, subscribe to the magazine, and read it cover to cover. I have also converted 458.4 acres of my own land from dry farmland into fall/winter wetlands with the help of NRCS and Tim Wilkins at Yazoo NWR in Hollandale. I'll gladly send you a synopsis of my costs. If you know anything about it, you know how much I've spent. I'll certainly take good duck hunting years with bad, and realize that DU has done wonders for the sport. I'm not bashing DU, I'm a supporter; just wondering if anyone else had heard anything similar. BUT, if you believe everything that DU says, you must realize that they will not tell you anything that could damage their reputation, so you have to do some research on your own to find out what DU or any other organization REALLY does to help us hunters, and if it's really working or not.

mississippi_duc_htr · Postby **mississippi_duc_htr** » Thu Jan 10, 2002 3:55 pm

Thank you sharp shooter. When I was in DU I tried to post a comment on their boards and ask them why they would not do anything to enhance the duckhunting over here on the northeast side of he state. They WOULD NOT allow my post to be put up. I emailed them several times with my Questions of whys and why nots........ I Havent heard from them yet........ All they do is call and send me letters asking me to get back in>>>>>> YEAH RIGHT!!!!

Hambone · Postby **Hambone** » Fri Jan 11, 2002 12:18 am

It's odd how the DU bashers want to take the credit away from DU when things are good, but place the blame on the same organization when things are tough. You cannot have it both ways. Many of the harshest critics contribute nothing to DU, Delta Waterfowl or anyone else, nor do they spend the first dime to acquire or enhance waterfowl habitat. I hope that if you do choose to criticize DU, you put your money and/or time into some other worthwhile conservation effort. If all you have to offer is complaints, without contributing to a solution, you really don't have much ground to comment.

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