to the OP... if no one is hunting that field when you go to hunt on your leased side, no problem - but remember, landowners hate having folks climb fences to retrieve birds (stretches the wire, pops staples, etc) - so make effort to avoid having shot birds sail over the fence - as Nav said - back to the fence. Couple of pieces of family land I hunt are very near town = whitewings. the outfitters have most huntable places around us leased up and cram as many hunters as they can along the boundaries. It is very common to have folks hunting directly across the fence from us... Basically, just follow some simple rules of conduct and you'll be fine. Try to avoid getting into their immediate space. I always go over and talk to the other folks and let them know that i'll be shooting away from the fence (subtle way to give them the hint). I also retrieve a bird or two for them if they sail over.. after a couple, I'll be more blunt and strait up tell them to keep their shots on birds that are less likely to come across. Last year I had to get serious with some smart a$$es that had no respect for anyone around them or the property boundaries - but people like that are not common.

only thing I didn't follow in your post.

Lol, if I count 800 doves in the morning, and 800 doves in the evening for 5 days straight, then I have to assume that they are only eating in my sunflowers lol. It's an estimated figure, not an exact. And yes it can be answered. I just wanted to see how many of the dove experts could answer it. Because if I'm planting a field in an area that I know is capable of having a thousand doves at one time, I will size and plant my field accordingly. I don't want to spend 2000 dollars on seed and plant 150 acres if I don't need it. That's a waate of money, fuel, and herbicide. so anyone who cares to challenge me on growing and manipulating crops for doves. Here I am! I'm not an expert not a biologist. I do have many years of broken plows, busted axles, and worn out tractor tires. I've seen what works and doesn't work. I do take it very seriously because I am a perfectionist. I will walk a 20 acre field hand pulling pig weed to keep my field clean. I enjoy it and it relaxes me. And when the dove season is over. I use what is left of my land to feed the birds while they are nesting so they have a good breeding season. That is my way of preserving the sport for our children. So any of you who would like to fire across my bow, remember, the birds you shoot next year may have fed on my farms all spring. So you are welcome in advance.

That Cocaine is a hell of a drug huh?

This is a good thread, very entertaining. Just wished I had my shell belt on and a pellet gun pointed skyward, of course not over a fence line.

Had one of my best dove hunts setting up in 100% dirt. Dove flying over my field, nothing but dirt, heading to a field with food... We (me and my son) had 2 mojo and some decoys on the ground as our spread, simulating dove feeding on a pile of spilt seed, the dove dive bombed into our spread, it was awesome.

Question 1 - How many pounds of sunflower seeds can 800 white wing doves eat in one day on average?
Question 2 - If you have an exact 10 acre field of sunflowers, how many days can you sustain feeding 800 white wings on average before the crop is gone?

Check my math but avg WWD weighs about 5 oz and eats about 15% of its body weight a day so with 800 WWD they would eat around 37.5 lbs of seed a day if they only ate your plot.

A well managed acre of sunflower field will yield between 1000-1800 lbs of seed per acre depending on irrigation, herbicides, fertilizer, rain etc. So 1 acre should sustain 800 birds for about a month. If you have 10 acres you would have 10 months worth of food for your birds.

We have a similar situation but we plant 20 acres in a mixture of milo/millet and this fall will introduce sunflowers to the mix for next year. Like you we are already preparing the land for next year hunting season and this one hasn't even started for us. The funny thing is we have no birds right now because the 10's of thousands of acres of commercial farming surrounding us are currently being harvested. Once this is finished is when our hunting will get hot. Hard for me to say our little 20 acres justifies saying their 'my' birds when other farmers have been sustaining the population for far longer.

As to the OP I would just say hunt the flyways. You don't have to be right on the fence line to find the best intercept point, but if it happens to be on the fence I would back off a little (50 yds)so you don't get a lot of birds that sail over the fence. At our last place we had awful soil had zero food, not much water, and very little habitat. But we were located just outside the city limits so when the resident city dove left every morning to go out to someone's food plot and return home at the end of the day they had to fly over our place. We would get waves and waves of WWD twice every day like clock work. The dove would fly across our property without so much as looking but we always had our limit as they passed over. Just because the hunters aren't right across the fence doesn't mean someone 2 miles away aren't killing your dove relentlessly. You never know how you alter fly ways with your food plot. Just the nature of things be happy to enjoy killing all the coors while working on those dove plots.

First, thank you guys for all the responses. Secondly, I'm worried my status is going to be Unintentional Pot Stirrer. This thread has definitely taken on controlled burn status. Based on what all you guys have said, I plan on going in and setting up 50 or so yards off the fence and making sure we only shoot birds that will land on our side and making sure our shot doesn't cross the fence line. In addition to that if they shoot birds that land on our side and they will as they set up on the fence, I'll be happy to throw them back. I understand I have just as much right to hunt the fence line as they do, but also realize that its their work that has produced this hunting opportunity. Much in the same way I'd expect them to lay off young bucks because they know we protein feed like crazy and let our deer get a minimum of 5.5. It just feels like a mutual respect thing to me.

Well done mattyg06. You know your stuff pretty well. Don't forget to figure on only 85% germination at best, and subtract another 20% for finches, deer, and raccoons. 1000 to to 1500 pounds per acre at best. And that is if you are willing to buy the right seed and invest in enough fertilizer, and would also include liquid nitrogen fertilizer. Any little bit of weed competition will reduce the size of your flowers dramatically. The people who plant the cheap bag of black oil sunflowers from Walmart would be looking at about 250 pounds of des production for acre at best. And it ms hard to get those flowers big enough to support the weight of a white wing. They will eat them
Off the ground but they prefer to land on the standing flower and pick the seeds out. I guess they feel safer up off the ground. I experimented this year with Browntop in one of my sunflower patches. It worked well to keep the weeds out when the Browntop dried and fell over. But the blackbirds are up the Browntop as quick as it was ripe. Plus it did too a good bit of size from my flower heads. Do not over seed, most think that you need to put 20 to 25 pounds per acre when planting. This will make very small flowers. A 25 pound bag of Clearfield Hybrid #3 size seed is 225,000 seeds. It will plant 10 acres perfectly. That is 2.5 pounds per acre. Doesn't sound like much I know, but talk about flowers bigger than your head! The bigger flowers take a little longer to cycle. Figure on 120 days to maturity from germination. I have seen 3 WW sitting on the same flower at once. Pecking away. When you do your 20 acres, do 10 in just Clearfield Hybrids. The best thing about them, they are Beyond resistant. A 1 gallon jug of Beyond is 500 bucks. But it kills grass and broadleaf. I like to spike it with a little Select Max as well. When your flowers start drying up, the ground underneath will be supper clean. I have a blast walking into a field with friends are family to shoot a limit of doves. But when you walk into a field that you planted and watch them
Poor in, it is so much more gratifying and makes it all worth it. And for those of you who would like to try it out, it doesn't take much land. I know several people who plant 1 acre sunflower fields and hunt 8 guns and harvest anywhere from 800 to 1000
Doves a year. True Story. If I can ever be of help to anyone interested in planting a dove plot, I would be more than happy to help out or offer advice. I would love to share my knowledge. The more plots we make, the easier life is for the doves. I don't spend time trying to find a way to cheat the system, I find ways to make the system work
For me. I spent many a season hoping the phone would ring with an invite for an opening day hunt, most times it never came. Now I can hunt whenever I want to. And I do t have to depend on anyone else. Now I'm the door getting knocked on. And if a stranger shows up and is respectful and especially if he is hunting with his son or daughter, they usually don't get told no if we are hunting that day. Good luck to all hunting tomorrow and be safe.

Mr. Buck, I don't know who you are, but you can hunt on my place anytime. Thank you for your courage to be respectful!

Lol
That's funny right there! Thanks for the laugh!

I don't know Sir. Why don't you tell me. Is it?

Doves like to land in the dirt Guy. They like to dust for mites and also need the grit. Not uncommon to kill doves in a completely plowed up field. Plus, there are seeds there as well. You may not see them, but the doves do. There is always a seed bank in the dirt waiting for the next rain to germinate. Oh how I wish it wasn't so. The money I have spent on herbicides over the years. Anyways, I have seen the tiniest little seeds in their craw. It's amazing how they find them things so well.