How to Plant Rice for Waterfowl

Drain the mudflat or pond to less than 12 inches of water by digging a ditch into a retaining pond in late fall or early spring.

Select a species of rice. Wild rice or varieties of Oryza sativa such as Cocodrie or Wells are suitable for waterfowl ponds.

Place the rice seed in the bucket and add enough water to cover the seed with 4 inches of water. Leave the seed in the water for 8 hours.

Scoop any floating seeds out of the water and dispose of them, as they are infertile.

Pour the rice seeds into a pillowcase and leave the rice in the pillowcase for 4 hours to allow the water to seep out.

Broadcast the rice seed over the shallow water by grabbing handfuls of soaked seed and throwing it out over the pond.

Broadcast urea over the water using a hand-turn broadcaster. Fill the top of the broadcaster, set the angle of the spout to throw the urea over the water where you need it and turn the crank handle while walking along the edge of the pond as you go.

Dam the channel you cut to allow the water to flow out of the pond by pushing the dirt back into the ditch you dug. Pump the water back into the pond to 2 inches depth.

Pump more water into the pond after the rice has germinated and grown to an inch or more. Fill the pond to between 1 and 4 feet of water. Maintain the water above 1 foot all year long in the south. In the north, you can allow the water level to fall after the waterfowl migrate in the fall so that you can reseed. You can reseed either in the late fall just before the first freeze, or in the early spring.