Keeping ducks in the desert

[desertdarlene]

It may sound strange, but people do that. It can get over 110 dry degrees for days and most desert dwellers don't have a pond on their property all year around.

I was wondering if there's anyone here that lives in the desert all year who keeps waterfowl?

How do you house them? Do you have any kind of air conditioning where they're kept? What kind of special requirements do they need? How much do you spend on temperature control each year?

How about ordering them through the mail? Is it OK to order them in the summer? Are they kept at the post office until you pick them up (the post office in the town where I would like to move to has AC)? Any other requirements for ordering ducklings in small desert towns? Is it better to order them in the spring or fall?

***I should add that coyotes are the "town dog" there, so tips on coyote proofing would also be helpful***

 

[treldib]

Oh I have experience with all of this....solution = LOTS of ice in their kiddie pool and waterer. Also, a good guard dog will keep the Coyotes far away...they're such pathetic little things around here, very very skinny and quite skittish.

 

[katharinad]

A covered area with good air circulation. Water misters for those really hot days over 100 degrees. Kiddie pools.

 

[desertdarlene]

I don't know if you're familiar with the Borrego Springs area. Coyotes are everywhere, even in the middle of the daytime. People there, believe it or not, keep those big Pyrenees dogs with their thick hair and everything for livestock guards!

 

[love_a_duck]

Oh, desertdarlene,

You're gonna do it? Yay!
What kinda ducks ya gonna get?
This is so exciting.

Maybe the great pyrenees can be shaved down?
I don't know, they are beautiful dogs.
A friend had one, and she looked miserable in the Michigan summer.
Old English Sheepdog? Shaved down?

oh, ducks, ducks, ducks!

Beth

 

[desertdarlene]

Quote:
I'm mostly in the planning stage and I've been planning this for a very long time. I want to move to this town, but I have to be able to make a living there, so it hasn't happened, yet. I am just trying to get an idea as to whether it's possible if I move there and keep ducks at the same time. I go there regularly, though. It's an affordable area to live, but there are no jobs. I could get a house with a good sized-lot if I had the money and the means to maintain it. I am an artist and writer and if I could make money doing that, I could move there. There's a lot of other artists out there, too.

I could raise quail there, too.

 

[Bryanccfshr]

I live in the 4 crners region and my ducks pen hasseveral juniper treesfor shade. THey have a couple of pools and decent fencing. I have Coyotes in the area but for some reason they don't come near my property(I have an electrical right of way and am a corner lot with the lot ehind me havin a big bull mastiff living there)

My highs have reached 100 a couple of times this summer but they manage in the shade and do just fine . Recently the monsoons started and my 7 ducks partied like rockstars. Now that the highs barely reach 90 and the lows are in the 50's the ducks are more active. I have 3 pekins, 3 runners and a Buff Drake I thought was a duck but he's a definate drake now.

 

[desertdarlene]

Quote:
That's pretty neat. This year, there hasn't been much of a monsoon in our deserts as there usually is. Some of the properties in the area do have trees, but many do not. If I buy a house, I could plant some tall desert plants (but they might have thorns on them) for shade.

There are housing areas that are heavily shaded and near golf courses, but the lots are too small for keeping poultry. Plus, those homes are more expensive and don't have the "desert" feel to them that I want when I move out there.

 

[love_a_duck]

sending the artist money making vibe your way.
you keep planning, plans lead to action.
you can do this.

 

[desertdarlene]

Quote:
Thanks! I can definitely use all the artist moneymaking vibe I can possibly get these days.