Nervous newbie

[swampfox440]

Welcome to BYC! good luck with your adventure.

 

[sourland]

Good morning, Sarah, and welcome to BYC. Good luck in establishing and maintaining your flock.

 

[Sarah8]

Hello, Sarah, and welcome to BYC! Glad you joined.
I currently keep a flock of chickens but grew up with a massive flock of ducks. Both kept in NY.
In my limited experience, chickens are easier to keep. Ducks need water and you are in a very dry area. That isn't a very good combination. And as has been mentioned, ducks are far messier than chickens.
As long as you provide dense shade over soil that can be kept damp, chickens do just fine in the heat.
I do vacation since having my birds but I hire my nephew to care for them when I'm gone. The flock is tended to by him in the same manner I care for them so they do just fine. I also keep an eye on things with security cameras. I also avoid vacationing during extreme weather or when broody season is in full swing so that I am here to deal with those issues myself.
If you select the right breeds for your environment, you can enjoy a new flock of chickens or ducks. Good luck.

I guess my concern about chickens is that being a healthcare worker means I have long shifts to where I can’t always be home for weather events… and several of my friends lost their chickens despite putting every effort into keeping them cool (people lost power or don’t have AC, and it was 110 Fahrenheit on a stretch of days last summer).
If my ducks had a large pool- like one to swim in, I would think that would be enough for them? W/ ice blocks in it possibly to cool them down in water also. Do ducks do poorly in very dry heat, worse than chickens? There is no way to keep any ground damp around here even with shading.
I’m a huge animal lover- so it goes w/o saying that no one would be left w/o getting checked on. But I also am researching for the fact that I need to feel okay leaving them and trusting that their needs are being met through the day etc.
thanks for offering up your experience.

 

[416bigbore]

Hello Sarah and welcome to BYC. You found an Amazing Poultry Community to be a part of, with many knowledgeable members who are willing to help you along your journey with any questions you may have. Enjoy

 

[cmom]

I don't personally have any ducks but have friends that do. Predators will kill ducks too. I have large covered pens for my birds due to losses from predators in the past. I made rain/shade tables for my birds to get under. They love them. You will find a lot of good information here Good luck and have fun...

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Obviously- I wasn’t asking about any of that because I didn’t have questions regarding it, as I am very aware of that need. Haha.

That's good to know!