How do the Barnyard Critters do in the Extreme Heat Wave?
But normally our chickens, ducks, cows, goats, etc. don’t have the luxury of coming inside to cool off. How do we keep them from being heat stressed during an extended period of super hot days? First, it is important to not overreact. Animals tend to handle the heat better than people do. Animals will take their activity level down a few notches and be less active during the heat of the day. This morning my goats were ready to take a siesta around 10:30 AM as the temperature climbed past 80 degrees.
Here are some steps we take on our farm to lesson heat stress on the flocks and herds.
1. Supply some shade. In the chicken area, we hung a tarp over a corner of the fencing and put a roost bar under it. If you are going to be nearby the coop in the evening, leaving the door open until dusk will help the coop cool down. Of course weigh this against any predator threat.
2. Place water pan in the shade and a pan of food, too. This gives the chickens a place to go that is not in the sunlight and not in the coop which can also keep heat in.
3. Inside the coop, I make sure the water is not getting too warm. A fan keeps air circulating, which keeps the heat from building. Frequent checks to make sure the young pullets in the grow out pen are not over heating will help too. I have a crate ready to move them to the shade outside if the temperature climbs too high, but they are safer where they are in the building. A lot of things on a farm are a tradeoff aren’t they?
4. If possible, avoid cleaning around the animals during the heat of the day. Allow them to rest and sleep through it.
5. For herd animals like cows, sheep and goats, place their hay in the shadier area. We don’t have much grazing area and our ruminants are fed mostly hay. So I can adjust where I put the hay to keep them a bit cooler. This is not the time to chase an unwilling goat or sheep around to do a hoof trim or any other maintenance care. Wait for a cooler time.
this particular year, shearing was delayed due to heavy rains so it was very important to keep the sheep calm and near some shade
6. Treat the flock to something cool like watermelon when available. It’s sweet taste, vitamins, minerals and water content will help them endure the hot temperatures. You can also make a large flock Popsicle by
filling a container with water, adding herbs and greens and freezing it. Place the frozen treat out in the shade and watch them chip away at the icy treat.
one hot chick! notice the wings being held away from the body to cool down a little
7. Our rabbits enjoy a frozen water bottle to cozy up to during a heat wave. Make sure that there water is in a shady spot and provide a place where they can cool down lying on the dirt or a cooling mat.
8. Don’t over feed grain during a heat wave. The extra energy in grain can make the animals even hotter. I cut back the amount they get during the summer months.
Plan Ahead to Ward off Heat Exhaustion and Heat Stroke
As with any good management practice, heading off a problem before it happens can lead to a happier end for all. If you take steps to keep your animals cool before they show signs of heat stress, you have a better chance of your flock and herd surviving an extreme heat wave.
If you have any tricks or tips to keeping your farm animals cool during an extreme heat wave, please share!
We also have a sprinkler on “light” so that it is just misting. We set it next to the waterers so that when the birds get a drink, they also get a cooling mist.
I’ve been paying close attention to what NASA has been saying about the planets heating up in our Solar System now for 10 years. Being the curious person that I am I began researching this issue and what I found out led me to the homesteading life that I live now.
Knowing, also, that our planet, too, would experience extreme heat, cold and wind we built our animal structures sturdy and as weather proof as possible. We placed the structures under large shade trees and made sure that I gave them the best tree on the property in their grazing/scratching/relaxing area, the 150 year old weeping willow.
I took the advice of Lisa to hose down the roof of the buildings when it gets too hot. I also do this in their relaxing area under the willow.
I have three windows in the chicken coop and will probably add a fourth for cross ventilation and comfort for those hard working ladies. For the goat shed we made a dutch door for the purpose of keeping the top half open all night ( our place is completely fenced ) and made sure to leave plenty of ventilation in the eaves.
The more we know the better we can prepare and make sure that those hard working farm friends are well cared for. They deserve no less.
Thanks for sharing your tip with us Heather
Great tips. I hope you will share this with us today at The HomeAcre Hop.
http://summersacres.blogspot.com/2013/06/the-homeacre-hop-22.html
We use fans, have big jugs that have frozen water in them and set them in the coop and a few in front of the fan. It seems to cool things down a bit and the chickens like lay next to the frozen water jugs.
Lots of great tips. My chickens have a shaded area they can go to and we make sure we check their water frequently. I also feed them watermelon. Our goats have shade in their shed. We we used to have rabbits we would put a frozen water bottle in with them.
I retreat to the basement to stay cool and run fans, drink plenty of fluids and at homemade popsicles.
We let our hen gang to free range when its not raining out and they get to perch on low tree branches in much shade. I have been putting extra water sources near them and checking the temp of the water every few hours. Putting ice cubes into the water really helps and setting out frozen peas, which the chickens eats frozen and when defrosted.
That’s a good point not to feed them too much grain. I tried watermelon, they looked at me like I was nuts though 🙂