The heat index has things close to 100 degrees Fahrenheit this afternoon, and it makes me grateful that we have utilized the central air conditioning here in the house, because WOW is it a scorcher outside! It’s been pretty hot for several days in a row now, to the point where the water in our pool was almost 90 degrees last night at 8:00 p.m. – hardly refreshing, considering that the air was cooler than the water! (Only by two degrees, but still!) Fortunately, thunderstorms are en route, and will cool things down a bit for the weekend – if one considers mid-eighty degree weather cool.
When we lived in the city, we had only ourselves and our dog Loki to consider during summer heat waves. But now, we have livestock and vegetables and must insure their health as well. I watered the garden earlier this morning, and am looking forward to the impending rain loosening the soil up so that I can weed on Friday, because those buggers are like the Sandpeople (Tusken Raiders) on Tatooine – they are easily uprooted, but they’ll soon be back, and in greater numbers.
Keeping the animals cool is tricky, because in the case of the chickens, they do not have the ability to sweat. It’s essential to provide them with plenty of drinking water, which we do, but even then, they’ll still walk around panting and holding their wings out, with a look in their eyes that says, “I’m schvitzin’ like a shmendrek here!” Oh, how they wish they could schvitz.
The goats are definitely showing their irritation with the heat, too. They are panting and not eating as much, which is something goats naturally do, in an attempt to help regulate their body temperature by cutting back on the energy required for digestion. I can relate – if the A/C wasn’t on here in the house, I wouldn’t have much of an appetite myself.
So, what to do for the poor dears? We’ve put ice cubes in their waterers in an attempt to keep the water cooler for longer, but even that seems inadequate. In an effort to help them cool down, I used the garden hose, along with the mist and shower settings on the spray nozzle to give everyone an good wetting down. How do they like it, you ask?
Well, none of them are crazy about it, if I’m honest. But, they weren’t completely terrified to the point of fleeing in a panic, either. I think they were more annoyed that it’s come to having the hose turned on them than anything else.
I did notice that the goat girls were much more frisky and eager to take a walk after they had cooled off in the water, though. We went along the front tree line in order to take advantage of the shade there, along with some dried maple leaves and other assorted fresh goodies that they enjoy.
I’m on the hunt for an industrial fan that we can use in the barn for the goats, and we are devising a plan for some kind of a misting system for the chickens. In the meantime, the method I used this afternoon was effective, and I’ll continue to employ it!
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