With record breaking temperatures hitting many parts of the U.S. this week, anyone with livestock has probably been anxiously watching them to make sure they are surviving the heat. So, here are a few tips:
- WATER! Keep cool water available at all times! Dehydration is the main killer in hot weather. If you find an animal unable to stand, pinch its skin, and if it is not as elastic as usual, it could be dehydrated. Offer it water immediately.
- Keep the water trough or bucket in the shade so that it does not get heated up by the sun. In addition to keeping animals hydrated, drinking water can also help cool them down if it is cooler than the air temperature.
- Keep an especially close eye on older animals or those who might be slowed down by a heavy parasite load or other illness. If they are not particularly energetic, they may not make enough trips to the water trough and wind up getting dehydrated.
- Make sure animals have access to s
hade. - Don’t leave animals in buildings that get hot. This is especially a problem with metal barns. Whenever temperatures are greater than 90 degrees on our farm, we make sure no one is in the barn because the temperature in there is always much higher.
- If you have pigs, make sure they have a mud hole. Because they don’t sweat, they need to have an external source of cooling off, and mud seems to be their favorite. We’ve offered ours a sprinkler in the past, but they never ventured into it. They love laying in the pond however!
A good reminder for everyone!
I was always told ruminants should not have cool water…. that it should be room temp or warm. What are your thought on this?
When I say cool water, I am NOT saying to put ice cubes in it. I’m saying that you should not use the hot water from a hose that’s been sitting in the sun all day. Cool water is what comes out of my well at 55 degrees F, which they drink all the time with no issues. They’ve never had anything cooler than that.
I’m thinking that after I let the hot water run outta our hose that our water is cooler then 55 degrees, what if it is cooler then 55? I’m gonna check with a thermometer
It doesn’t matter if it’s cooler. You just don’t want to offer them hot water because they are less likely to drink it.
Any tips for traveling with goats? Work requires a trip from GA to CO early-mid September.
Without having any details about the trip, I can’t really provide much info, although I can say that you should NOT let goats out of their trailer on the trip. There have been a lot of goats lost at rest areas through the years.
And make sure all water troughs, tanks, containers are clean. Anytime I see any algae, dirt, slime I wait until the water is less than 1/2 full (if it’s a big trough or tank) dump water & scrub with a scrubber, refill so my babies have fresh clean water, that’s so important also!