Staying Cool on the Farm

Hi all! We are expected to get some 80-90 degree weather this week! Whew! During hot 

days, most people tend to gravitate toward A/C chilled rooms and staying cool by the pool. 

So, what do we do to cool down our animals? Animals exposed to high temperatures are exposed to fatigue, loss of appetite, dehydration, loss of weight, decrease in productivity, illness, and even death. Keeping your animals cool and hydrated is the key to safely bringing them through those high temperatures. What follows is how we do things here on Edgington Farm.

For all of our animals we monitor how much they eat and drink. I water our animals 2-3 times a day on very hot and nasty days. One of the things we made sure of when building our coops and enclosures was to have both sun and shade. If your animals seem to be particularly fatigued, they may benefit from a dose of electrolytes in their water. Make sure your shelters are well ventilated and have circulation. We use a window and small fan in our chicken coop.  

Egg laying production can be completely halted on very hot days, especially if the hens are dehydrated or thirsty. I use 2 waterers in the coop on very hot days and I put extra water out in the yard if they are free ranging. Cold melons can be a very refreshing and hydrating treat for the chickens. Other special treats can be made like this ice wreath from the Fresh Eggs Daily blog. I've made it before in cake pans with equal success.

Pigs are notorious for being mucky and stinky. And that they are. But, slopping in mud serves a very special purpose. A pig's skin is tender. Lighter colored pigs are as susceptible to sunburn as people are! It is important for a pig to have access to mud and water so that it can coat itself in a protective layer. Our pot belly Bacon has already wallowed out is own favorite spots. I like to fill them up with water so he can take a refrshing dunk. They say mud baths are good for our skin too...

I like to provide our duck with a cool and shallow pool for him to swim in. I will be going to a larger pool soon so he can dive. The shallow one is fine though while he is still maturing.

Besides needing plenty of water and shade, our goats don't really need much special care. We water our plants in the mornings or evenings during dry spells to prevent them drying out and withering.

I also taught our two legged animal how to drink from the hose. I can promise that NOTHING tastes like water from the hose. It is wonderful!

Thanks for reading! Stay cool and hydrated on those hot days!

Just Ducky

Hi all. This is a post regarding some of my beginning experiences with raising our
6 mallard ducklings. We got these guys about three weeks ago when we got several other chicks. You can read about it here if you haven't read it yet.

Raising ducks is a lot like raising chicks, but there are some differences. You can find a lot of great info here at Basic Duckling Care-Raising Healthy Happy Ducks from Fresh Eggs Daily. The key differences are that ducklings need niacin and they do mature faster.

My own ecperience, and this is my first (and only) time raising ducklings. I originally had them in my nice chick brooder that Mitch built for me a while ago, but that didn't work out with the ducklings as nearly as well as it has my chicks. Ducks love playing in their water and tend to make a lot of mess with it. Add messy poo, and drooping bits of food in with the water between bites, and you've got yourself a ducking mess!!

All of this dirty water, duck poo, and food begin to get quite smelly, quite fast. One day I'm thinking this could use some cleaning soon. The next day, I'm gagging my butt off! I don't know if it's me being a newbie or it's just the way they are, but raising ducklings is not for the faint of heart!

I finally couldn't take it anymore and now our young ducklings are residing with our 2 goats. This will be hopefully only for the next couple of weeks until I feel comfortable enough to let them out in the yard. I have a shallow dish of water and food out for them,  along with a heat lamp. The goats don't seem to bother them and they all have plenty of space.

Ok, so that was my ugly truth about ducklings cautionary tale, now here's the cute stuff. It is so cute to see these little ducks frolic about in the water I provide for them. When they get out they shake their little duck butts. They follow one another pretty closely and walk around the whole pen in a cute little flock. They are adorable.

Thanks for reading!