When heat indices near or surpass triple digits – like it has this week – it becomes dangerous for many animals (including farm animals) and stressful for farmers committed to ensuring the health and welfare of their livestock.
Rabbits, in particular, have difficulty with high temperatures (hmm…maybe that fur coat of theirs?). We’ve noticed that the rabbits in our outdoor tractors do well even when it’s very hot because breezes blow right through their living quarters, and they’re on moisture-holding grass. Their houses and the tractor roofs also provide shade. We also check their water bottles to ensure they have water, especially important on hot days. Continue reading “Keeping Animals Cool In The Heat”
The second group of incubator ducklings (the “gang of five”) has been spending time among the juveniles and adult ducks. It’s entertaining to watch their interactions with the older ducks and drakes. The ducklings are quick to defend their territory against intruders (the curious adults and teens), “biting” back at exploring bills poked through the exercise pen. Good thing wire separates them.
The adult Muscovies have been lodging in the chicken coop for the past couple of weeks. It’s amazing that they knew it was time to leave the small coop to Phoebe, who only has a week to go until hatch day; one evening, we went to round everyone up and we discovered that the adults had all just moved into the chicken coop. Clever creatures. Phoebe’s in the “grumpy broody” phase, and they must have known it was coming.
Our second duckling hatch resulted in a disappointing hatch rate. Of 9 eggs that made it to lockdown, only 5 survived the hatch. Several possible factors include a power failure during incubation, fluctuating humidity (due to weather), and a crappy hatcher that caused us a lot of grief with large, inexplicable temperature swings. We used a great incubator by a well-known brand for the actual incubation and then moved the eggs to the hatcher (incubator) at lockdown. The eggs were only in the hatcher for the final 3 days, but it certainly didn’t help. The #%*!! hatcher was sent back and a more expensive incubator with a digital thermostat will arrive shortly.