It is officially hot and humid in Tucson. All of these pictures were taken this morning about 10 A.M. Each of the animal breeds tolerate and accommodate the heat in different ways. The geese have it the easiest with a pond/pool. We had to wait for the goslings to be large enough to not drown before we could fill the pool. We have placed it under a tree, so they get shade, the pool does not get gross from algae, and the tree gets soaked when we empty the pool.
Joshua is always sitting in the sun, so he must not feel the heat. His wool is now about 3.5 inches long and must be insulating.
Most of the Shetland sheep take cover under trees. In the background, there is a structure with shade cloth. The cloth does not even last a whole summer. Last year's cloth is disintegrating and will be replaced by a new solid structure.
The chickens did deeper to get to the cooler surface. They also tend to pluck their feathers.
The angora rabbits get fans and bowls of water. One of Cadbury's bowls is always empty. I have caught different rabbits putting their front paws in the water as a means of cooling down. If it is not a heavy bowl, it will get dumped eventually like the stainless steel bowl has been.
The white doe is by far the friendliest. She was all of the way in their bowl this morning. The rest tend to crowd in front of the fans. Since it has been so hot, I have left the fans running all night. Everyone says to try the 2 liter from soda bottle. The rabbits tend to move as far as they can from them, so I quit using them.
Geoffrey is enjoying the mister that Marc set up earlier. Brillo and Emmy usually are sitting with their faces in one of the sprays.
You can tell that the angora goats are too hot when their mouths are hanging open and they are breathing rapidly. These goats are standing under the mister hanging from two trees.
A sprinkler, weighted down by the tire, is running under a few trees in the main pen. Absinthe and her two kid bucks are not shy about getting wet. I just missed getting a photo of 10 of the white goats all crowded around it.
Goats are smart opportunists. When the mister between two trees is on, the faucet drips. We have decided to not put a washer in the hose to correct it, since it gives the goats another place to get cool. Dark Chocolate is standing so the water drips over her horns - the goats regulate their body temperatures through their horns and ears. Dairy goats that have been disbudded have been done a disservice!We humans are enjoying the pool. It is solar heated and now 95 degrees!
1 comment:
This is when I get determined to leave Tucson one day. One of my horses begs me to spray her with water every evening. Of course, I do! They also roll in the dirt a lot more in the summer, does it help keep them cooler? My pool has been overrun with frogs and desert toads, I'm always scooping them out.
Yuck.
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