Weather Condition Stress
Now that we are into the heat of the summer it can sure take its toll on your livestock. It doesn't matter if your animals are for breeding, show or family pets you need to make sure you are doing a few things to help keep them less stressed.
1. Water is the most important factor during our summer heat. Make sure they have plenty of water. I have to check water 2-3 times a day when it is hot to make sure they have plenty to drink. It is always wise to change the water out each time so it is cool and clean. Approximately 55% of a pigs body weight is water, imagine what damage can be done if they don't have enough water to keep them hydrated in this heat.
2. Shade is so important in this heat. For all the animals at the barn we make sure they have a way to get out of the heat of the day. For those of you that don't know the heat of the day is considered those super hot hours in the afternoon before the sun starts to set. If they can't get into a shady spot they will easily over heat and potentially become dehydrated. We make sure they have shade from a building or a way to get inside the barn. This is a little harder with the horses & cows, so we just make sure they are in a pasture that has some form of shade.
3. Cooling barns, if you are able to set up a cooling system for your barn (i.e. swamp cooler or AC units). Make sure you don't cause your animals the reverse effects from conditions too cold. You need to remember while this seems really nice for your animal if you are taking it to fair .... there will not be any AC units at fair. You also need to make sure your cooling unit is working properly and not blowing hot air onto your animals. In my barn I just wet down the ground during those hot afternoon hours so they can cool down. The pigs love this and will wait for me to show up. I don't do this with the goats, horses or cows they have fur to help regulate temperature and it is best to keep them dry.
Fair Stress
The transportation to fair is where the stress begins .... from there it can go all down hill if you don't do a few things to help your animal out.
1. Water ... Have I mentioned how important that is to your animals? A pig can loose up to 5% of its weight when stressed and if it goes past 15% of its weight it could die. I take water very seriously when it comes to transporting. Make sure your animal has access to water up to the very moment you load and then again when you unload.
2. Car Ride ... Or in our case truck & trailer ride. This will cause stress the very first time you do this. Anything you expose your animal to that he is not familiar with will cause anxiety for him. But particularly the unsteady feeling on your feet feeling they have with their first ride. We make sure to take all of our animals for at least one ride prior to hauling them to fair. This helps calm the nerves and they know what to expect when it is all over. And what every you do don't over crowd the ride - don't haul all your animals in one load if they won't comfortably fit in the vehicle. Hauling your animal has always seemed to be much tougher on the goats than an of our other animals.
3. Exposure .... What do I mean by this? Well several things. When they arrive at fair they are going to experience all types of exposures - to other animals, hoards of people, city water and a new pen. Stress city is going on inside your animal during this time. At the barn we always have people out looking at the animals - this helps with the people exposure. We also change them up in their pens at the barn - this helps them not stress when they leave their current roommate. Sometimes they have to spend a few weeks next to the pigs or by the cows. This helps everyone not freak out when their situation changes. There are a couple of tricks to the city water dilemma I will share with you a bit later. New pen, make sure you bring something familiar with them too their new pen. For me it is a watering device or feed dish. Also, I like to take them to a jackpot or 2 - this really helps calm the nerves when they get to do it again.
This is Lunch Box - at a jackpot in Colorado I went to in June.
Stress Tips
1. Water, Water, Water - Make sure they have some. Make sure it is clean and cool. Give it to them before and after transportation. Check it frequently. Your animal can go without food for a day or two but lack of hydration will kill him.
2. Exposure - Make sure you don't keep your animal in an isolation room. Let him see what is going on in the world before you thrust him into the fair world.
3. Electrolytes - What? This is my secret ingredient for all the animals. For the pigs we start electrolytes in their water about a week or so before fair (this also helps with the city vs. well water issue). With the goats we do the same. I don't show my cattle so I have never had to worry about this. Below is what we use for electrolytes -
Pigs - Gatorade - you may need to try different flavors but most of my pigs just love the stuff. Or you can buy an over the counter type of electrolytes.
Goats - Home Made - half gallon hot water / 2-6 TBSP un-sulfured blackstrap molasses, 1-2 TBSP sea salt, Epsom salt, baking soda or table salt / 1 cup apple cider vinegar - mix well and serve. You can also use over the counter electrolytes that come in paste of powder forms. With goats you can drench them with the electrolytes.
When and how do I do this. I usually start a week before the fair but at the very least the day before. I make sure they have some on board before loading, then I make sure they get them when we arrive. This way when they start to stress it doesn't cause more damage to their digestive tracks and they remain hydrated.
Hope these tips help. Can't wait to see everyone at fair. Make sure to follow me on FaceBook, I will be posting fair highlights as we go.
From My Barn to Yours -
Bradley
