When it gets above 90 degrees most animals will require your help if they are to survive, for all animals it's important to check on them as often as possible, preferably at least three times a day.
If you work away from home and are unable to check on them in the middle of the day it's a good idea to get an automatic waterer, www.premier1supplies.com sells a large variety of automatic waterers, that way you can focus on work and not worry about your animals tipping a bucket over or running out of water.
Most animals however require more than a full water bucket to survive in extreme heat. Below is what the animals that we have require:
Goats
Goats can tolerate the heat very well, provided they have plenty of water and shade. If your goats seem to be struggling to keep cool check to make sure their shelter is not blocking the wind, ventilation is VERY important especially when it's hot and humid.
Some people shear their goats in the warm months, this will especially help goats with longer fur. Another tip, goats with horns tolerate heat much better than dehorned goats, it is thought that their horns help regulate body temperature.
Chickens
You can give chickens a shallow tray filled with water or a gently running hose to cool off in, the chickens enjoy walking in it and cooling their toes off. Making sure your chickens are not overcrowded also helps to keep the temperature down.
Pigs
Pigs need a wallow in the hotter months, we use a plastic sand box for a wallow, if you do not provide your pigs with a wallow, they will make their own by dumping out their water dish leaving themselves without any water to drink.
Rabbits
Most people imagen that rabbits simply cannot be outside in the summer, we can keep our rabbits outdoors all summer as long as we keep misters running from about 9:30 in the morning until about 5:30 in the afternoon.
The rabbits do not mind getting wet at all in fact they seem to enjoy it, also it really helps if the rabbits can be on the ground, they will dig in the dirt to help cool themselves further.
Ducks
As long as ducks have a clean source of water to swim in and shade, they are usually fine.
If an animal is left too long without water, they will get dehydrated, and if they get too hot, they could get heat stroke.
Heat stroke occurs when the animal's body's cooling system is completely overwhelmed and stops working. Heat stroke is a life-threatening emergency.
Some signs of heat stroke include confusion, trouble breathing, vomiting, or seizures.
If you think an animal is experiencing heat stroke it is important to cool their body temperature down as quickly as possible, for small animals such as, rabbits, baby goats, piglets, and birds you can bring them inside and apply cold packs (frozen peas, ice etc.) until normal temperature returns.
It is up to you to decide if you want to have a vet see your animal later.
For large animals experiencing heat stroke running a cold hose and applying cold packs on them is usually the best most of us can do.
Most animals can tolerate heat well, so long as they have fresh water, shade and the ability to cool themselves down in a wallow, misters etc. In most species of animals there are breeds that can tolerate the heat better than other breeds, so if you live in a hot state choosing one of these breeds will make your summer chores easier.
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