Ohiofarmgirl's Adventures in The Good Land is largely a fish out of water tale about how I eventually found my footing on a small farm in an Amish town. We are a mostly organic, somewhat self sufficient, sustainable farm in Ohio. There's action and adventure and I'll always tell you the truth about farming.


Friday, June 29, 2012

How Hot Was It?

This is what happens when it gets to be 100* (actual not heat index).....

It was so hot yesterday that the goose exploded......

Actually Cindy is just molting.

Then the dog exploded.....

Really Dog #1 and #2 are blowing their coats. I combed them out in the garden to ward off varmints.

And this chicken's feathers went flying off....

I have no excuse for this gal. She just looks bad.

But at least the ducks found some fun in the sprinkler.

The ducks were happily sitting in the spray until I walked up on them.

All joking aside, hot weather is tough on the barnyard. When it gets to be about 100* the poultry start dying. Its a tough go for sure.

To handle the heat around here we keep everyone hydrated, run a sprinkler in the hen yard, and hose off the hen house a couple times during the day to cool it off. We have tons of buckets of water, let everyone out early, and keep the doors of the poultry house open as long as possible at night. Of course dusk and dawn are prime predator times so keep a watchful eye out for varmints.

You can read more here about how to handle the heat. The best old timer's advice is always, "Give them the right tools, then let them handle it."

Stay cool, friends, looks like this weather pattern is here to stay for a while!

Happy Friday!


9 comments:

Robin said...

It's so hot here that Alvin is actually in the house!

It looks like you are doing a dandy job keeping everyone cool! So, how much time do you spend under the water sprinkler???

Damummis said...

Harumph! As dig out my long sleeve t-shirts and rain gear, again. Stay cool girl. Block of ice and a fan?

Jody said...

It's 97 degrees and climbing right now. Yikes! What will July and August bring?

Tami said...

You always make me laugh. Not about your poultry dying, but you have to admit exploding gees and dogs is pretty freakin funny...

David said...

Interesting that the storm cell the swpwt through Chicagoland held together all th r way to your digs - Hope everyone is OK. The heats on again today.

Chai Chai said...

....so hot that I burnt two of my fingers just opening this post!

Hope you get your power back soon and that your place didn't suffer any damage.

gardenvariety-hoosier said...

If there's a good thing to say about the 100+ heat: it's too hot for the deerflies. Usually they attack in waves when I walk out the door, but on Thursday (104 here)nothing.

Veggie PAK said...

The goose exploded! That's a good one!
Your animals are fortunate to have you caring for them. I'm sure they appreciate the extra care on hot days.

Avery Smithkin said...

I know all about "exploding dogs". I had those piles of fur on my blog - http://www.randomactsofdog.com/2011/11/goodness-gracious-great-balls-of-fur.html

you have a interesting site!

And we're still recovering from the heat and power loss in Virginia and Maryland. Nasty storm!

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