Summertime in Sanctuary: Keeping the Animals Safe
It’s no secret that we reached record-level high temperatures worldwide this past week. Here at the Sanctuary, we’ve been experiencing temperatures as high as 100˙F this week, with high humidity levels making it feel even hotter. What do these high temperatures mean for our rescued residents, though?
Keeping our residents cool is our top priority in the summer season. Here are a few examples of what we do to ensure the safety and comfort of our rescued farmed animals:
Summer Snacks
What’s better than a fresh slice of watermelon on a hot summer day? This popular melon fruit is a favorite amongst many of our residents but especially loved by the pigs and chickens! On average, we go through about 100 watermelons each summer. You read that right, 100 whole watermelons!
Another snack that we will occasionally give out on especially hot days are frozen popsicles! Don’t believe us? Click here to see Antonio the pig snack on a berry popsicle! Just another yummy (and adorable) way of keeping our residents cool. Some residents, however, can’t eat these types of popsicles so we make our own using water and either corn or blueberries that our turkey and chicken residents love.
Fans
We have many fans set up in all the barns to ensure that there is good air flow, especially on days where there isn’t as much wind. We’ll often see the goats and sheep taking their daytime naps right in front of the fans. It may mean higher electricity bills for us, but our residents are worth it.
Water
Time for a pool party! But for real, we actually of have pools for our residents, specifically our turkey residents! Not only do they love taking a dip in the heat but they also love their sprinklers. Great for watering the plants and cooling down turkeys like Tai. Want to visit us this summer and see turkey sprinklers in action? Click here to buy your tickets for a Saturday tour!
Tai enjoying a nice summer day by their pool.
Although it may not technically be a pool, we also have wallows in our pig areas, most of them dug out instinctually by the pigs themselves! In the summer time, we make sure all the wallows are filled up with cool water so the pigs can go for a dip. As you may already know, the mixture of the water and the dirt naturally creates mud! Mud is not only a wonderful way our pig residents stay cool but once the mud dries, it makes for a wonderful natural sunscreen and insect repellant!
Just like humans, all of our residents also have to stay hydrated this time of year. To ensure that, we have water stations set up all around the sanctuary that automatically refill with fresh cool drinking water. Yep, that means no one will be left without water!
Sunscreen
Why is sunscreen on the list? Because we actually use it on some of our residents, specifically pigs! But didn’t we just mention that mud is a natural sunscreen for pigs? Yes! While mud is incredible for blocking the suns harmful UV rays, pigs unfortunately aren’t able to evenly apply this everywhere, especially more sensitive sunburn-prone spots like their ears. This is why we make sure to apply a thick even coat on all of our pig’s ears, as added protection from the sun.
Antonio cooling down in his wallow on a hot summer day.
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