SWEATY ANIMALS.
So, I don’t want to jinx it or anything, but it is SUPPOSED to rain in the next few days (I am knocking on wood as I type this, just in case). And as much as we are looking forward to this possibility, we are also hoping for a drop in the temperature! As uncomfortable as this heat wave has been for Jesse and I, it has been truly hard on the animals. I had to skip the delivery this week, simply because the animals need constant attention. By early afternoon, the rabbits need ice rubbed on their ears until they revive. We freeze bottles of water and lay the delirious rabbits on top of them. The chickens need new water every hour or so and huddle in the shade, panting and holding their wings out to the sides for ventilation. Poor guys! I feel terrible, wishing I could explain to them, apologize. We ourselves don’t have air conditioning, so I can do little to lessen the heat for them. I can only provide fresh water, fan them, ice them, and hope for a break.
Even the bees are struggling! Early evenings, they can be seen “bearding” on the hives. Bearding is what occurs when the bees are too hot - the bees huddle along the outside front of the hive. Hives need to maintain a temperature of 90 to 95 degrees, but when they OVERheat, the bees come outside the hive to lower the temperature, fanning their wings and creating ventilation. This usually occurs at night, when all the bees are inside the hive and it is more crowded then midday, when half the bees are out working the fields. For our hives, this has been happening pretty much EVERY night. I added empty super to the hives, and some extra vents on the top, but it is hard to compete with these temperatures.
Is it fall yet?!
- Hannah.
