Goat Daddy’s Farm and Animal Sanctuary owners said they must ensure the animals are cool 24 hours a day as temperatures rise.
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ELGIN, S.C. — As temperatures hit 100 degrees, Goat Daddy’s Farm and Animal Sanctuary has worked tirelessly to keep its animals cool.
“This year has been pretty bizarre,” said farm manager Jonas Verwers. “The first thing we do for all animals here, especially in this heat, is frequently changing waters, so for the animals, we will change water three to five times a day.”
Verwers said all the different animals, from baby goats to pot-belly pigs to alpacas, require different attention.
“Pigs are definitely a big one; they need to stay super, super cool and often what that looks like is ensuring they have a mud hole 24/7,” he said. “Additionally, we have misters set up on our aviaries like our blue and gold macaw and our small bird aviaries. For some animals like the kinkajous that are from South America, we will throw ice packs inside enclosures like that to help keep them cool throughout the day.”
While they use automatic water fillers for most animals, the heat has gotten so intense that they must check every four hours to ensure the hoses aren’t running hot water.
“It’s pretty much hands-on; someone has to be on deck 24 hours,” Verwers said.
Verwers said the heat has caused them to see increased electricity costs from running fans at all hours.
