I am supposed to bring my ducks to Fair next week. Except it is supposed to be 95 degrees. Should I still do it?! I can give them Valerian, a calming herb. And I can put them in a pool there. And I can have fans on them. Do you think it will stress them too much? please give me your opinion!
I personally wouldn't do it, but of course it's up to you. My three ducks are like family to me, and I wouldn't want them to be uncomfortable or risk catching a disease from the large amount of other birds there. But I don't think badly of those who take their birds to shows. I just know that *I* have no interest in it.
I'm taking mine to fair next week, and its supposed to be just as hot. if your fair is anything like ours, then they will be inside a building, aka shade. I have brought mine to fair for the past 4 years, not once have i ever had any problems, nor have I ever seen any other people have problems.
No. Not worth it. Everytime I go to the fair it breaks my heart to see those birds caged up when its 110 degrees there in the shade. They have installed about 200 some fans around the fair grounds in the open barns where they keep the animals. Last year I saw some Call Ducks and was tempted to see if I could find the owners of them because they looked Horrible! The feathers looked like Crap and they didn't have any water or food and the hen was oh so cute! I of course bring a little Flock raiser in bucket and some bottled waters and keep them in a cooler and I walk back and forth to make sure they all have feed and water. I still can't see why they have fairs, they are fun but not fun for the animals. Steping off my Soap Box now.
I'm not sure it's worth it. I'm a former 4-H leader and I think the animals suffer. The stress of being away from home and out of a normal routine plus having to put up with a lot of noisy strangers and being kept up later than normal is bad enough...add the heat wave and to me it's a deal breaker. With that being said...all fair grounds and exhibit areas are not created equal. If you have a wonderful set-up at your fair grounds and you feel confident that you can make your birds and animals comfortable - go for it. I would be checking on them and providing a lot of fresh, cool water as often as possible. I used a lot of frozen jugs of water to help keep our cages cool - especially for our bunnies - we used them for poultry as well but they didn't snuggle up to the frozen jugs like the bunnies did. Joni
