Keeping Chicks Cool at the Fair

has made the opening afternoon of the Fredericksburg Agricultural Fair a scorcher. But for hundreds of show animals attending the fair, the heat could prove deadly. 

Officials managing the rabbit and chicken barns have taken particular cautions to make sure the animals on display make it through the event. Exhibitors are being asked to bring their animals in later in the evening to avoid the heat. Still, perhaps two dozen fowl were already inside the long exhibit barn around 4 p.m., with temperatures in the high 90s and a heat index past the century mark. 

Chickens are very vulnerable to the heat, says Brigitte Cain whose helping administer the 4-H chicken contest. The birds already inside were all taking deep breaths with their mouths open and holding their wings out to try and circulate air around their bodies. 

"Literally, it'll get so hot that they'll stroke out," said Cain. "Just like a human, they will have a stroke if it gets too hot."

To help keep the animals cool the exhibit hall features fans to circulate the air. The birds were being cooped one by one to help improve airflow within the cages. Also, the chickens won't be fed until after the sun goes down. As a chicken digests food, it generates heat which can push an already hot bird into unhealthy territory. If the bird happens to like corn, then it will have to do without. According to Cain, corn generates the most heat as it is digested. 

Next door at the Circle C petting zoo, Sharon Cook says she's keeping her animals cool with lots of fans and an automatic watering system. Her menagerie contains two camels which are perhaps better suited for these temperatures. Still, the heat didn't prevent her goats from panting and crowding around the watering holes She also has two large tortoises which have dug their shells into the ground, exposing a cooler surface.