# Keeping Goats cool!



## Talron (Nov 17, 2013)

I have a alpine and a alpine mix. Was 100 degrees today so I hosed them down to cool them off. I was wondering if this is okay to do? I dont really have another way of keeping them cool and they really seemed to like it just sat there and let me. I really need to get electricity to my barn so they can have a fan. 
Anyone have any other ideas on how to keep them cool on these really hot days? They do have shade trees but they looked miserable.


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## canyontrailgoats (Jan 4, 2014)

You can put a block of ice in their water bucket to keep it cool, or just leave the block out in a bowl for them to lick and lay by.


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## Talron (Nov 17, 2013)

Ohhh thats a really good Idea. Time to fill some containers with water and make huge ice cubes. xD


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## Chadwick (Jan 24, 2014)

You can split a metal pot, just a warning.......I did in a sauce pot like that!


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Just water their legs and bellies. I would also put out water with electrolytes in it.


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## Talron (Nov 17, 2013)

I'm just using plastic tupper ware containers for now. You must have a huge freeze to fit a pot in it lol!

I'm not sure where I'd get electrolytes to add to their water I have probios with those in it could I give that to them instead?


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## Chadwick (Jan 24, 2014)

Yeah, I'm a campground manager!

If the Tupperware is older than the 90s it has BPA in the plastic that will leach into the ice. And the goats will drink it.

Wife is a Tupperware lady!


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## canyontrailgoats (Jan 4, 2014)

Look up the "homemade electrolytes" thread, there are lots of good recipes you can use. If you have molasses, Apple cider vinegar and salt, you can make a basic electrolyte mix.


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## MsScamp (Feb 1, 2010)

Talron said:


> Anyone have any other ideas on how to keep them cool on these really hot days?


Leave their horns on them. That is one of the purposes of horns - to dissipate heat and help keep the goat cool. My horned girls are usually out sunning in 100 degree temps, while my girls who were disbudded before I got them are hiding in the shade panting with their tongues hanging out.


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## Suntoo (Nov 14, 2013)

As long as they have shade and water they should be fine.

Just make sure they have access to shade,
plenty of water (ice is excellent!)
and hosing them down is really good too.

A nice cold, wet rag wrapped around the base of their horns helps cool them off quickly too. Also an icy wet rag rubbed under the belly can be welcome!

We get up to 110-120* in the summer. I put a little baby wading pool out for my dog (and dump ice in it for her when it's really hot) but the goats would probably poop in it.

It's a much bigger problem if your animal is used to being comfortable indoors and then is forced to be out in the heat.


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## MsScamp (Feb 1, 2010)

Suntoo said:


> We get up to 110-120* in the summer.


Oh ick to the 120 degrees! :shocked: I will pass, thank you very much! I think the hottest it has ever been here is 115 and that was flat out miserable!


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## SeventeenFarms (Dec 10, 2013)

not sure if it'd work for goats but dont see why not- but on hot days i add poweraide/ gator aid in my horses water- they tend to like the "blue" ones for some reason.

other wise, my goats have plenty of shade and water, and i leave their horns intact. when i touch their horns i can feel the heat being released - amazes me how much i can feel the heat dissipating

Ken


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## goathiker (Apr 14, 2011)

My goats like Tang in their water. It increases the water consumption quite a bit.


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## kimbuffet (Apr 18, 2013)

I put a wading pool in the pen of my Nubians....they didn't seem too thrilled with swimming but then I put some of their favorite lilac leaves in it and they do bobbing for leaves and cool down at the same time.


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## GoatieGranny (Jul 26, 2013)

kimbuffet said:


> I put a wading pool in the pen of my Nubians....they didn't seem too thrilled with swimming but then I put some of their favorite lilac leaves in it and they do bobbing for leaves and cool down at the same time.


That's a really cute idea. (I thought lilacs were toxic to goats...they must not be if yours eat them. Maybe because you just give them a few....?)


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## Little-Bits-N-Pieces (Apr 7, 2013)

My current goats hate anything in their water, but once upon a time, I had less picky ones, and I used to mix up tang, flavored tea mix (they liked raspberry the best), gatorade, or something along those lines, and freeze it in blocks, toss it in their water. It would keep the water cool and as the blocks melted it would flavor the water a bit. 
Vinegar/ice blocks also deter algae growth.

You can also freeze some in a bucket and let them lick it throughout the day.


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## kimbuffet (Apr 18, 2013)

If lilac leaves are toxic to goats then it is not toxic to mine. The lilacs are not in their pen but lining the driveway and when I walk them they have alot of choices...mulberry, oak, grasses, clover in the neighboring field and they all prefer the lilac leaves it is their favorite. Even our meat goat love them. We have goats that have taken a few bites every few days for 3 years now.


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## TheGoatWhisperer (Jan 18, 2014)

I take advantage if the hot days to give them baths and shave them. I find that shaving helps my wethers, who don't have horns, a lot. They seem a lot cooler. 


Sent from my iPhone using Goat Forum


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## Talron (Nov 17, 2013)

MsScamp said:


> Leave their horns on them. That is one of the purposes of horns - to dissipate heat and help keep the goat cool. My horned girls are usually out sunning in 100 degree temps, while my girls who were disbudded before I got them are hiding in the shade panting with their tongues hanging out.


My goats are pets and I bought them the way they are. One is naturally polled and one was disbudded wrong when I bought him. Didn't get to choose for him. :-(

Everyone else thanks for the ideas My boys seem to do better with ice and the occasional spraying. 
I've never shaved my goats they have short hair so I'm not sure how much that would help them, I'd be worried about sunburn.


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## MsScamp (Feb 1, 2010)

I see. I'm sorry, I wasn't much help.


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## AintGotNoCreekRanch (Jan 1, 2014)

Talron said:


> I'm just using plastic tupper ware containers for now. You must have a huge freeze to fit a pot in it lol!
> 
> I'm not sure where I'd get electrolytes to add to their water I have probios with those in it could I give that to them instead?


About the freezing what we do is just cut the top off of a milk jug and fill it then warm the outer part and it slides right out.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

No. Putting Pobios in is not the same. Do a search on homemade electrolytes. There are several recipes. You can even use the powder electrolytes that you buy for humans.

I put out electrolyte water for my girls when it is hot and muggy and it makes a huge difference. The one day I forgot, they were all acting sick and had slight temps. Haven't had any problems since keeping it out for them. It was a life saver when I had alpacas since they heat stress so fast.


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## sweetgoats (Oct 18, 2007)

I would NOT wet their under tummy's. Wet the legs and cool them, if you go under them until they cool down that can send them into shock. 

Ice in the water and I also have a fan going in the barn if they go in there. 

I know people that put a soaker hose on the ground, wet the ground not to bad to be mud and they will lay on the cool wet ground.


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## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

I agree I wouldn't spray them at all. I made a calf very very sick when I was younger because I thought he was hot. 
I just leave mine be and it's common to be anywhere from 100-115 during the summer. I like to keep their water full of fresh cool water. I'll even dump the warm and put cool in. For the bucks since their shade trees are not as nice as the does I will spray the ground down but only in part of their pen since the flies will go right to that wet spot and big the crap out of them.


Sent from my iPhone using Goat Forum


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## sweetgoats (Oct 18, 2007)

Something else is shave them. That is a easy way.


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## peggypie04 (9 mo ago)

MsScamp said:


> Leave their horns on them. That is one of the purposes of horns - to dissipate heat and help keep the goat cool. My horned girls are usually out sunning in 100 degree temps, while my girls who were disbudded before I got them are hiding in the shade panting with their tongues hanging out.


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## peggypie04 (9 mo ago)

Thank you for this information about horns! My country vet begged me to cut my two goats' horns off !! It gets up to 98 degrees here in Colorado sometimes. I provide shade but still the ground gets hot so I water the dirt down with the water hose. Of course the goats don't like water, but eventually, they return to lay on the cool spot.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

This is an old thread from 2014.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

☝ Yep.


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## peggypie04 (9 mo ago)

ksalvagno said:


> This is an old thread from 2014.


Timely advice.


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