ALEXANDRIA, Ind. —
As temperatures once again soared into the mid-90s on Monday, finding effective ways to keep animals and their humans cool became job one at the Madison County 4-H Fair.
Humans could find some relief in the air-conditioned main 4-H building, or standing under one of four misting fans installed at various locations at the fairgrounds.
But regular hosing, frozen water bottles and fans, lots of them, were the primary means of relief for animals.
Bryce Montgomery, 15, of Alexandria was busy cooling off two 360-pound hogs he calls Lunch and Dinner in an effort to keep them comfortable.
Hogs have no sweat glands, so in addition to getting hosed down four to five times a day, water is also used to dampen straw in their stalls and fans are used throughout the pens. Plus, when the weather gets really hot, most animals — wisely — naturally slow down.
Cows have sweat glands in the nose, said 13-year-old Blake Morehead, whose father, Jimmy, owns Morehead Cattle Farms in Alexandria. A steer and heifer entered in the cattle show appeared to be resting comfortably in the cattle barn early in the afternoon, but they also like getting hosed down.
“Once they know where they are going, they’re all in,” Jimmy Morehead said.
Keeping rabbits cool and comfy requires a few more resources in the form of frozen comfort.
In the wild, rabbits burrow in the cool ground. Above ground, however, the best cooling technique is frozen water bottles on which they can nestle next to or on, said Emilee Hollingsworth, who’s been raising rabbits for seven years.
The hottest place at the fair on Monday seemed to be under the tent where volunteers from the Christian Congregation Church were ladling steaming plates of chicken noodles over mashed potatoes as well as other fixings.
And back at the church, other volunteers were baking pies for delivery to the fair at intervals during the day.
All proceeds from the food sales go to four church ministries, said Jerry Young, senior pastor of the church.
“We’ve been doing this as a church function for over 60 years, and even in this tremendous heat they have such a great attitude,” Young said of the small army of church volunteers who work the fair each year.
Find Stu Hirsch on Facebook and @StuHirsch on Twitter, or call 640-4861.
4-H Fair
Related Photos
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4-H'ers used battery-powered fans attached to their cages to help keep their animals cool. John P. Cleary
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Alexandria Kiwanis member Kenny Summers tests out the misting fan he installed on the 4-H grounds to check the amount of misting, and to cool off. The Kiwanis put up four misting fans around the fair grounds Monday to help people keep cool. John P. Cleary
Discussion
Struggling to find the cool at the fair
Different animals require different cooling techniques
- 4-H Fair
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Horses big part of 4-Hers life
Nine-year-old Micah Hardy, like many 4-Hers, has never known a life without horses. Her mother joked that her daughter was even on a horse before she was born as she rode while she was pregnant with the girl.
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Souped up and ready to go
It isn’t much of a spectator sport but the competitors readying their garden tractors for the decades-old pull sure do enjoy it. “It’s not that exciting to sit and watch,” joked Wayne Richards, the coordinator for this year’s Garden Tractor Pull at the Madison County 4-H Fair. “But it is a lot of fun to be a part of.
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More to 4-H than livestock
Don’t go into Exhibit Hall just to escape the sweltering heat at the Madison County 4-H Fair. 4-Hers like Tressia Phipps and Jackie Lieurance want you to go there to appreciate the hundreds of projects on display inside that air-conditioned building.
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Teen loves her pigs — and lets them go
In her fifth year of 4-H, Cheyenne Morgan is part of the Grand Champions Club. This year she won two reserve-champion ribbons, a third, two fifths and a sixth place and showed six hogs.
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Midway rides thrill fairgoers
Despite the heat and the storms, the midway at the Madison County 4-H Fair has a lot to offer for Alexandria and the rest of Madison County. Between classic fair food and new and returning rides, the fair has delivered another carnival for the entire area.
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At 4-H Fair, responsibility an age-old component
For Isaac Mohr and his brother, Cade, of Pendleton, raising and showing their animals for 4-H is about responsibility.
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Raising, showing animals is hard work
Showing animals in the Madison County 4-H Fair competitions is more than just strutting animals around an arena. There is a lot of hard work that goes into raising the animals, and then caring for and prepping them for the fair competitions.
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Frankton teen takes first attempt at 4-H competition in stride
Lexie Bousman is participating in her first Madison County 4-H Fair, and though her pet rooster, "Quail Bird," didn’t fare well with the judges, the bird was still a hit in other ways.
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Struggling to find the cool at the fair
As temperatures once again soared into the mid-90s on Monday, finding effective ways to keep animals and their humans cool became job one at the Madison County 4-H Fair.
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Rising early to get rabbits ready
By the time you read this Tuesday, Emilee Hollingsworth will have been up for hours, prepping and primping, cleaning and clipping the nails of her 18 rabbits, readying them for judging at the Madison County 4-H Fair.
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