Animals at Kismet Creek stay cool with extra shade and wading pools

Jul 10, 2023

As southern Manitoba continues to experience hot weather, the owner at Kismet Creek Farm Animal Sanctuary is working to provide the animals with extra shade and watering holes.

The last two months have produced record-breaking heat in Steinbach and Karl Schoenrock is busy helping the farm animals stay cool.

“Like with the big pigs that I’m staring at now, it's about digging down their little mud hole a lot deeper so they can actually really sink themselves in the water to keep cool that way because without that, they would just overheat,” he says. “I do have a sheltered area for them but that's not as cool, it is better for them to be in cold mud or cold water that helps keep them cool.”

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Video: Assessing Welfare Resources During Late Finish - Dr. Anna Johnson & Emma Coursey

In this episode of The Swine Nutrition Blackbelt Podcast, Dr. Anna Johnson from Iowa State University and Emma Coursey from the University of Illinois discuss research evaluating welfare resources during the late finishing stage on commercial swine farms. They explain how feeder management, water use, space allocation, and pig health influence welfare outcomes and practical on-farm management. Listen now on all major platforms!

"Small resource issues can become larger welfare problems when multiple stressors interact across finishing barns."

Meet the guests: Dr. Anna Johnson / anna-johnson-05028a14 is the Morrill Professor of Animal Behavior and Welfare at Iowa State University. She earned her Ph.D. in Animal Sciences from Texas Tech University and completed her master's degree in Applied Animal Behaviour and Welfare at the University of Edinburgh. Her research focuses on practical solutions that improve farm animal welfare, including sow productive lifetime, animal-human interaction, environmental enrichment, and Precision Livestock Farming.

Emma Coursey / emma-coursey-183810241 is pursuing a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree at the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine after earning a bachelor's degree in Animal Science from Iowa State University. Her academic interests include swine health, production, and animal welfare, with research experience evaluating welfare resources in commercial finishing pigs.