WEST BEND, Wis. — Caretakers work to keep animals cool as temperatures rise at day one of the annual county fair in West Bend.
Crews at the Washington County Fair are working hard to ensure all animals stay cool during this week's high temperatures.
15-year-old Ella Stensaas from Slinger is showing pigs for the first time at the Washington County Fair. She's facing an unexpected challenge with the soaring temperatures.
"I put water on them and then you put a fan on them because they don't have sweat glands," she said. "They can't really sweat."
Watch: Young exhibitors battle heat to keep animals cool at Washington County Fair
She constantly sprays her 250-pound pigs with water and brushes it into their skin to maximize cooling. Stensaas knows when when her animals need attention.
"When they're panting and you can't really see that they're wet anymore," she said.
In the small animal barn, the Thoma family is preparing both rabbits and, for the first time, guinea pigs will stay overnight at the fairgrounds. Their cooling strategy includes refreshing drinking water, adding cooling pads, tiles, and frozen water bottles to prevent their furry animals from overheating.
"Probably just trying to make sure the guinea pigs stay cool," Ava Thoma siad. "Because it's their first year and you don't want them to have something wrong with them or for there to be troubles with them."
On the other side of the small animal barn, Noah McMeeken keeps a watchful eye on his show ducks.
"If they get really hot they'll start to pant," he said. "You can see their tongue start to stick out from their beaks. If that happens we'll add electrolytes into the water. That helps get them more electrolytes and helps them cool down a little bit."
All the young caretakers remain focused on the competition while prioritizing their animals' well-being in the challenging conditions.
"I want to get grand champion," Stensaas said. "But that's okay if I can't because I want to be the best that I can."
The Washington County Fair runs from Tuesday to Sunday.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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