Preparing Your Livestock and Chickens for Upcoming Spring Weather Changes
As the weather warms and transitions from unpredictable spring storms into the early signs of summer, it’s time to start preparing your livestock and backyard chickens for the shift. Spring can bring intense rain, mud, fluctuating temperatures, and even unexpected cold snaps. Proper planning and seasonal prep will help keep your animals healthy, productive, and stress-free.
1. Clean and Disinfect Coops and Barns: Spring cleaning isn’t just for your home!
Clear out old bedding, cobwebs, and manure build-up. Use a non-toxic disinfectant safe for animals to clean walls, nesting boxes, feeders, and waterers. This helps prevent respiratory issues and pest infestations.
2. Prepare for Sudden Weather Swings: Spring storms can roll in quickly, and warm days often turn chilly at night.
Ensure your chicken coop is well-ventilated but draft-free.
Use insulated tarps or removable panels for sudden cold nights.
Have heat lamps or safe warming pads on standby for young chicks.
Protect livestock shelters from rain with waterproof covers or proper roofing.
3. Address Mud Management: Mud brings bacteria, foot problems, and stress to animals.
Use gravel, straw, or wood chips in high-traffic areas.
Install French drains or dig shallow ditches to redirect runoff.
Clean hooves regularly and provide dry resting spaces for goats, sheep, or pigs.
4. Watch for Parasites and Pests: Warming weather wakes up mites, lice, flies, and ticks.
Dust chickens with food-grade diatomaceous earth or use herbal coop sprays.
Clean out nesting materials regularly.
Rotate pastures (if possible) for goats and sheep to reduce parasite loads.
Use fly traps, herbal sprays, or livestock-safe fly predators to control fly populations.
5. Boost Nutrition for Increased Production: Spring brings molting, laying, and growth spurts for many animals.
Supplement chickens with oyster shells or crushed eggshells for calcium.
Offer goats and sheep minerals tailored to your region’s deficiencies.
Provide fresh greens and garden scraps as treats (avoid toxic plants).
Monitor water levels—hydration is essential during temperature swings.
6. Brooding and Breeding Prep: Planning to hatch chicks or kids this spring?
Set up brooders in a dry, draft-free location with safe heat sources.
Ensure breeding pens or stalls are clean and comfortable.
Keep newborns separate for the first week or two to avoid exposure to weather or illness.
7. Emergency Readiness: Keep a livestock first-aid kit stocked with:
Electrolytes
Wound spray
Thermometers
Hoof trimmers
Dewormers
Vet contact info
Spring is unpredictable—but with the right prep, your livestock and chickens can thrive through the changing season.