I feel like spring is the both the most exciting time and the most frustrating time for raising chickens on the homestead. Spring means it’s time to hatch chicks, and it’s hard not to have a good day when you have chicks on the homestead! However, spring can also be a time of muddy enclosures, increased health hazards, and changing nutritional needs for your flock. These 7 chicken care tips for spring time will help you keep your homestead flock healthy, the chicken coop enclosure clean & dry, and stress levels low for both you and your flock.
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Spring showers bring on mud season in many regions. If you happen to homestead in a dry region where spring rain does not cause a mud problem, then you can skip on to the next tip. But for the rest of us, mud season is real.
Some regions simply get lots of rain in the spring. Other regions get rain and melting snow, combined with frozen ground that does not absorb the rain water fast enough. That can spell a muddy mess for chicken coop enclosures if you are not properly prepared.
Both the chicken coop and the chicken coop enclosure should stay clean and dry for several reasons:
Check out my post on Chicken Coop Building Essentials for more tips on building a dry chicken coop and enclosure.
There are some precautions you can take when first building your chicken coop enclosure that may help prevent a muddy enclosure. Locate your chicken coop on high ground away from places that you know will gather water in the spring. Having the ground at a slight angle will help the water drain from the enclosure too.
However, in some regions it may be nearly impossible to find a year-round dry spot. I live in a swampy area where the water table is high year-round. Here are my tips for dealing with a muddy enclosure:
Make sure you also learn about the customized deep litter method that I have used at both of my coops to overcome muddy enclosure in the spring!
Spring time means more eggs! After molting in the fall and a break from egg production during the winter, spring is when the eggs really start rolling in! In the wild, mother birds would be ready to start laying and hatching out clutches of eggs during the spring. The longer days (more light) stimulates the pituitary gland, which signals the reproductive system to start producing eggs.
Egg production naturally puts more strain on a hen’s body. If the hen is coming off of a harsh winter or is otherwise not as healthy as she should be, egg production could prove to be too taxing on her body.
Here are ways to make sure your hens are ready to meet the physical needs of producing more eggs:
With egg production at its peak during the spring, you may be wondering what to do with all those eggs. Check out my post on 50 Healthy Ways to Eat Eggs to get some delicious recipe ideas!
Warmer temperatures and damp conditions are invitations for many bacteria, viruses, and parasites to wake up. Certain types of bacteria and viruses tend to proliferate in damp, warm environments. Parasite life-cycles are renewed as the ground unthaws and intermediate hosts (earthworms, grasshoppers, ect..) are starting to appear too. Protozoa parasites are especially prevalent in damp conditions.
Here are some common diseases and parasites that often become a problem in the spring:
With those ailments in mind, it is important that the birds in your flock have strong immune systems and that they are managed well so they can stay healthy. Keeping the chicken coop and enclosure clean and dry will go a long way in reducing exposure to spring time disease. Make sure your flock has plenty of space and is not overcrowded either. Here are some more tips for keeping your homestead flock healthy this spring:
The longer days, warmer temperatures, and spring-like conditions are all triggers for a motherhood-inclined hen to go broody! Broody is the term used when a hen wants to sit on a clutch of eggs and hatch them. When a hen goes broody she will stop laying eggs, sit on a nest continuously (with periodic short ‘bathroom’ breaks), and pull out her breast feathers to line her nest with. She will also ferociously defend her nest by hissing, snarling, growling, and pecking at intruders.
Depending on your circumstances, you may or may not want a broody hen. If you have a rooster in your flock and are interested in allowing a mother hen to raise chicks, you may want to consider setting up a broody box. A broody box will separate the ‘mother-to-be’ hen from the rest of the flock and allow her to hatch her eggs in peace.
If you do not have a rooster or do not want the added responsibility of having a broody hen with chicks, you will need to create a broody breaker. A broody breaker is like a quarantine pen that is designed to discourage a hen from wanting to be broody.
Whether you are making a broody box or a broody breaker, make sure you know how to handle either situation correctly. For breaking a broody hen, check out this article, Dealing with a Broody Hen Guidelines. For allowing a broody hen to hatch chicks, check out this article on How to Care for a Broody Hen.
Biosecurity is the practice of eliminating possible entrants of disease, parasites, or illness to your flock. Biosecurity should be practiced all year long and there are numerous measures that you can implement to keep your flock safe.
Here are just a few biosecurity practices that are especially applicable during the spring time:
My flock is always very anxious to get out and free-range as soon as the snow melts! However, spring free-ranging does have its hazards. Free-ranging during any time of the year has its risk, but there are a few things you should be extra cautious about in the spring.
Predators are going to be extra active during the spring. Some are waking up from a full or partial hibernation, some are hunting food for their young, and others are starving after a long, lean winter. Implement good predator protection in and around the coop and in the chicken yard. I strongly advise supervised free-range, at least during the spring time. That way you can keep an eye on your flock all the time.
Insects and bugs are going to be more available as warmer weather arrives, and they can be carriers of parasites and disease. I love seeing my flock free-range, but I also know they could be consuming more bugs than normal. Especially since the grass is not as appealing when it is dried and less nutritious than in the summer. Free-ranging is healthy and natural for my flock though, so I compromise.
I supervise free-range my flock for a short period of time each nice day. They still get some good exercise without, hopefully, consuming too many parasite-laden bugs. That being said, I make sure I stay on top of parasite prevention and health maintenance supplements to help my chickens have strong immune systems for fighting disease and parasites.
Early on in the spring there is not going to be much green forage for your chickens to munch on, they will mostly resort to scratching through leaves and eating insects and bugs. However, I have seen some of my chickens take a big mouthful of moss when they are craving something green!
Because of the lack of nutrition in early spring grass, I mostly let my flock free-range during the spring so they can get some exercise, fresh air, and vitamin D. I give them supplemental leafy greens (lettuce, kale, spinach, etc..) whenever possible and keep up on the internal parasite control by giving them fresh garlic crushed in their water once a week.
I change what supplements I give my flock depending on the season and their dietary needs (see my post on How to Use Homemade Chicken Feed Supplements). With spring in the air, it’s time to change up the natural supplements. I switch from winter supplements to supplements that strengthen immune health, help keep away parasites, support good egg production, and aid in recovering from a long, cold winter.
Here are some spring supplements I give to my homestead flock:
These 7 chicken care tips for spring time will help you raise a healthy and productive homestead flock this spring! From dealing with muddy enclosures to meeting nutritional needs…. spring presents some special circumstances for homesteaders to deal with. These tips will make caring for your flock this spring easy, simple, and successful! No spring parasites, no spring predator attacks, no spring dietary deficiencies…. only happy, healthy chickens! Plus lots of eggs for eating… or for hatching!
For more spring time tips and recipes, make sure you join our modern pioneer community! Spring is a time of growth, so grow in your experience with becoming a modern pioneer! We would love to have you join us!
by Alexa
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This is such a helpful post! We do not have chickens yet, but are planning for some in the spring of 2020. I'm collecting articles and information so we are knowledgeable when we finally get our chicks! Thank you for taking the time to write such an informative post!
You are so welcome! I love it when readers give me feedback that my posts are helpful for them! I wish you luck on your chicken adventure, and, if you have any questions, feel free to contact me!