Preparing Livestock for Housing: An Autumn Health Checklist

Why Pre-Housing Preparation Matters

The transition from grass to housing is one of the highest-risk periods in the livestock calendar. Stress, dietary change, close contact with other animals, and exposure to pathogens in the building all combine to create ideal conditions for disease. A structured pre-housing checklist reduces that risk significantly — and saves costly vet bills and production losses down the line.

1. Health Treatments Before Housing

The weeks before housing are the best time to carry out planned health interventions, while animals are still at grass and easier to handle individually.

Cattle

• Worm treatment: Treat youngstock for gut worms before housing. Use a product effective against inhibited Ostertagia larvae (Type II ostertagiosis is a risk in housed cattle). Macrocyclic lactones (ivermectin, doramectin) or a benzimidazole are commonly used.
• Liver fluke: After a wet summer, fluke burden can be significant. Treat with triclabendazole (the only product effective against early immature fluke) in October/November. Discuss timing with your vet based on local fluke forecasts.
• Lice: Lice populations explode in housed cattle. A pour-on macrocyclic lactone at housing controls both worms and lice in one treatment.
• BVD, IBR, Leptospirosis: Check vaccination status and booster if due. Housing is a high-transmission period for respiratory and reproductive viruses.
• Body condition scoring: Score all cows before housing. Cows below target BCS (2.5–3.0 for beef; 2.5 for dairy) need a rising plane of nutrition before calving.

Sheep

• Liver fluke: As with cattle, treat sheep for fluke pre-housing — particularly important in lowland and wet upland flocks. Triclabendazole for early immature fluke; closantel or oxyclozanide for later stages.
• Gut worms: Carry out a faecal egg count before housing to assess worm burden. Treat only if indicated — housing itself breaks the lifecycle for most gut worms.
• Clostridial diseases: Ensure ewes are vaccinated (e.g. Heptavac-P Plus) 4–6 weeks before lambing to pass on colostral immunity to lambs. Check your vaccination programme timing now.
• Foot rot: Treat all lame sheep before housing — foot rot spreads rapidly on wet, dirty bedding. Run the flock through a footbath before they come in.
• Condition score ewes: Thin ewes need flushing before tupping. Target BCS 3–3.5 at mating.

2. Preparing the Housing

Don't bring animals into a building that hasn't been properly cleaned and prepared.

• Clean and disinfect: Remove all old bedding and slurry, pressure wash walls, floors, and feed barriers, then apply an approved disinfectant. Allow to dry fully before restocking.
• Ventilation: This is the single most important factor in preventing pneumonia. Check that inlets (typically at the sides) and outlets (ridge or apex) are clear and unobstructed. Aim for a minimum of 0.1m² of inlet per adult cow. Cold, fresh air is not the enemy — stale, humid air is.
• Bedding: Deep, dry bedding reduces stress and disease. Have sufficient straw or alternative bedding stocked before housing begins. Wet, compacted bedding is a major source of environmental mastitis and respiratory disease.
• Feed barriers and water: Check all feed barriers are in good repair. Ensure water troughs are clean and functioning — water intake drops sharply if troughs are dirty or frozen.
• Lighting: Good lighting aids observation and reduces stress. Check bulbs and fittings before the short days arrive.

3. Nutrition Planning

• Get silage and forage analysed before housing so you can balance rations accurately — don't guess
• Transition cattle gradually from grass to silage over 7–10 days to avoid rumen acidosis and digestive upset
• Ensure adequate trough space — competition at the feed barrier causes stress and uneven body condition. Allow at least 60cm per cow for ad-lib feeding.
• Minerals: housed cattle and sheep are at risk of copper, selenium, and magnesium deficiency. Discuss a mineral supplementation programme with your vet or nutritionist.
• For dairy cows, work with your nutritionist to formulate a transition diet for the dry period and close-up period

4. Pneumonia Prevention

Pneumonia is the most costly disease of housed youngstock. Prevention is far cheaper than treatment.

• Vaccinate calves against RSV, PI3, and Mannheimia haemolytica before housing if not already done — intranasal vaccines can be given from 1 week of age
• Separate age groups where possible — mixing ages increases pathogen exposure for younger animals
• Monitor for early signs daily: nasal discharge, coughing, raised respiratory rate, dullness, reduced appetite
• Have a written treatment protocol agreed with your vet so staff can act quickly without delay

5. Record Keeping

• Update medicine records with all pre-housing treatments
• Record body condition scores for reference at calving/lambing
• Note any animals with recurring health issues for closer monitoring over winter

Stock up on pre-housing health products from our Animal Health & Wormers range, and find bedding, feed supplements, and parlour supplies in our Cattle Feed & Supplies collection.

Animal Health Information: This guide provides general information only and is not a substitute for veterinary or SQP advice. Always follow product labels and seek professional advice when selecting or administering animal medicines.