Frostbite problems!! Please respond...

jgarruto

Chirping
8 Years
May 9, 2015
43
10
89
Columbus, Montana
All,

My fears about our coop design were confirmed when my ladies contracted frostbite the night before last. We bought and installed a roof vent immediately, but this morning, their combs looked worse. I'll start a separate thread about the coop design, but right now I urgently need to know how frostbite progresses so that I know whether we still need to make additional modifications to the coop. Does it look worse before it gets better? Or have they been frostbitten twice in a row? I'm pretty upset and concerned, and need to take the appropriate steps from here. Your help is appreciated!!
400
 
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@Free Spirit, thanks for the info. I also need to know if frostbite continues to discolor after initial problem, or if they have gotten it twice.
 
With frostbite the flesh freezes and dies so yeah it changes color and usually turns black, eventually falling off. If the area got noticeably bigger then it could be a second occurence.

A lot of folks use vaseline (or in this case maybe neosporin) on the combs to help prevent frost bite. I think it may work because it protects the comb from moisture that may freeze, though it tends to attract dirt and make for some dark/dirty combs the next day.

Also feeding whole corn (or cracked corn for smaller birds) before bed time is believed to help as it digests slowly and gives them energy through the night to help keep their body temp up. That maybe an old wives tale but I do it anyway.
 
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@Sonya9,
I put Vaseline on last night, but will switch to neosporin tonight. I also bought some whole corn. Thank you so much for the input! We added two more vents today, fingers crossed....
 

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