Frostbite prevention

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@21hens-incharge, I have 3 Barred Rocks, 1 RIR, 1 Black Australorp and a Cochin. The Cochin was the only one unscathed, the others have sizable combs. :(

400
 
@allpeepedout,
Thanks for your thoughts! I'm definitely leaning towards the ground level venting. Appreciate the input...live and learn, I guess...
 
@Egghead_Jr, thanks for the technical explanation, it's very helpful. I have a couple questions/concerns.

My low side is mostly comprised of the two doors. Not sure there is room for vent holes (though I will measure!). Also, the hens are indeed almost at roof level on the low side. I do have the wall vent on the low side, though now I'm concerned it will just cause a draft, even with flanges slanting up.

I can take more pictures, but in a nutshell, will adding vent holes at ground level on the high side be enough to create flow? Will the points suggested by MeepBeep do the trick?

Thanks for the input!
 
I also keep Black Australorps. I have yet to have an issue with their combs.
Something is amiss in the set up then if yours got frost bite in the temps you mentioned. We get much colder here on a regular basis in the winter.
 
21hens-incharge said:
Something is amiss in the set up then if yours got frost bite in the temps you mentioned. We get much colder here on a regular basis in the winter.
Click to expand...


One thing people forget or don't know is that frostbite can be aggravated by other aspects most importantly humidity/moisture and breeze/wind (promotes evaporation), you can get frostbite just as fast at 30°F as you can at -10°F if the conditions are favorable... This aggravating circumstances play a significant role in the warmer freezing temps, and diminish as the temps continue to fall... This is why getting the humidity and preventing drafts is important in reducing frostbite risk, but it should be noted low humidity and draft free will not eliminate frostbite risk as the temps continue to drop into extremes...
 
There was a really cold wind recently and maybe that also caused the problem. I live in the east mountains and there was a cold moist wind recently that made my chickens unhappy. No frostbite but I was worried about it.
 
Hi All,

Here is the latest update; unfortunately, we are STILL having problems...

To-date, we have added 3 - 6" chimney vents to the high side of the ceiling, and 5 - 2" hole vents along the bedding level at the front and back of the coop. The girls are still getting spots of frostbite, and this week, we'll see a drop in temps to 14 degrees at night. January we are typically around -10 degrees by early morning.

I guess this week will be chicken-wrangling before bedtime to apply Vaseline to their combs. When my husband gets back in town from work this weekend, we'll try dropping the roost-height a couple inches and see if that helps.

It's going to be a LONG winter if we keep seeing these problems at only 25 degrees!

I'm so frustrated!!!!!
 

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