HELP!! VERY swollen wattles on my rooster from frostbite

oldhenlikesdogs said:

They will heal up without any intervention, bringing them inside won't help dead tissue and the stress from it won't be helpful. One of my roosters has frostbitten wattles as well, he shakes his head a lot and rests more, but he will get better with time.

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That makes me feel better. Thank you!!

Hi there. I was wondering if you could follow up with some pics on your Roo, as the same thing has happened to mine, though he is not as swollen. Is your Roo ok? Did he make it?

This was taken Feb 19th. You can see how his waddles turned black and shrunk back up on the bottom. The next day the black part fell off. He seems to be doing fine. His waddles are smaller now and lopsided.
I should have taken pictures during the whole process b.c it was scary and gross looking! But failed at that. They were swollen and purple, then turned white and puss fiilled looking, then turned back to purple, flattened out, shriveled up and truned black before falling off. I was able to spray Vetericyn on them one time at night when he was sleeping and that was it. I dont think that helped much. I didnt see any signs of infection and it seemed to heal up on its own. Hope your Roo is healing up! Sorry for responding so late, sometimes i dont get the notifications on this thing.

Thanks. What a pretty boy! That's about what my boy's wattles are looking like now, I kept him inside for 2-3 days and hand fed him to get him to eat. He is back to his mean old nasty self, but the black part of his wattles have not fallen off yet.

So it seems roosters will heal up on their own, but how to heal the emotional pain and guilt for letting these things happen in the first place!? This is my first winter with my chickens. I suppose one must learn during the process, and I read every book I could find on chicken keeping when I got my chicks, but didn't really expect this. I have also read about bad things happening to backyard flocks because people simply don't know what they need to know. I also must tell myself that my birds are probably happier and healthier than battery chickens, at least they get yummy treats and fresh air every day. It seems that any rooster that is lucky enough to make it out of the hatchery alive and into a nice person's back yard is a step ahead of the rest, too.

He is a pretty little guy. I felt so awful when I realized he had frostbite! You can only do so much to give these little critters the best life possible. I too researched the hell out of chicks, chickens, coops, roosters before we ventured into it and thought I had a good idea of what I was getting into. But surprises will always come up. I'd love to try the 5 gallon bucket with nipples and a birdbath de-icer for next winter but our coop just isn't big enough for that at the moment. I'll have to work on expanding our coop this summer to accommodate that. Sounds like your roo is almost through the healing process! They do seem to heal up themselves! And they ARE much luckier to have the life with us even if we are learning than some alternatives

Yes, my ISA brown rooster has the same problem, frozen wattles that are swollen... I just brought him into the house and stuck him in a box. He seems to be doing fine though, but he won't eat or drink. I use an eyedropper to give him water, and give him garlic bits. I guess that his veins or something might be damaged and not draining properly, but as long as he's breathing, I think that he'll be fine. give lots of R&R though. I don't think that its a infection though, just a lot of blood circulating slowly or something.

nchls school said:

This is from another site from the internet-swelling sounds like possible infection.

If any chickens show signs of lameness or severe frostbite of the comb or wattles, they need to be removed from the flock and treated promptly. Soak the limbs (feet, toes and legs) in room temperature epsom salt water to gradually warm the frostbitten areas. This may take as long as a half hour of soaking. Dry thoroughly and rub bag balm or other salves on those areas. Place the bird in a carrier with bedding, food and electrolytes along with fresh water, in a warm area with no drafts. Check frequently to make certain the chicken is alert, eating and drinking normally. Examine the frostbite areas for any bleeding or infection. If there is bleeding, apply Blu Kote to prevent pecking, especially if you are treating more than one at a time. An application of Vetericyn will help prevent infection.

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why would it be an infection? It may just be a lot of warm blood trapped in there, especially if the rooster is in a warm place. But I will check my rooster's wattles again in case.

bigdoodle said:

Yes, my ISA brown rooster has the same problem, frozen wattles that are swollen... I just brought him into the house and stuck him in a box. He seems to be doing fine though, but he won't eat or drink. I use an eyedropper to give him water, and give him garlic bits. I guess that his veins or something might be damaged and not draining properly, but as long as he's breathing, I think that he'll be fine. give lots of R&R though. I don't think that its a infection though, just a lot of blood circulating slowly or something.

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You might want to start a new thread of your own and repost some of the things you have said already for more looks and help. Lots of frostbite threads on the emergency forum the past few days. Here is where to start a new thread in the emergency forum—look at middle of page for “start new thread”
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forums/emergencies-diseases-injuries-and-cures.10/