Need Help, Can Chickens Get Frostbite?

Oh, my goodness! I don't get notifications when someone tags me so thank you @Wyorp Rock for sending me a private message with the heads up. I apologize for not seeing this sooner when I might have really been able to help.

@chickensrock12 you could still be in for a long haul. I had a chick who got frostbite on his feet...our temps had gone from the upper 60s/low 70s and then plunged to 17 below zero in just 30 hours or so. Yeah, not fun, and the little booger got his feet wet at the waterer. They had big blisters on them and in just a few days looked very much like the top photo you posted. I couldn't find anything on here to help me - frostbitten combs and wattles were covered but not feet. So I had to improvise. I devised a "hot tub" for him and soaked his feet in Epsom salts. I kept them clean (secondary infection was my big fear) and kept betadine on them. I massaged them with Castor Oil (don't laugh, it works to increase circulation) and raw honey. I had no vet to fall back on, so it was wing it or lose him.

He seemed to be getting better, but the tricky thing about frostbite is that there is often damage deep within the tissue that doesn't show up right away. In Scout's case, that deep damage showed up in about a week's time (from when the feet looked like they were back to "normal" ) to the time when contractures suddenly appeared. They were a mess. I tried bandaging them to get some straightening and I did get a little, but the correction didn't last. I'm not trying to discourage you - I'm just telling you this so that if it happens to your hen you won't have an emotional crash like I did!

He didn't lose any toes, but they were worthless to him for the rest of his life. Didn't stop him, though! He flew up to the roost at night, down during the day, scratched in the dirt, ran, mated with the girls, and until you specifically looked down at his feet there was no indication that he'd been through such an ordeal. He was a total, macho rooster in every way! So don't give up hope - imperfect doesn't mean unlovable and he was most definitely that! He had no pain in his feet - if he would have been in pain he certainly couldn't have moved without a limp or without some sign - so we just treated him like a chicken and he responded like a chicken. Simple!

I wish you all the best in this fight against frostbitten feet. One thing I would suggest is not to give her bread. The jury is still out, but many people have said that bread can cause sour crop, and she has enough of a battle without that too. I don't know if it does or not, but why risk it just in case? HOWEVER, I would recommend some Poly-Vi-Sorb vitamins - basically some baby vitamins and get the one without iron) and the easiest way I've found to give a drop or two of that is ----yep, a couple of drops on a small crust of bread. She'll scarf it down and not even know it's on there, so you don't have to worry about trying to hold her, open her beak, get it in and avoid having it go down the wrong pipe. So while I don't recommend giving a lot of bread, we're just talking one tiny little bit - for medicinal purposes only. If you are having trouble getting her to eat her regular food, you can try moistening it a bit to make a sort of "mash". They usually dive into that head first.

You can read Scout's incredible journey (and the chronological details of his treatments) in the article link but here are a few of photos of our amazing guy....There are also some videos on his page to show his movement with the stubs that he had for feet.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/the-adventures-of-scout


Blisters like this on both feet....I drained them and cleaned them but they kept reforming.


So I got Betadine on them and bandaged them.


Scout thought his "hot tub" was the best! It's just a candle lid, perfect because the silicone seal kept him from slipping deeper in and his feet were suspended just above the glass, allowing the warm Epsom Salt water to completely surround them. It looks like they are touching the bottom in his photo but they were just above it.


A couple of days after I started treatment. This was the night I almost called it and culled him.


But then he turned a corner. Look at those amazing feet - they look pretty normal. It appeared that he'd be able to use them well.


Less than a week later, the deeper damage showed up.


But nothing stopped Scout.


Notice his feet - just worthless stubs on the end of his legs. But he didn't know that, and we weren't gonna tell him!

I hope this has given you a bit of hope! I hope.

Aww, I feel bad. For forgetting to tell you guys that the veterinarian said it would take a week's time to look like that. Today, it looks bad again. But the vet also said it will do that and it will shift on and on for a couple of weeks. So if that happens just do the same thing. The vet also said every time I put her in the water with salt and the meds. It will start to look better, but it will go back and forth. She said that a couple of years ago. She had someone come in with the same thing. At first the patient put her chicken in the water, salt and meds. But, the next day she's like wow it looks a lot better. So, she stopped doing it. For a couple of days it looked great. Then she noticed that the chicken had two missing toes, so she started freaking out and started doing it again. But, stopped again because she thought it was OK. But, the next two days it lost both of its feet and had to be put to sleep. Thank you for your reply. Also people who are looking who have any problems like this. Visit the vet and do everything they say. Don't stop tell the vet says.

I am hopeful that your chicken recovers with you daily soaks. Please keep us all posted on her progress.

Ok, will do. She is looking bad again. But, the vet said it's natural for that happening. I will post a pic next week. Thanks.

chickensrock12 said:

Aww, I feel bad. For forgetting to tell you guys that the veterinarian said it would take a week's time to look like that. Today, it looks bad again. But the vet also said it will do that and it will shift on and on for a couple of weeks. So if that happens just do the same thing. The vet also said every time I put her in the water with salt and the meds. It will start to look better, but it will go back and forth. She said that a couple of years ago. She had someone come in with the same thing. At first the patient put her chicken in the water, salt and meds. But, the next day she's like wow it looks a lot better. So, she stopped doing it. For a couple of days it looked great. Then she noticed that the chicken had two missing toes, so she started freaking out and started doing it again. But, stopped again because she thought it was OK. But, the next two days it lost both of its feet and had to be put to sleep. Thank you for your reply. Also people who are looking who have any problems like this. Visit the vet and do everything they say. Don't stop tell the vet says.

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Wish I'd have had a vet like that handy when Scout had his feet frozen. Like you, I kept up the soaks. It was the only thing I could think of to do, besides keeping ointments on the open sores where the blisters had been, and it seemed to soothe him so much. Keep us posted, your experiences are bound to help someone else. When it happened to Scout, I couldn't find a thing.

Ok, will do. She is looking bad again. But, the vet said it's natural for that happening. I will post a pic next week. Thanks.

chickensrock12 said:

Ok, will do. She is looking bad again. But, the vet said it's natural for that happening. I will post a pic next week. Thanks.

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I agree with @Blooie keep us posted, this will be very helpful in the future.

I hope she recovers.

You are fortunate to have a vet that knows about chickens, so many do not. I hope she makes a good recovery. You might consider getting nipple water dispensers at another time. The birds and their environment stay much drier. I don't think they work in winter temps. Thank you for taking her to a vet, and not giving up on her.

I would never leave someone or something. I have a cat named mittens. I found her wondering the street alone I noticed that she was limping. I go to the same vet every time. So, I took the cat there. The vet said she got ran over. Do to the surgery my vet said that she will never walk again. But within 4 months I wake up and she is running and walking. I have dogs that I raise and train and send them to forever homes. I would never do that. I wish I could do more for animals. Thanks for your help.