help! my roosters wattles are frozen solid!

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FractiousCat

FractiousCat

Hatching
9 Years
Dec 14, 2010
9
0
7
Lapine
I don't know what to do his wattels are frozen solid! We have a heat lamp in his house and his 4 hens seem to be doing fine. I change the water twice a day cuz it does freeze and they're eatting the high grain food to help them produce heat this winter .…also i have a lot of bedding in there deep dry straw... I'm going to put another heat lamp in with the them they already have one its really not huge place either. But at this point his wattles are frozen solid and I don't know what to do. I have read a lot that says to cut them off!......and then I read things to say to leave him alone and let them go nercrotic and fall of them self.
I don't know what to do I can't imagine cuttin any of his flesh of its really upsetting to think of... He's not just a rooster he's our pet.....please help! Any advice ...
Thank you soon much...
400

I just took some pictures of him... Yep it also handsome guy and he's over 7 years old so he's an old man too!....
as you can see the tips of his comb are black... But his wattles they don't look so bad in the picture...but they are actually frozen solid.
They do seem to be thawing out cause he's in our bathroom... But the problem is he's also covered with lice!.... Which I did not even know... We put those chicken dust on him every summer but hes never had them like this!......I don't know what's going on he's never had it this bad... I'm thinking of giving him a bath with kitten flea and lice killer can I do that?....thren he could stay in the house..
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We had this happen with our rooster last winter.

First of all, I'd dust him with Sevin dust or poultry dust to take care of the lice. Right away! Also, can you keep him inside (or a garage) that is above freezing? The dust will kill them right away - put some under each wing and at his vent area.

Can he still eat and drink on his own? Don't do anything to get water on those wattles if he's still going to be outside, though.
 
FractiousCat said:
I don't know what to do his wattels are frozen solid! We have a heat lamp in his house and his 4 hens seem to be doing fine. I change the water twice a day cuz it does freeze and they're eatting the high grain food to help them produce heat this winter .…also i have a lot of bedding in there deep dry straw... I'm going to put another heat lamp in with the them they already have one its really not huge place either. But at this point his wattles are frozen solid and I don't know what to do. I have read a lot that says to cut them off!......and then I read things to say to leave him alone and let them go nercrotic and fall of them self.
I don't know what to do I can't imagine cuttin any of his flesh of its really upsetting to think of... He's not just a rooster he's our pet.....please help! Any advice ...
Thank you soon much...
I just took some pictures of him... Yep it also handsome guy and he's over 7 years old so he's an old man too!....
as you can see the tips of his comb are black... But his wattles they don't look so bad in the picture...but they are actually frozen solid.
They do seem to be thawing out cause he's in our bathroom... But the problem is he's also covered with lice!.... Which I did not even know... We put those chicken dust on him every summer but hes never had them like this!......I don't know what's going on he's never had it this bad... I'm thinking of giving him a bath with kitten flea and lice killer can I do that?....thren he could stay in the house..
Click to expand...
Definitely keep him inside for now. Unfortunately, the frozen tissue will likely slough off. He'll definitely lose part of his comb. However, his wattles don't seem quite as bad. I've had a few birds get frostbitten wattles, and they didn't lose much at all, even though they were frozen. Put some antibiotic ointment on his comb and wattles to help prevent infection. If you decide to put him back out at the coop, make sure to put some petroleum jelly on the wattles and comb to help prevent further frostbite.

Dust him with Sevin dust, use a spray like Poultry Protector, or put on a few drops of Frontline for dogs and cats to get rid of the lice. It will probably take several applications to get rid of them all-- mites and lice are very difficult to get rid of.
 
Thank you both for the advice, I was horrified of just thinking of having to cut anything off of him..i dont care if his points fall off...or if his wattles fall off..but I hate for him to hurt. He's my old man.... I am keeping him in the house tonight...he's in my master bathroom. Sadly we don't have another building to keep them in except for their chicken house. So he will have to go back out tomorrow... Possibly I can bring him in at night...not sure if my bf is going to go for this though...
Yes he's eating and drinking still and I am Hand feeding him popped popcorn diped in pedilite twice a day...The popcorn acts like little sponges and gets him lots a electrolytes...
So can I bathe him in the kitten flea and lice shampoo? To help with the lice issue....than if I blow dry him I can dust him after...what do you think?
 
So his wattles have thawed out! Oh my gosh how sad...do they hurt? They are a bit swollen and have a black streak that runs through the center of them..the weigh is pulling down his lower beak..
 
Thanks!
I did put mama bees healing ointment on him...its kinda like Vaseline and I been massaging them too.
I have some un-patrolium I will use too tommorow.
 
If they ever freeze like that again, you can apply a warm moist towel indoors to help them thaw out. Then dry and add petroleum jelly, but do it gently, because the comb and wattles are probably pretty sore from being frozen. May want to add a heat lamp!
 
They do have a heat lamp...but we will add another one and reposition one over the roosts and one over the feeding area/main living area. Yhea I brought him in this am and he's been In all day and I just let them thaw on their own....I gave him a warm bath bout a half hr ago because of the lice and because he really likes them so I thought they would serve a dule pourpose soothe&delouse..lol.
He loved it was falling asleep in the water And when getting blewdried ...like always...as I was blow drying him the dead lice were just falling off so that's a wonderful situation. Now he can wear his diaper and sit on the couch with us.
I will keep everyone posted on his waffles and comb...I guess we will have to play it by ear.
Thanks everyone, you made me feel so much better about it...
 
Don't add too much heat no matter how tempting. How's the ventilation in the coop? I say this kindly (I know you can't really read emotion or how something is said when it is typed) but fire hazards are huge with many heat lights. I don't know how to post links but search winter ventilation in coops. Petroleum jelly suggestion is great too- used it all last winter on rhode island red combs, wattles and legs:)
 

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