Frostbite?

[Brucepierce]

Hey Folks....
I'm curious to see if you think this is frostbite...

I live in New England...Ma....outside Boston...the weather has been cold here but not crazy cold...15-20 Fahrenheit at night....worst case.
I have a fairly large coop for 5 birds 8x8x8 and feel that it is well vented..6 windows and open soffits around the coop...is it too cold? I don't believe there is a humidity issue but I'll check tonite.
Should I Vaseline their combs? I have electric close to the coop but would like to keep it as natural as possible....but if I need to put in a heat lamp I would.
Thanks in advance for your comments.
Bruce

 

[FractiousCat]

I think it might be...that's how my roos frost bite started..little black spots. Now he's in a bad way frozen wattles and bad frost bitten comb. I have a heat lamp and deep straw bedding and I feed high grains in winter so the chickens can produce extra heat.
Good luck with your guys...

 

[Brucepierce]

No humidity in the coop....too cold? Maybe I'll close/cover the open soffit vents.

 

[Brucepierce]

That sounds painful I might get a lamp too.

 

[Wyandottes7]

It looks like some mild frostbite to me. Insufficient ventilation, waterers that allow a bird to dip its comb/wattles into the water, drafts, too much moisture, and extreme cold are all causes of frostbite. To help prevent it in your birds, you can put some petroleum jelly on their combs and wattles.

 

[Brucepierce]

So I haven't figured out what the problem in my coop is yet...I've been going in checking to see if I can feel any humidity and I can't...I'll check on the next windy day to see if I feel any drafts but I doubt it...they roost below the level of my soffit vents , I'll look there next for drafts I guess.
I have been putting Vaseline on them now for 2 days, I'll keep up with that until that doesn't work any longer...do their feet get frostbite too? I haven't seen anything just wondering.

 

[BantamLover21]

So I haven't figured out what the problem in my coop is yet...I've been going in checking to see if I can feel any humidity and I can't...I'll check on the next windy day to see if I feel any drafts but I doubt it...they roost below the level of my soffit vents , I'll look there next for drafts I guess.
I have been putting Vaseline on them now for 2 days, I'll keep up with that until that doesn't work any longer...do their feet get frostbite too? I haven't seen anything just wondering.

Sometimes, you never really know why chickens get frostbitten. But it sounds like you're doing everything I would if my chickens were in danger of being frostbitten. And in answer to your question about their feet, yes, their feet can get frostbitten, too, though this is less common.

 

[Brucepierce]

I went out today and picked up a heat lamp, bulb and a timer...I just don't know which way to go with this...
Do I ....open a vent window and see if it's humidity? And do I risk freezing my birds...
Or do I..put the heat lamp on a timer and run it for a few hours during the night? And if it is a humidity thing wouldn't that just make it worse?
I would prefer to not use a lamp for all the reasons we read here on the forum.
I wish the problem was obvious so I could just fix it. I go in there at night when they are cuddled up and I can't feel any difference in the air.
I looked at my RI Reds this morning and their beautiful red combs are blackening in spots...not sure what to do....but I slept like **** last night thinking about them, I would hate to be the cause of them suffering.
Thanks for your comments

Bruce

 

[Brucepierce]

I found my buffs like this today....I'm hoping it's from the Vaseline I put on them yesterday....anyone ever see this before?

 

[The Brick Coop]

That stuff on the feathers around the comb is just vaseline mixing with the dirt that's in the feathers. It will come off with washing with shampoo, but then that requires getting them wet and drying them in the house, so you may want to ignore the dirty greasy feathers for now. It will keep that part of the feathers from holding much dead air space on that part of the head, but at least it's not a large part of their body that is colder, and that won't frostbite, just the comb. Keep on with the comb greasing, I think. ..... Hey, has anyone experimented with warm-softened Chapstick? It seems like that would not melt from body heat and the wax in it may help prevent frostbite better than petroleum jelly, but how could it be warmed up just enough to get in between comb tips, but not enough not to separate the ingredients that make it Chapstick?