How to prevent frostbite?

[aart]

I am a first time chicken owner in the Black Hills of SD.
Last week it got down into the negatives at night. I don't think my girls got any frostbite but I'm liking the idea of the bag balm.
Does anyone have a photo of a frostbitten chicken comb?

Try Advanced Search>Titles Only>frostbite

or google images

 

[emma p]

Yes I am curious also! What does a frostbite look like? I imagine a white comb..

Also, I've seen many thread about frostbites, but how to you treat them? Anything special we need to do if it ever happens? I guess not, it is not like an exposed wound.

My last dumb question... you all have nice rooster that let you pick them up and put vaseline on their combs?!?! Not sure mine would appreciate. I think I would probably chase him around everytime I need to put vaseline on. At the end of winter he'd probably hate me from chasing him all the time!

It normally looks black on the ends of their comb. I have read that you put a warm wet paper towel ( or something) on there comb for a few minutes and than you can put neosporin or something similar on it. I have not had to do that yet. Also if it is not treated the part that has frost bite can fall off.

 

[aart]

Quote: It can also look like a grayish/greenish tint if mild and not deep, black if more deep/severe.
My experience is that treatment is not necessary, unless there is massive swelling and/or infection, and could cause more harm than good.

I had 2 cases of rather large, very black patches on rooster wattles last year, I just kept a close eye on them and while there was some slight swelling they never got infected and healed on their own just fine.

 

[ivynurse2003]

http://naturalchickenkeeping.blogspot.com/2013/11/how-to-help-chicken-with-frostbite.html

 

[Jewellan]

I have silly girls that like to roost outside. I am wondering how cold it has to be outside before I need to worry. I am loosing sleep, not the chickens. They have a roof over them so they are not getting wet, I have plastic on half of the outside of the coop (Where they roost) the other half is open for ventilation, I just worry that they are cold, I know that sounds stupid, but at what temperature should I start to worry? Here is a couple of pictures of the coop.

This is the roost, it is where all of my 7 girls like to sleep. Is it okay to leave them out?

 

[SamBam]

You shouldn't wory about this at all. They are funny and will take of themselves really well. I was concerned for this once a few years ago during a big freeze here. My birds actually went outside and roosted together, no frostbite at all. Maybe they needed even more ventilation than i had provided at these lower rare temps here NH. once the cold broke, they moved back to their regular routine. Good birds.

 

[Fletch83]

I have silly girls that like to roost outside. I am wondering how cold it has to be outside before I need to worry. I am loosing sleep, not the chickens. They have a roof over them so they are not getting wet, I have plastic on half of the outside of the coop (Where they roost) the other half is open for ventilation, I just worry that they are cold, I know that sounds stupid, but at what temperature should I start to worry? Here is a couple of pictures of the coop.

This is the roost, it is where all of my 7 girls like to sleep. Is it okay to leave them out?

Your coop & run are so nice!! Did you build it from plans?

 

[Jewellan]

Your coop & run are so nice!! Did you build it from plans?

No. I bought it off of Amazon, had to build it, and it was pretty easy. But the roof was a pain in the butt to put on.

 

[BayBay Peepers]

Last year I ended up with a frostbite dubbed rooster. It started whitish and quickly turned black and the tips of this comb fell off.

You can use neosporin to help with the starts of frostbite, but make sure it does not have pain reliever in it. This year we are using bag balm for the first time. I just gooped up everyone last night They weren't too happy at first, but once you start to massage it in they actually seem to enjoy it.

 

[emmajane07]

Hi everyone! I'm sure this isn't the right place to post this question--but, since you are on topic....this may be a silly question. I have 9 week old's outside now, they have been since 6 weeks. So, they have gone from the warmer days, to chillier days, to cooler to down right freezing days. Since they are young, they do not have large combs. But, what should I be looking out for to make sure they aren't getting the beginning of frost bite?