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I have also had a few of my hens with larger combs get frostbite on the tips of their combs. They seem to weather it ok. I have also tried vaseline and finally gave that up as it didn't seem to help. Maybe it works for others. I have seen other chicken owners here in Maine struggle with the same...

It's about an hour and a half later and the results are....mudballs removed! Thank you! I did a good 10-15 minute hot water and gentle dish detergent soak. Then gently used needle nose pliers to remove. Large mudball came right off at this point. Smaller mudballs needed a little more...

Thank you. I can see my soaks are not nearly long enough. I believe this to be due to a new dust bath "recipe" I put in the run a month ago. I've always just used sand and DE. This suggested garden soil and wood ash as well. Guess I won't be doing that again! Got a thermos of coffee, a radio, a...

Hi, I have been dealing with this exact same thing. I have one girl with a large, marble sized, mudball stuck to her toe. 2 tiny mudballs stuck to 2 other toes. I put a new dust bath "recipe" in their run and this is the result. As well as too much garden produce and resultant loose...well, you...

I also cut clumped ones off. This morning their butts look fluffy again. Some featherless areas but much better then large clumps of dried poo. So glad I took care of it. I bet not 1/2 as glad as they are!

My girls had very gross poopy butts. Large amounts caked on. It's winter and I think it's safe to say they are not getting enough fresh veggies/fruit in their diet. I tried to pull off, as suggested, and the poor girl yelled and the feathers didn't come off. So I filled a plastic tub with hot...

Do I need to be concerned about globs of hardened poo balls on my otherwise healthy hens? I live in Maine so it's cold. Thanks!

Mine are getting frostbite on their combs. Coop is not heated but since its a stall in a barn, there are no drafts. But it's cold! Doing deep litter method. 6 hens in a 9x12 coop. I leave the top of the 1/2 door open a few cm during night for ventilation but the door is in a barn so air gets in...

How are your chickens doing? Frostbite still? What have you done to ward it off? I'm in Maine and dealing with frostbite too. I have a good 10 degree difference between coop and outdoors. But it's been cold the past few days and it will continue. Just wondering.

I've been reading about solutions for preventing water from freezing. I'm worried about an extension chord and heating element in a barn. Do any of you have photos of your water set up to post? If I see what you all do I may feel better about buying a heater for my waterer. Thanks!!

I too thought a mouse might have been killed by the girls. But didn't find any bones or fur. It's been 2 days since and no blood. Thank you for replying your thoughts to this question. :)

Thank you WillowBranch. When I went out and looked closer I noticed tiny black dots on the tips of one of my hen's comb. Frostbite I'm guessing. So I think yoy are right. It fits the location of the blood ehile she was eating.I put vaseline on all their combs last eve. Hope this helps.

I went into the coop to check on the girls midday and found their plastic food server covered with splattered blood. Usually food hangs in the run but with a snow storm going on they we confined too coop which is 9x12 and I have 6 pullerts about 8 mos old and in very good health, Dominique's. I...

We will try to find homes for them outside of town. Ones that we can't will be taken to butcher then donated to needy families.

Hi, I teach a 5th grade literacy program in a high poverty school in central Maine. Last year we raised 1 chick from an egg. He turned out to be a prize winning rooster we named Solo. He now belongs to a very happy to have him 10 year old boy. This year our town passed an ordinance permitting...

I'm confused. How do you add ventilation but no drafts? Thanks.

These are some great ideas. We live in Maine so I worry about sand and being too cold. Our coop is not insulated. The extending roof is a great idea! Wish I thought of it. And the pitch with the pvc piping is something we were just talking about. How are you going to do that? Using the pipes...

Sand in your run instead of hay or shavings?

Hi, I've been feeding my chickens leftovers from our kitchen and garden. Mostly veggies with a little rice, pasta, bread. I heard that you leave it in their run and it will compost adding a nice layer of warm bedding. I was wondering won't that attract wild animals such as racoons and rats...

Hi, I have a problem with our run. It is attached to a 3 sided addition of our barn. The coop is in a stall in the barn. The pop door opens up into the run which is 1/2 under roof cover and 1/2 just wire fencing cover. We have been using a tarp to cover the run. Well, the run gets wet. Today we...