Obviously I'm not an expert & don't even have chickens, but - should be apparent by now, have a natural curiousity that sends me looking. Noticed this guy was similar to Fabio, & advice was it was a mild case.
Yes, and I noticed that SOB has a thin, broken black line in a similar place. I’m wondering if that’s where some major blood vessels are...
The comb & wattles are organs that aid temp regulation. There's an artery directly under the comb that feeds into veins in it. Throughout the middle, arteries and veins crisscross similar to a checkerboard pattern. This allows for rapid heat exchange between the blood vessels.
Poor boy!Wow - serious wind! Pic of our temps. We are at -13 F wind chill! Not a guinea but this is our Favorelle rooster that apparently has frostbite along his “dub line” according to someone on the diseases forum...It sounds like he will probably lose his comb - I’ve not had to deal with frostbite before!
Guess I didn’t read in order - I just asked you about your roos on a different thread! I feel terrible for them too. I haven’t had poultry for that long, about three years, but not a hint of frostbite in all that time! Now I currently have 4 of 6 roos with some pretty hefty comb damage. I’m worried about whether such a big chunk of tissue can fall off without much effect... The unaffected ones have small pea combs. I’m amazed I haven’t seen any toe damage - knock on wood!!!Poor boy!
Sadly my roo looks even worse then yours
For some reason the chicken coop must hold more humidity or big combs just can’t handle our negative temps. I was seeing the typical minor frostbite on his tips and wattles but once we hit -20f and windchill down past -30f the black line showed up and half his wattles have frostbite
Most of my single comb hens have some level of frostbite on the tips of their combs. I’m so frustrated and feel so bad for them. It makes me want to get rid of all my big single comb chickens.
My guineas and turkeys on the other hand are all in perfect shape. Not even a hint of frostbite.
Ugh, chickens are my least favorite poultry. They keep giving me more reasons why other poultry are better
I had a Cream Legbar rooster that got frostbite and lost the top 1/2 of his comb without any problems. It looked black and nasty until it fell off on its own.
Do you have the same roos or breed as before?
I’m very new to it too. This is my second guinea winter and first chicken and turkey winter. It’s all such a learning experience. Pea combs are so nice aren’t they. I’m kicking myself for placing a second chicken order before the worst of winter hit. Now I have more big single comb birds coming
That is good to hear. I have been worried too about such a large chunk coming off.
Yes. Black copper marans, Favorelles, and olive eggers with modified pea combs. The OE with the biggest comb has damage to about half of it. The OE that have more of a small pea comb are the only ones without visible damage.
