Any suggestions on how to solve our frostbite problem?

[SIMZ]

Have you seen this happen? My roo last year (red sex link) had a very large comb and at one point the tips were black and the grey had spread down below the tips. Spring came and it all went back to bright red. At the moment, my BA with the smallest comb is black almost to his head; the BA with a red fault and a huge comb has some graying/almost black just on the very tips; and, the mottled houdan/blue australorp x only has his tips (quite a lot of tips, as his comb splits into 2 combs halfway back!) mildly affected as well.

Let me clarify..... he will likely lose the tips of the tips. You are correct that they don't necessarily lose all the tissue that turns black.

 

[Phoenixxx]

My guess is you are more the exception than the rule when it comes to frostbite.  I wish we were all this lucky.

It is extremely frustrating when you think you have researched to the ends of this website and back again and this sort of thing brings you to your knees in such a humbling fashion that it resets your gears.  You learn there are things you just have to accept that are out of your control and you just maintain what you can and learn to "let go". --very difficult for me sometimes.  The biggest lesson for me was the "letting go" part and picking the breed part when it comes to this.  I will always practice good husbandry with my birds--so don't get me wrong on the "letting go" part-- but there are somethings I've learned is that everybody's advice is different and that is because they have different birds, they have different number of birds, they have different climates, they have different coops, they have different bedding,.....etc etc. etc.  And always watch your own birds and see what is happening to them and take all of this advice with a grain of salt and incorporate only what you think is going to work.  Last year I thought, "I am not going to have weak, unwinterized chickens."--no heat, no insulation.  This year I'm thinking:  "When it's -30 I'm warming that coop up and insulating with snow and foam boards on the north and west sides so it is not a cruel temperature (0 and above I'm okay with )."  Funny what a year does to you.

Where I am, too, though, we never stay below freezing for too long. We're at minus 12 right now but going up to a nice plus 11 with rain on sunday. Then the days afterward are supposed to hang out just above freezing with only the nights dipping below zero. Maybe I'm the exception because my birds get these periodic warming periods throughout the winter? Makes sense, for sure.

 

[Bogtown Chick]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/742274/freezer-camp-in-our-minnesota-coop-frozen-wattles-on-roo

Here is my thread with photos from last winter contending with severe frostbite on comb and wattles. If anybody wants photos or treatments to reference. It's all in there. Let me know if you have questions.

One lady I know from MN who had severe frostbite brought her roo in. His wattles were swollen...but he spent 2-4 weeks inside a house and they were able to save them. I chose to keep my rooster outside after the initial thaw and I suppose this is why we had the loss we did and why most folks do. It's really dependent on how deep the damage is. If it's superficial frost bit then it will probably redden back up. If the freezing is deep tissue level...consider a loss IMO.

 

[iwanaplae2]

Thank you both for responding.

I have heard that heat can make things worse so I've never used any. 

We're wondering how to increase the ventilation without causing drafts.  We're wondering if a lower vent of some sort would help with some air movement?  Or would opening more at the top be better?  (It looks like we do have one side partially blocked to cut back on wind coming through.)

Adding ventilation at the bottom, helps air movement by drawing in air from the bottom and exiting out the top. Usually without causing a draft.
As for the frostbite. I don't use Vaseline. I use bag balm. It has antiseptic qualities. It's been used on cows teets (and by nursing moms) for years. I keep a can in my first aid kit. Btw it's great on bug bites, berry thorn scratches...
Good luck. I hope you figure out what works best for you and your babies

 

[katsdar]

My birds that stayed in their coop came through fine, but my bannies that refuse to go into a coop they roost in the pine trees, I really figured they would come down if it got too bad for them. But NOOOOOO now my banny roos have frostbite, but their combs are purple not black, so will they loose the purple part? Or is that the color before it turns black and what should I do if anything for them?

 

[SIMZ]

My birds that stayed in their coop came through fine, but my bannies that refuse to go into a coop they roost in the pine trees, I really figured they would come down if it got too bad for them. But NOOOOOO now my banny roos have frostbite, but their combs are purple not black, so will they loose the purple part? Or is that the color before it turns black and what should I do if anything for them?

Depending on how bad the frostbite is, they may only lose the tips of the tips of the comb. If you read the last few pages of posts you'll find some good tips on things you can do that might help. Best of luck!

P.S. Your avatar pic is ADORABLE! LOL

 

[aoxa]

This year is so incredibly cold. Drafts are the worst thing along with poor ventilation. I'm sure you've received every answer under the sun.

I have a few cases of frost bite from leaving the barn door open. A few of them will lose much of their combs unfortunately. No more barn door open unless it is significantly warmer than it has been.

 

[chicken pickin]

Im glad to have found this. I am marking my spot so I can read up on this. I have 2 roosters that have terrible frostbite and I need to start acting on it now.

 

[deacons]

Try Vetericyn VF spray daily and Eucerin Cream at night.  Recommended by the Chicken Chick.  She's on FB and has a website with gobs of awesome info on care and love of chickens.  There' s whole section on Frostbite and Winter with Chickens.  Look under "Chicken Resources Directory".  Hope this helps.  Tell her Allison Adams sent you

I've been wondering about vetricyn-use it and love it on scrapes and scratches ( on my horse too!). But something seems weird about putting something WET in the frost bitten surface when temps are in the single digits. Seems like that would just make things worse?

 

[Davidally122]

Hmmm not sure. I know the chicken chic is using it on her rooster and he's getting along just fine. Maybe the ingredients respond differently than water.