Black comb - rooster

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Yes, so from now on supplemental heat.
I talked with several farmers in the area the ones with healthy combs have a 250 watt red light about 2 feet from heads of chickens. .
lesson learned - supplemental heat is needed
 
Looks like pretty severe frostbite. The tissue that’s turning black is devitalized and will eventually come off, although I have seen some animals (not chickens, dogs and cats) that have to have surgery to debride the dead tissue, but seems like most birds slough it off themselves eventually.

Ventilation is still going to be key for you. Warm, wet air is much worse than cold, dry air. Drafts won’t help either if they’re blowing on the birds.
My icelandic has a pretty huge comb and did get a touch of frostbite on the very tips of his points. He also insisted on sitting on the top roost that’s in line with the vents at the top, although he has now stopped which I’m sure has helped. I think I’ll have to block that roost off for winter from now on.
We’ve had temps of -25 C and below the last week or so, with wind chill being closer to -36C. Their coop is unheated but he hasn’t gotten any worse than the very tips, with no further damage.
 
Trisseh said:
Looks like pretty severe frostbite. The tissue that’s turning black is devitalized and will eventually come off, although I have seen some animals (not chickens, dogs and cats) that have to have surgery to debride the dead tissue, but seems like most birds slough it off themselves eventually.

Ventilation is still going to be key for you. Warm, wet air is much worse than cold, dry air. Drafts won’t help either if they’re blowing on the birds.
My icelandic has a pretty huge comb and did get a touch of frostbite on the very tips of his points. He also insisted on sitting on the top roost that’s in line with the vents at the top, although he has now stopped which I’m sure has helped. I think I’ll have to block that roost off for winter from now on.
We’ve had temps of -25 C and below the last week or so, with wind chill being closer to -36C. Their coop is unheated but he hasn’t gotten any worse than the very tips, with no further damage.
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Good to hear, I just installed heat on Thermo cube. It will turnoff at warm temps. I don’t believe I have a moisture issue. If I did the windows would be fogged up like our cars do. I should recheck my vent level with his head - sigh. Poor thing. Even when I first got him in early fall he would shake his head a lot before it turned black.
I thought that was odd behavior I think circulation to those combs must be an issue. Well we see how he does with supplemental heat with a heat cube.
I am not worried about a fire because that light or heat element is fastened 3 ways. And another thing is to clean it - dust off the lamp and light when cool. It will be a ceramic bulb so no light. I could put a 250 watt red bulb in there but I think the 100 watt ceramic heat lamp will be safer
 
One more thing- last year or last winter- we didn’t have any issue with frostbite. Although I had hens with smaller combs too. And supplement with heat on below zero days
 
One other thought is that a crushing injury or other type of injury that disrupts the blood flow could do something similar. Devitalized tissue doesn’t have blood supply, which makes it die. Or if it wasn’t damaged badly enough to die from the event, with cooler temps the chances of frostbite are higher in already compromised tissue. 🤷🏼‍♀️

Just keep in mind that if you’re going to add heat, to make sure you have a backup plan. If your birds are used to having heat in the coop and it gets turned off suddenly during an outage or other event, they may not be able to handle the drastic temp swing very well.
 
a heat lamp is an option but a 250 watt will add quite a bit to your yearly electric bill. Insulating the hutch better is another option. The insulation used to insulate houses is very good and ebcause chickens generate a lot of body heat if you use a few insulation boards (5cm thick) to line the sleeping area then they will be able to generate and trap enough heat to be fine by themselves. Ventilation is important but in winter time the area they sleep in should also be sealed and insulated and they should be able to withstand any weather.
 
Trisseh said:
One other thought is that a crushing injury or other type of injury that disrupts the blood flow could do something similar. Devitalized tissue doesn’t have blood supply, which makes it die. Or if it wasn’t damaged badly enough to die from the event, with cooler temps the chances of frostbite are higher in already compromised tissue. 🤷🏼‍♀️

Just keep in mind that if you’re going to add heat, to make sure you have a backup plan. If your birds are used to having heat in the coop and it gets turned off suddenly during an outage or other event, they may not be able to handle the drastic temp swing very well.
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Good point, but what other options do I have? Obviously the cold is effecting them.
I read most don’t like heat. I have only supplement heat on below zero days last year. This year looks like they need it.
I am using heat cube so it will only go on below 35 degree F and off if goes above 45F
 
humblehillsfarm said:
My rooster had his comb frostbitten just spending the day outside at 17 degrees F. How well ventilated is your coop? The higher the humidity, the more likely they are to get frost bite at night. If it is frostbite, your boy will be fine, the severely damaged parts will fall off eventually though.
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Thanks! I hope so! They have a protected wind free area that is enclosed- and then the coop.
well if his comb is smaller less issues then I guess. My friend heats his coop and has no problems with frostbite. So we will just do that and make sure it is secure and clean.
 

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