Chicken has blue stripe at base of comb

WolfHomestead16

In the Brooder
Feb 11, 2017
15
2
29
About 2 days ago I noticed one of my chickens developed a blue stripe at the base of her comb. I am not sure if I need to address this or if this is a symptom of molting. She is just finishing up her molt. We did just get a few nights in the teens, could it maybe be frostbite?

Any thoughts would be helpful :)
 
Yes, that is frostbite. It may not be clear for some time whether or not the tips of her comb may slough off. I have seen some get better, and some become rounded off after a few weeks. She will probably heal without anything, but you could apply betadine, Vetericyn spray, or plain triple antibiotic ointment to it to prevent infection. You might want to post a later picture of how the comb heals.
 
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Thank you for the response, her comb has started to turn more purple, it looks like frost bite now. You were correct :) I decided to put her in the garage last night because it dropped back into the teens again. It looks like it will be in the teens until Tuesday 3/14/17. Should I keep her in there this whole time or just at night? I am afraid that the flock wont welcome her back if she is absent for a few days. Any thoughts?
 
Yes, that is frostbite. It may not be clear for some time whether or not the tips of her comb may slough off. I have seen some get better, and some become rounded off after a few weeks. She will probably heal without anything, but you could apply betadine, Vetericyn spray, or plain triple antibiotic ointment to it to prevent infection. You might want to post a later picture of how the comb heals.
Thank you for the response, her comb has started to turn more purple, it looks like frost bite now. You were correct :) I decided to put her in the garage last night because it dropped back into the teens again. It looks like it will be in the teens until Tuesday 3/14/17. Should I keep her in there this whole time or just at night? I am afraid that the flock wont welcome her back if she is absent for a few days. Any thoughts?

 
I would put her back in the coop with the others. Watch to see that they don't peck her too much. Separation does make it worse for reintegration later. She needs to stay used to the cold weather.
 

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