Chicken with frostbitten legs/feet!

[azygous]

The most important thing in caring for frostbite is to prevent that tissue from freezing again as it would be much, much worse. She could end up losing her feet and walking on stumps.

I have perches 24 inches high. My youngsters have no problem with that height, but the bedding on the floor is deep enough to cushion dismounts. However, in one section two roosters roost, and 24 inches is just slightly higher than they can comfortably hop up. They risked injury to feet when they misjudged. So I piled the bedding into a peak under the perch to give them a little edge in height to make the leap less daunting. It made a difference in their willingness to use the perch.

Any chicken over five pounds have a weight disadvantage when it comes to perches they have to leap like Superman on a tall building. Dismounting can be just as dangerous. Accidents are more likely.

 

[mrskenmore]

I just pulled the Bumblefoot off - it was pretty soft. I wrapped it. Could i use Blu-Kote instead? It is like a high of 20 but it is supposed to be a high of 5 later this week. Should i use a red lamp in the coop, i heard before it was bad for them because i creates condensation on their combs? We also have lots of pine needles where they like to free range?

Yes the blue kote will work as an antiseptic similar to the vetericyn. The reason you spray the wound prior to putting on the neosporin is to kill any germs from the infection.

What would the purpose of the red lamp be? Do you have adequate ventilation at night where they sleep- are their combs suffering from frost bite as well? Those temps should be fine for a cold hardy breed to survive and thrive.

I would think pine needles would be okay. Most likely the reason this keeps occurring is the height of the roost bars. Can you send a pic? It may also be splinters occurring from the wood trunks as well. I like to use a 2x4 located on the wide side. That way when they roost at night, their body covers over their feet and are not exposed to the cold temps.

are you able to keep her indoors for a few days while she heals? I think the frostbite is not something you want to take chances with.

As with anything for chickens, prevention is the best course of action!

 

[ChewBokBok]

The red lamp would be for heat, i have have quite a few get frostbit on their combs i had one bleed all over because of frostbite but it was just a small wound. I have 3 small windows with a screen but i have them closed right now to keep out the cold. With my coop i don't think it is possible to lower the roosting bars but i can try this spring. She will stay inside until her frostbite is better - i agree. I checked on her this morning and her unwrapped leg ( her worse leg ) was pale and quite swollen. Thanks for your help.

 

[ChewBokBok]

Her are the roosting bars:

 

[mrskenmore]

Glad to hear she is okay this morning- keep up the great work!

Okay so if you have frostbite on the combs as well I am thinking you have a ventilation problem. I know it is counter intuitive to open their coop up in the winter, but the fact that you have frostbite is a result of condensation build up (the heat lamp doesn't help that) and lack of ventilation, so it settles on their feet and comb and freezes. The good news is it is a quick fix, the bad news about frostbite is once it sinks in, the tissue starts to die (I had a sex link with a huge comb that lost the tips in a very cold, frozen week when I didn't know enough about ventilation and it never "grew" back)

Take a look at this article for more information:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...-there-and-cut-more-holes-in-your-coop.47774/

I think switching to 2" x 4" roosts in the spring will be helpful, as will lowering them if you can. See attached photo of the roost in my coop and how the girls are able to hunker down and wrap their warm body over their feet and toes, protecting them in the cold temps! Note I painted the 2" x 4" as that helps protect from splinters (to prevent bumblefoot), lice and mites.

You can see in the pic all the way to the left my hen Jolene that had the frostbite issue with the tips of her comb.

 

[ChewBokBok]

Thanks so much for all the advice! Should i open the windows with the screen? I also have two large windows on the other side that i could open a crack in the day ( I would have to shut them at night though because of predators)? I will definitely try to do that this spring. Almost all my chickens have frostbite on their combs but i have never had a chicken loose part of their comb before.

 

[mrskenmore]

Thanks so much for all the advice! Should i open the windows with the screen? I also have two large windows on the other side that i could open a crack in the day ( I would have to shut them at night though because of predators)? I will definitely try to do that this spring. Almost all my chickens have frostbite on their combs but i have never had a chicken loose part of their comb before.

You should open the windows, but only if they have hardware cloth to keep predators out. Can you drill some holes in the structure at the top and reinforce with hardware cloth? You don't want a predator problem for sure on top of bumblefoot and frostbite!

 

[ChewBokBok]

I can open them a crack as chicken door is open anyway but i will shut them at night. The 3 at the top have a screen and are way to high up for any predator to reach.

 

[mrskenmore]

I can open them a crack as chicken door is open anyway but i will shut them at night. The 3 at the top have a screen and are way to high up for any predator to reach.

I would try to add as much ventilation as possible as long as they are predator proof- I have raccoons in my area that will climb anything and poke in a screen.

Then again I have keyed locks on my coop doors because I don't trust them- I figure if the raccoons really want to get in they have to ask me for the key lol

 

[ChewBokBok]

Yes! We have weasels that have killed all our neighbors chickens, so i don't want to take any chances. I think it is getting worse, though it looks a little less swollen. Here are some pics;