Chickens feet are red and wrinkled - HELP me please!! (PICS ADDED)

[cluckmecoop7]

Hello,

I am very worried about my girls. I have six - Golden Laced Wyandotte's and Buff Orpington's. They do not have a covered run. There is lots of snow on the ground right now and they are standing in it all the time. The skin between their toes is all red and wrinkled. What can I do for them? I don't have hay to put down, and the snow is frozen so it can't be shoveled. They are also finishing a molt. PLEASE help!! I feel bad for them.

Thanks!!
- Clucky

 

[EggSighted4Life]

They do not have a covered run. There is lots of snow on the ground right now and they are standing in it all the time. The skin between their toes is all red and wrinkled. What can I do for them?

Do they have a covered shelter with roost they can stand on if they choose?

Please?

Posting again before you get an answer moves it off the unanswered board and makes your question more likely to be buried in the endless maze of threads... for future reference. Just leave it alone and wait until someone with experience or knowledge signs on to help as many of us have jobs or other obligations, despite our seemingly endless presence here.

On the other end if your question has left the unanswered board.. doing a little "bump" post can move it back into the "recent" activity board where it might be seen again.

I would do what you can... toss out a piece of plywood, cardboard, an old blanket. Whatever ya got that's not metal.

Maybe plan a covered area for next year??

Add a wooden roost/perch where they are hanging out... 2x4 with cinder block at each end, fallen branch, or even a log to stand on.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

(Which has two roosts, texting boxes, and wood shavings.)

Lol, take their dang phones away!

Sorry, couldn't resist that one.

I was going to say they look fine all my birds feet are like that during wet pacific northwest winters, and they mostly do... BUT that last pic looks like a black toe which could be frost bite. If so it will likely fall off eventually if it's bad enough... but it does seem of concern. Even though this is their first winter with you... they must have had one already if they are just finishing up molt... do you know if the toe was black before you got her?

Is you coop big enough to not let them out or is that too crowded just adding more issues?

Are you able to go get some hay... or bit of LARGE wood bark/chips? They might just disappear. I know things disappear quickly in the mud here.

 

[aart]

The run is sort of shoveled but not down to the leaves, dirt, grass, etc. Just can't get that far.

You don't have to get it all, just shovel/scrape off most of it.

I also gave them warm oatmeal, apple peels, and raisins. A big bowl of it all mixed together. I hope that will help warm up their insides. Anyway, what do you all think? Is there more I can do for them?

Don't give them warm food...they aren't humans....and the steam from the hot food can cause condensation on their face skin, or they step in it and get their feet wet.

They just need a good chicken ration and thawed water.

The first winter is hard, but do not overreact, they are tougher than you think.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Remember that first and foremost, chickens are birds. You see sparrows and bluejays and whatever hopping around on the snow all the time and don't think, Oh the poor things, their feet will get cold! Nature has designed them to cope. Their metabolisms are way different and faster than ours. They're active, pecking and scratching, kicking with those feet. They're designed to go barefoot. Like Hobbits! They're also dressed in thick down coats which warms their circulatory system. As long as they can stay dry and active like their wild cousins they should be fine.

 

[aart]

Lol, take their dang phones away!

Sorry, couldn't resist that one.

Thanks, was thinking the same.

BUT that last pic looks like a black toe which could be frost bite.

Looks like 'dirty toe' to me.

@cluckmecoop7 they look OK to me.
Can your birds get underneath the coop for a dry place to scratch and dust bathe?

 

[Tortoise]

My one orps feet are red too. My first winter and first chickens since I was a kid. They will get red from the cold.
However, you do need fo do something go give them some space to be outside without having to stand on the snow the whole time.
Wood chips, hay, straw would work great to give some relief from standing on the ice cold.

 

[aart]

Yes, they can get under the coop. But I'm not sure if the dirt is frozen or not. I do know that there is no snow under there, though.

If it stays dry, I doubt it's frozen......how it's worked here, they can dust bathe under that all year round.

 

[CatWhisperer]

How do their feet look today?

 

[CatWhisperer]

Pictures please? The redness could be the first sign of frostbite. Your chickens really need a way to get off the frozen snow. A covered run would be best so they always have a clear area to walk on. Hay, straw, leaves, wood chips or mulch could help for now. You may want to bring them indoors to see how their feet do in the next day or so. Is this their first winter in these conditions?