Colorado

[uzisuzuki]

Uzi,
The thing is that the relative humidity was high during that cold snap too. No reason for you to feel like an idiot at all. The only way I have found to drop the indoor humidity lower then the relative humidity would be an expensive dehumidifier. Then one would have to sacrifice the ventilation.
I don't think you did anything wrong at all. These things happen to all of us at some point.
I have been lucky and only had one get it. She lost the tips and her status but made it through.
Touching the damaged tips can make it worse. Keep an eye for infection and excessive bleeding. I read about using corn starch to stop bleeding. I keep a powder on hand made to stop bleeding it is called stipic powder. Probably spelled that wrong. Petsmart or Petco may sell it but the cornstarch is said to work just as well.

The 4 younger ones that hatched in the spring never got integrated with my main flock because the peahens wouldn't let them. It was the funniest thing. So, they have their own coop/pen now that is just right for 4 chickens in that cold snap. Unfortunately for all my boys, I had been moving Memnoch & Mercury into their coop at night because Memnoch & Odyessus still don't like each other even though they don't have hens to fight over anymore. Just the 2 extra birds in there created way too much humidity in the coop for that cold snap. Not putting them in there seems to have fixed that issue.

I figured trying to mess with them too much would make it worse. I did slather them all up the following day to try to keep it from getting worse, but I wasn't too keen on trying to touch it yesterday with the way it looked. He's not bleeding excessively, so I was hoping a wait & watch approach would be okay. Don't want to give him more grief than he already has!

I think my dad might have some kind of stop bleeding powder from when we had hunting dogs, Blue something or other. I'll have to look for that & get some non aspirin neosporin to try to keep the chance of infection down. Thank you very much for your tips! This was def my year to have everything go wrong! LOL

 

[cjpeeps]

Good to hear most of the birds are faring well. Good info on humidity & frostbite!

Poor frosty chickens. Uzi, I hope your fellow heals up okay!

This is my first winter with chickens, I am impressed with how well they are doing. The EEs are outpacing everyone else in terms of laying... I'm only getting a couple eggs a day and they're usually blue. The April-hatched Welsummer is the only one who hasn't started.

Here they are on Wednesday refusing to leave the coop.

The winter panels on the run are doing a good job!

Lovely picture of your ladies, and thanks for sharing the coop also! I always do better with visuals!

 

[showmanshiptop]

X2

I will however just say that heat stoke and frostbite are opposites with the same possible results. Last June I went to gather eggs and found a dead bird from heat stroke.

 

[coop410silkies]

I will however just say that heat stoke and frostbite are opposites with the same possible results. Last June I went to gather eggs and found a dead bird from heat stroke.

I did find a dead hen, also, but did not know why she died. Some of my Roos, especially my Light Sussex, seem very prone to frostbite, more than the SS, and more than my other large combed roosters. just seems like all combs are not created equal. I have often wondered how a diminished comb would affect a particular rooster's ability to regulate his temperature, And it makes sense to me that a small comb on a hen would lessen her ability to dissipate heat, now that you mention it. Worth noting.

 

[Mtn Margie]

I have had roos with frostbite. I do not mess with the frosted ends, If they are bleeding, you can spray some BlueKote on it if it is causing the other chickens to peck. It should dry up and start to heal and the dead ends will fall off. Mine have never had infection issues with the frostbite, but that is of some concern, so just keep an eye to them and if there is a bad smell or puss, they will need attention for sure. I now go with smaller combed roos just to minimize the risk to them as it is always seemingly windy up here and the old flock was always having a grand time outside. These newer chickens are not as adventurous just yet, but time will tell. Good Luck with the healing!

 

[uzisuzuki]

Thanks for all th tips, everyone! Ronan seems to have ended up with the least damage & Memnoch & Lucien are starting to heal just in time for the next cold snap!

 

[21hens-incharge]

Uzi,

It looks like minor damage in the grand scheme of things. I know it is distressing and frustrating to say the least. I do hope for a good recovery for all of them.

This cold snap has me worried for the one leghorn in my group. Those big combs are trouble in the winter for some of them.

Just a few more months until spring! Hang in there!

 

[Percheron chick]

My guys knew it was going to be cold last night. When I went to close up the coop they were all up on the roosts (25) facing the walls. Never seen that before.

Have a few pullets that started laying this week. Bonus! Good day to do some baking.

 

[21hens-incharge]

Oh my is it ever cold this morning. My coop is reading -4. The gals are all up and about doing fine.
I got a drop in heater for the water dish and it is working well. I am using a 6 gallon open dish for the water and although there was a ring of frost on the rim the water is thawed. The frost would worry me but it was only just above the waterline not all over the dish. There was no frost on the inside of the metal coop roof.

Since I still have one elderly hen I am keeping them inside until I can get the run shoveled.

I hope everyone else is faring well too.

 

[manjari108]

About 3 days after I got my first egg on Thanksgiving, I saw our GLW drop one in the nest. So, I guess we were getting one from her and our BR and I was just surprised by them both on the same day.

Uzi, I feel your pain! Our BR got a mild case of frostbite. One tip is barely blackened and another is whitish. I feel bad, but I know we have tons of ventilation and I think it is draft free. I clean the poo boards when it thaws every 2-3 days at the most. None of our birds let us hold them willingly, although Miss BR lets me pet her everyday now that she's laying. I just don't think she'll let me get a hold of her to put Vaseline on her comb. She is super feisty, so I'm sure she'll be fine. (She's pecked my love handles more than once!) The others have rose or pea combs, so they look fine at least.

Our horizontal watering nipples have only frozen on 2 different days, so that is relieving. I need to make another bucket so I don't have to rush to thaw it out! Bringing it in every night is no big deal since I have to shut the coop anyway.

My birds have been scattering food. I guess they are bored and I need to make some kind of treat toy. The 2 EEs skinned their beak/comb joint trying to get food from the feeder when there was a hill right next to it. *eye roll* I've been giving them sunflower seeds or cracked corn just before dusk to keep them full overnight, not enough?

Anyway I hope all is well for you all and that you enjoy the solstice/holiday season!

Melinda