Essen has an owie...A big one

[FoggyLegghorn]

Help! Essen got frostbit really badly! I don't know how to help him. He had a heat lamp on in the coop and everything. It doesn't seem to bother him, but it has to hurt.

 

[PippinTheChicken]

Poor boy! That doesn't look good!
I've heard that you should leave frostbite alone. Maybe keep him inside for a bit if you can so it doesn't get worse.

 

[samanthaoverton]

Petroleum is a preventive but if you want to do something; non medicated Neosporin..and give it time. He is fine though, don't worry. Leghorns are notorious for this..he most likely got it while he was outside not in. I have leghorns.

 

[picklestheduck]

I would leave it be. My roo also has it bad right now. I've heard from several people it is best to leave it alone. You said it doesn't seem to bother him much, so that's good! Hopefully it stays that way!

 

[RoyalChick]

I am dealing with a touch of frostbite on one of my hens and have researched this one a lot. The best treatment is not to touch it but to keep a close eye open for infection.
Mostly the black part just dies off and nothing is needed.
That is pretty bad frostbite. How cold did it get with a heat lamp? That is strongly suggestive of poor ventilation causing moisture to condense and freeze on the comb.
My hen got frostbite because she ran around in the wet and went to bed wet while molting so had nowhere warm to dry out her comb. I keep kicking myself that I didn't catch her and give her a blowdry before bed.
Seriously, I would take a long hard look at your ventilation.

 

[FoggyLegghorn]

Poor boy! That doesn't look good!
I've heard that you should leave frostbite alone. Maybe keep him inside for a bit if you can so it doesn't get worse.

I would and should, but I'm worried about him crowing his butt off if I do. There were 2 unhappy accidents with my other 2 roosters in the garage, and it seems like a bad omen to put him in there at night. I could put him in the house but making sure he's not Saint Bernarded would be difficult (Saints love chickens, but not in a way thats good for the chicken). Thankfully, the weather is warming up...this happened when the weather dropped really fast, it went from like 35-40° to 10° that night.

 

[Sally PB]

Very knowledgeable people here (not me) have said to leave frostbite alone. The area will turn black, dry up, and fall off. There isn't anything you can put on it, and it's painful for the chicken if you touch it.

My roo got frostbite last winter and this winter. I have plenty of ventilation, but he has big floppily-doppilies. None of the hens or pullets have any frostbite.