frost bit comb

[Kerrie Ann]

Frost bit comb. I was told put vaseline on. Is there anything else I can do to help this poor little guy?

 

[iheartMT]

Unfortunately no. Vaseline should be used as a preventative measure, not as a treatment. A few of my RIR got frostbite on their combs this winter during a particularly cold and windy period. The frostbitten portion will eventually fall off. It may be painful and uncomfortable for him but it shouldn't affect his overall health.

 

[Wyandottes7]

There isn't much you can do. To help prevent any infection, you can put some antibiotic ointment on, though. Just make sure that the ointment doesn't have any painkillers or "caine" ingredients, which can be harmful to chickens. Good luck with him! I've had a couple roosters get frostbite in the past, and they've all recovered fine.

 

[cluckcluckgirl]

It looks like it's the stage where nothing can heal it. The tissue will fall off eventually. He should recover just fine, although his frostbitten portions won't grow back.

 

[Kerrie Ann]

Thanks to you all. I just feel so bad for him. We have two roosters that are having problems. All the girls are fine. Bad winter.

 

[crazydog2009]

My roo also has really bad frostbite, some of my hen's do as well. I have been putting Vaseline on all of them. The roo had some blister's on his comb the broke today and it's now bleeding everywhere. I separated him in the coop, so the hen's can't get to him. They were also pecking at his comb. I have been told that's there's not much more I can do and it should be fine come spring.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

Because you live in a cold state think about dubbing your straight combed roosters. Not only will you have
fewer cases of frost bite, your roos will not be as likely to injure themselves or be as likely to contract fowl pox or west Nile virus. Also roosters like yours often have trouble eating out of feeders with anti roost features like the bar at the top that spins when a bird tries to roost on it, and is intended to keep chicken poop out of your feed by keeping chickens from roosting on or just resting on the feeder. The anti roost bar at the top of some feeders also interferes with straight combed roosters ability to feed themselves without injury.

That said, despite all external appearances your rooster will almost certainly be infertile until his comb has healed. I hope that this isn't a problem for you when it comes time to hatch eggs. As an example of how simple the procedure is, I have fed my roosters' own earlobes, gills, and combs right back to them and they ate every morsel with relish.

 

[Bogtown Chick]

I had a rooster go through this last winter. Lost 2/3 of his comb AND his wattles. The infertility is short term and will most likely last only a week or two...but it is basically just due to the cold stress on his body as a whole...and not the stress of losing a part of his comb. My rooster fathered chicks 2 months later in April and had fertilized eggs prior to that. This is not a fun thing to deal with and the best treatment is keeping it very clean with soap and water at least once a day. Consider purchasing Veterycin spray ($21 but miraculous for healing wounds and lasts) Bacitracin or Neosporin without the "caines" If you feel the comb is developing into a more serious infection before it turns to black eschar and falls off consider asking a vet for cephalexin or baytril. If your bird is lethargic, not eating, losing weight...this is when you need to go to that latter treatment. My vet did it for me just with a stop in visit with me alone and I didn't have the bird-- nice lady and I was lucky just to have to pay for the medicine alone. Not all vets will do that I know.

Bag Balm works better as a protectant than Vaseline. It's thicker and hardens waxy on the combs in the cold...protecting better. This has been an aweful winter...I'm sorry this happened to your boy.

 

[Bogtown Chick]

This is "BEFORE"




"DURING" --ugh...






"AFTER"--

This winter he's had absolutely no problems whatsoever and we've had -30's --several days of it.

Hang in there.