Hi all. Longtime lurker (learner) here, first time seeking advice/opinions.
We have recently come out of a deep freeze that saw sustained temps in the -30’s celcius (-30’s F for my American friends) lasting about 10 days. I’ve had little issue with frostbite in winters past but we added a couple new pullets to the flock last summer and one of them has been affected. A good portion of her comb and what looks like most/all of her waddle is discoloured. I haven't (and wasn’t planning to) treated the frosbite itself and she has remained outside with the other girls. We’re now in 0 to -10C temps.
What concerns me more than the FB is her dishelved appearance. Her feathers have got more and more messy (fuzzy) in appearance over the last week or so. I have not experienced this before and I assume it is related to the FB but as she may now be sick, Im not certain how to treat her.
I thought the messy feathers may have been related to a lack of dustbathing during the colds ap but all the girls took turns in a dust bath today and none of my 5 other hens are affected like this.
She’s an EE, 8 months old, and was laying like a champ until 4-5 days ago. Seems to be eating and drinking normally and she still runs out to greet me (scan me for treats!) when I call them.
Thoughts(?), please.
We have recently come out of a deep freeze that saw sustained temps in the -30’s celcius (-30’s F for my American friends) lasting about 10 days. I’ve had little issue with frostbite in winters past but we added a couple new pullets to the flock last summer and one of them has been affected. A good portion of her comb and what looks like most/all of her waddle is discoloured. I haven't (and wasn’t planning to) treated the frosbite itself and she has remained outside with the other girls. We’re now in 0 to -10C temps.
What concerns me more than the FB is her dishelved appearance. Her feathers have got more and more messy (fuzzy) in appearance over the last week or so. I have not experienced this before and I assume it is related to the FB but as she may now be sick, Im not certain how to treat her.
I thought the messy feathers may have been related to a lack of dustbathing during the colds ap but all the girls took turns in a dust bath today and none of my 5 other hens are affected like this.
She’s an EE, 8 months old, and was laying like a champ until 4-5 days ago. Seems to be eating and drinking normally and she still runs out to greet me (scan me for treats!) when I call them.
Thoughts(?), please.