Frostbite help!

[MegEck37]

We have a flock of 15 chickens. We have a great set up for them…. But it was -10 degrees (probably even colder with wind chill) the other night so in preparation I checked their food, water heater & heating pads. All good to go! The next morning I saw they were outside. The wind had closed their door to the coop at some point before they went in for the night and they were stuck outside all night. I am sick about it- I would say 70% of them have some level of frostbite. A few pretty bad. They are acting normal, but I assume it is painful.

Any advice on how to treat would be appreciated. I locked them inside the coop to slowly warm up, gave them extra protein treats & treated their water with electrolytes. Now they are back outside when they want (it was 50 degrees and sunny today)

I do have vetericyn spray but haven’t used it yet. I am not sure if it is okay to get their combs wet? The next few days are in the 40’s with a low of 29 degrees at night. Luckily the really cold snap is over.

Worst chicken mom ever ugh! Help!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Usually they just lose the frostbitten areas like tips, the comb will have more of a rounded look.
There shouldn't be any long term effects from having a frostbitten comb unless something odd happens like infection.
I do not handled frostbitten combs nor do I apply any type of ointment or spray on the combs. I do monitor the bird(s) daily to see if anyone acts off. Most act like nothing has happened at all.

 

[Eggcessive]

It helps to securely fasten doors and gates open or closed. We have all had accidents happen, and learn from out mistakes, so don’t beat yourself up. Do you have any pictures of combs, wattles or feet that might be questionable? I usually do not treat frostbite unless it is very bad because most creams, ointments, and sprays will also freeze. If the wattles or comb become extremely swollen and weeping, then it might be necessary to bring them inside to above freezing temps, and treat.

 

[MegEck37]

It helps to securely fasten doors and gates open or closed. We have all had accidents happen, and learn from out mistakes, so don’t beat yourself up. Do you have any pictures of combs, wattles or feet that might be questionable? I usually do not treat frostbite unless it is very bad because most creams, ointments, and sprays will also freeze. If the wattles or comb become extremely swollen and weeping, then it might be necessary to bring them inside to above freezing temps, and treat.

I appreciate that. Definitely a lesson learned- I just wish they didn’t have to be in pain for me to learn. I just went out to assess while they are sleepy and it doesn’t seem like anyone’s feet are frost bitten- so that feel like a win. One hen may have some on the very tip of one toe, but my guess is I won’t know for a few more days. I attached pictures for the 3 hens that are the worst.

It is 50 degrees in the coop now (we have heating pads) and is going to be mild for the next week so I did spray vetericyn on a few that had weeping/bits of blood. The leghorn (middle pic) seems to be the worst but is acting normal- was out free ranging and dust bathing in the sun today.

 

[Dreammaker]

I don't mean to hijack your thread, but I am glad to have stumbled across your post, as I am going through the same thing with my flock of 6. Last weekend, we had temps below freezing for quite a while. The only two birds who came away totally unscathed were our Lt. Brahma and Olive Egger, both of whom have pea combs. Our ISA Brown got it the worst, but she also has the biggest, floppiest comb.

When I tell you I have chicken mom guilt... Oh my goodness... I feel absolutely awful about it. She seems happy as ever. Still laying almost every day. Still eating and drinking and walking around. Still the alpha. But her comb looks rough (very much like the third picture you attached). I have no idea what to expect in the next month or so... Will she lose the whole thing? Just the very tips? If she were to lose the whole thing, I wonder if she'd suffer long-term health problems because of it or get along just fine.

All I can say from this ordeal is that I hope we never get another weekend like that. And, pea combs for the win!

Best of luck with your flock. You're not a bad chicken mom at all; you're doing your best to deal with the problem at hand.

 

[Eggcessive]

I had a couple of roosters who had frostbite on combs, and it did not affect them in any way. The rounded off comb is not a very cosmetic, but it doesn’t affect their health usually.My pea comb rooster didn’t have any problems. So, the moral is, if you love large combed chickens, living in the cold north may not be a good thing. Some chickens will get weepy hugely swollen comb s or wattles, and temporarily, they may not feel well or eat and drink enough.

 

[Happy hen lover]

When this happens, do birds experience long-term health effects? I know that combs act as temperature regulators for chickens. So, if a chicken were to lose a huge portion of its comb, would it be ok in the long run? Or, is it really just an unfortunate thing that only affects their looks?

I'm going to jump in to report that earlier here in SW Neb we had bitter cold temps of daytime -6 a few months ago. My leghorn looked like your picture swollen and reddish/ purple tips on all tips of comb . Then left it alone, and thaw came and only one tip turned black! she only lost one tiny tip and it just fell off no biggie. I felt terrible as I should have forced them to stay in, but I'm okay with rounded combs. They're more resilient than I gave them credit for. Im no frost on toes. I'll bet you'll be surprised. Live and learn. Don't beat yourself up.

 

[MegEck37]

Let us know how they get along over the next weeks. The combs will probably become smaller and rounded off unfortunately.

Will do- So far everyone is acting normal and the little bit of bleeding is drying up. Still no sign of toe frostbite, so that is good.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

They may lose some tips of their combs, but if they are eating/drinking o.k. and moving about, I would just monitor them.

It's good you are not seeing any signs of frostbite on the toes, but I'd still look a their feet daily just to be sure.

 

[Eggcessive]

Let us know how they get along over the next weeks. The combs will probably become smaller and rounded off unfortunately.