Frostbite help!

[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.

 

[Mother-Hen-Michele]

It is in the past, so don't worry about heat tolerance... Just know that once you have had frostbite (even if nothing falls off) you are much more sensitive to it afterwards. I had frostbite on the palms of my feet in 2000, the toes were less affected, but still damaged and I still have sensitivity to cold on my feet.

If you see swelling bring them to much warmer place. Once inside you can use vetericyn but only at indoor house temps.

I had one very old Leghorn that looked poorly, her comb was swollen so I brought her inside. The others looked ok, so they stayed in the coop. The one I brought in did not lose any of her comb, but the others are losing tips. (It got to -67F here) the coop is heated, and very insulated but there are always cold spots when it gets that cold.

It isn't so much the initial cold that gets you, it is sustained cold after the frostbite that does the damage. If your body doesn't get a chance to warm up well afterwards, that is when you get dead tissues.

 

[Mother-Hen-Michele]

If you can give the little Leghorn something for what must be massive headache it would lessen the suffering.

Ask you vet if we Are ok to give a part of a baby aspirin? I saw someone else suggest that is a painkiller that does no harm. Check with someone else prior to meds. Be careful of infection, she will lose most of that comb.

 

[Dreammaker]

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.

I agree about large-combed chickens and the Northeast. I had never even considered combs when selecting breeds, but I'm not sure I'd go for a breed like that again (though I do love my ISA Brown so much). My other single-combed birds (Speckled Sussex and Lav. Orpington) have just a tiny bit of frostbite on the very tips, but not nearly as bad. Their combs are a lot smaller, which helps. And of course, the pea comb girls are fine.

Combs are definitely something to pay attention to when considering a breed's overall cold hardiness. This ordeal has been a good lesson in that.

 

[MegEck37]

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.

Thanks so much! We live and learn

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.

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.

Thanks- you too! Hopefully the combs just round off and no infection sets in or anything. So far, so good for my flock. Everyone is acting normal and seems just fine. The combs that were “weepy” or bleeding are drying out.

 

[MegEck37]

If you can give the little Leghorn something for what must be massive headache it would lessen the suffering.

Ask you vet if we Are ok to give a part of a baby aspirin? I saw someone else suggest that is a painkiller that does no harm. Check with someone else prior to meds. Be careful of infection, she will lose most of that comb.

Thanks- she is acting normal but I know that chickens hide pain very well. I have been spraying vetericyn most nights to help prevent infection. So far everyone is progressing better than I would have thought. I just can’t believe I didn’t think to double check them before going to bed… this was so avoidable

 

[MegEck37]

I agree about large-combed chickens and the Northeast. I had never even considered combs when selecting breeds, but I'm not sure I'd go for a breed like that again (though I do love my ISA Brown so much). My other single-combed birds (Speckled Sussex and Lav. Orpington) have just a tiny bit of frostbite on the very tips, but not nearly as bad. Their combs are a lot smaller, which helps. And of course, the pea comb girls are fine.

Combs are definitely something to pay attention to when considering a breed's overall cold hardiness. This ordeal has been a good lesson in that.

Agreed! I never thought about the style of combs and frostbite before now. All my Easter eggers are just fine. Poor little leghorns…

 

[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.

 

[Mother-Hen-Michele]

I just can’t believe I didn’t think to double check them before going to bed… this was so avoidable

You've learned a big lesson, and you shared it in a very genuine way, very likely helping others avoid the error.

You reinforced it for me. I am already super paranoid about them. I can't go to bed without checking on them. If I fall asleep in an armchair I get up and go see them before going to bed. My spouse gets "irked" with me, but I can't sleep without checking.

But that doesn't mean I never forget to go close the door between the coop and the covered run at/before sunset. (Which makes it cold in the coop)

I can't go see them first thing in the morning so I leave extra food for breakfast before locking the door at night, but sometimes it runs out and the little bellies are empty until I can get there.

Your omission had a bad outcome, but it was no bigger an error than my empty food bowl.

It is clear you love them, and this will be a 'only-once' error.

Give them love, but don't give yourself grief or guilt. (Those last two don't bring anything good into the world, only love does)