I have a rooster that is acting normal - eating, drinking, free-ranging, walking fine, etc. But I believe he has frostbite on his back toe (not sure if that toe has a special name). It's lost its claw, and is now a black stub. But again, the rooster seems normal. I have a coop that's heated, but it was below zero for about 2 weeks straight here. I'm sure that's when that happened. Just miserable cold, and the chickens never left the coop during those 2 weeks. Anything I can do for the frostbitten area? Or, could this possibly be something else?
Could you post a pic? It's common for large chickens to lose their toe nails, hopping up and down from perches. What you see may just be the quick healing where the nail got ripped off. They do just fine without the nail. If it was frostbite, it seems like you'd have more spots affected than just one toe on one bird. Frostbite is caused by moisture condensing and freezing. During that cold spell, were there any frosted windows inside the coop or frost accumulated on other surfaces? That would indicate you have to figure a way to get more ventilation in the coop.
It may be frostbite (but a picture would help). Occaisonally, birds get frostbite on their feet, though it more often happens on their combs. If its frostbite, there's not much you can do. The dead, black area will shrivel up and fall off.
Sorry. I didn't check this until today. The toenail is definitely gone on the back toe, and so is the black spot. So I'm thinking maybe he just lost the nail. I will try to get a pic this weekend!
