Frostbite on Rooster's Wattles?

[ManawaGirl]

This is our Sunny today. She was in the midst of a hard mold when that deep freeze hit us. I'm sure she's going to lose her tips of her comb and some of her wattles, but at least she made it+

 

[MesMama]

This is our Sunny today. She was in the midst of a hard mold when that deep freeze hit us. I'm sure she's going to lose her tips of her comb and some of her wattles, but at least she made it+

Glad to hear she's on the mend!

 

[hooktontravel]

Thanks everyone for sharing your stories on frostbite. I've been feeling like a bad chicken owner here with 2 cockerels who got some. I'm glad i'm not the only one having trouble with frostbite! I knew the small chicken hut I built for them at 2 months old was not good enough for winter, but I didn't have the full-sized house ready. (the hut was on a pallet, the new house is 6x6 feet for 5 birds. So my salmon Faverolles cockerel got frostbite on a night when it wasn't even below zero!!! I did not expect that at all. blisters and tips blackened... he's in the garage with one older hen who never integrated in the flock. they seem quite content together, while I wait for him to heal up a bit more. The garage isn't heated but it usually has stayed in the 20's and teens instead of negative 20! It went down to -teens for several days last week, so I just kept him in. The black Orpington cockerell got frostbite on his comb during the negative-teens nights. I got them moved into their new, bigger, more ventilated house now and he doesn't seem bothered, but I feel bad I didn't move him a few days sooner.

I noticed when he drinks his whole wattles go in the water bucket. I had the chickens on a horizontal-nipple drinker, but the ducks get a bucket, and the chickens all drink from the duck face-wash bucket...:/ trying to figure out how to get the baby roo (who is probably close to 10 pounds) to drink from the nipple drinker. Maybe he would because he shakes his head so hard after drinking. I THINK he's trying to shake water off the wattles before it freezes?

Anyway, he was getting this icicle beard on his chest before the weater warmed back up again. I guess i'll put the bag balm on him tomorrow. Can't hurt! Maybe he won't loose all of his wattles. and thanks to the person who shared the pics of the process along the way & the timeline. I'm glad to know what I should be prepared for.

 

[ElementalFarms]

We are experiencing the same here in western Missouri. Our Welsummer rooster's wattles are swollen up half the size of a golf ball. I'm sure it's my fault with hot feed on a very cold day.

 

[High Prairie]

@ElementalFarms

I think the hot oatmeal was the culprit here. But if you read through this thread, everyone has different coops, different water systems, and different feeding regimens and all their chickens still got frostbite. I think the conditions beyond our control we're going to win no matter what we did. At least we know that our birds will do better the next go-round with their more streamlined combs and wattles!

 

[Bogtown Chick]

We are experiencing the same here in western Missouri. Our Welsummer rooster's wattles are swollen up half the size of a golf ball. I'm sure it's my fault with hot feed on a very cold day.

Don't beat yourself up too bad about it. I read about hot oatmeal and 'warming up' your birds on cold days with good warm food and all of this from well intentioned seasoned chicken owners ...who probably live in a southern climate! Ha.

That, although it is cold to them, is nothing for us. But they set standards that look ideal and knowledgeable. And I followed them to a T. Not realizing what they could do in their climate, I could not do in mine. And were they just feeding just hens...? IDK. But it really did a number on my rooster. And I wish there was a way to get the warning out to more folks before hand. But unless it's a featured story or a blogger that's popular in the north...I'm just hoping that a few more read this and learn from our mistakes.

As you know when Oatmeal or a Squash is steaming in the cold ...it is putting moisture out. and where are those chicken faces? In the steam.


For cold climate birds: Dry. Dry. Dry. Everything. Bedding, food. Only thing wet there should be is their drinking water...and if you can keep it in the run...all the better.

 

[kellyhubb]

Hi There! -11? Ouch that is sooo cold, I can't even imagine living in that kind of weather :/ Gosh you must be pretty tough. Any animal is probably going to get frostbite when exposed to those temperatures unfortunately. Anytime it gets below freezing, chickens are at risk of frostbite. However, you could help raise the temperature of the coop by insulating the walls, sealing off drafts and providing a chicken heating pad.

For example, I fully insulated my chicken coop with Foamula board and radiant barrier reflector insulation from home depot, and have two small chicken heating mats which keep the coop 20 degrees warmer than the outside. Here is a link to my Instagram account where I show a photo of what I did - https://www.instagram.com/p/BOLJph8AaZs/?taken-by=quackersandfernie&hl=en you will see to the left of the photo is the vertically mounted 60 watt heating pad. It is also very energy efficient.

As far as treating frostbite and everything related, here is a link to a good reference site that provides some information on frostbite - http://www.poultrydvm.com/condition/frostbite

Whatever you do---do not bring him inside to dethaw and then turn back out in the cold to refreeze, as this will make the injury much worse. If I were you, I would make him a comfortable recovery area inside of your home where it is warm and provide him supportive care until the injury has resolved, as unfortunately it sounds like your bird may end up loosing the parts of areas that were frostbitten.

Good luck, I hope your little guy will be ok

 

[Cebarmlds]

Hi There! -11? Ouch that is sooo cold, I can't even imagine living in that kind of weather :/ Gosh you must be pretty tough. Any animal is probably going to get frostbite when exposed to those temperatures unfortunately. Anytime it gets below freezing, chickens are at risk of frostbite. However, you could help raise the temperature of the coop by insulating the walls, sealing off drafts and providing a chicken heating pad.

For example, I fully insulated my chicken coop with Foamula board and radiant barrier reflector insulation from home depot, and have two small chicken heating mats which keep the coop 20 degrees warmer than the outside. Here is a link to my Instagram account where I show a photo of what I did - https://www.instagram.com/p/BOLJph8AaZs/?taken-by=quackersandfernie&hl=en you will see to the left of the photo is the vertically mounted 60 watt heating pad. It is also very energy efficient.

As far as treating frostbite and everything related, here is a link to a good reference site that provides some information on frostbite - http://www.poultrydvm.com/condition/frostbite

Whatever you do---do not bring him inside to dethaw and then turn back out in the cold to refreeze, as this will make the injury much worse. If I were you, I would make him a comfortable recovery area inside of your home where it is warm and provide him supportive care until the injury has resolved, as unfortunately it sounds like your bird may end up loosing the parts of areas that were frostbitten.

Good luck, I hope your little guy will be ok

That coop looks to be sealed up tight I sure hope you have adequate ventilation or you'll have a real moisture problem-

 

[Bogtown Chick]

Hi There! -11? Ouch that is sooo cold, I can't even imagine living in that kind of weather :/ Gosh you must be pretty tough. Any animal is probably going to get frostbite when exposed to those temperatures unfortunately. Anytime it gets below freezing, chickens are at risk of frostbite. However, you could help raise the temperature of the coop by insulating the walls, sealing off drafts and providing a chicken heating pad.

For example, I fully insulated my chicken coop with Foamula board and radiant barrier reflector insulation from home depot, and have two small chicken heating mats which keep the coop 20 degrees warmer than the outside. Here is a link to my Instagram account where I show a photo of what I did - https://www.instagram.com/p/BOLJph8AaZs/?taken-by=quackersandfernie&hl=en you will see to the left of the photo is the vertically mounted 60 watt heating pad. It is also very energy efficient.

As far as treating frostbite and everything related, here is a link to a good reference site that provides some information on frostbite - http://www.poultrydvm.com/condition/frostbite

Whatever you do---do not bring him inside to dethaw and then turn back out in the cold to refreeze, as this will make the injury much worse. If I were you, I would make him a comfortable recovery area inside of your home where it is warm and provide him supportive care until the injury has resolved, as unfortunately it sounds like your bird may end up loosing the parts of areas that were frostbitten.

Good luck, I hope your little guy will be ok

Kelly, I'm sorry, dear...but works for you in SC...does not work for most of these other folks. Heating our coops too much leads to sick chickens. And chickens need to be outside not in our laundry rooms all winter. Sorry....

 

[iLikeMineFried]

Just popping in to say that Cuddles is doing well back out in the coop with his ladies. The swelling in his wattles has gone down and the frostbitten parts are black and crispy. He seems totally unfazed by this whole event, I think it was harder on me! I hope our birds will fare better the rest of this winter.

Kelly, I'm sorry, dear...but works for you in SC...does not work for most of these other folks. Heating our coops too much leads to sick chickens. And chickens need to be outside not in our laundry rooms all winter. Sorry....

I agree totally. One night with a rooster in the basement was enough for me! My coop is insulated, the water is in a covered bucket, I feed only dry pellets, I coat combs and wattles in veterinary balm if it gets below 20 degrees, and I try to keep the bedding dry. It's my first winter with chickens, and I read up and prepared, but the cold weather we had was just too much, and nothing helped prevent frostbite. It gets frigid up here in February, so I hope my birds are better adapted by then.