Frostbite on Waddles & Comb - What Went Wrong?

[twobuckchuckfarm]

Stella, my favorite hen is showing signs of frostbite after the recent cold snap. Luckily my 6 other hens are fine. This is my first time wintering over chickens, so I have never dealt with anything like this before. I took many precautions, including restricting their access only to the coop, draft prevention around the bottom of the coop (without loss of ventilation). I set up a nipple waterer so their waddles would stay dry. I even hung a small brooder/heater device above their perch for supplemental heat (linked below). To my surprise on the coldest days none of the girls were huddled around the heater. I feel like I did everything I could and clearly it was not enough!

Can any help me understand how this happened, despite keeping them locked inside with supplemental heat and proper ventilation (or so I think)? All the reading I've done on BYC suggests letting the injury take its course and to not treat the frostbite. Can anyone experienced with frostbite tell me if they think she will wind up losing her waddles and comb? I'm trying to prepare myself for the coming weeks of "recovery."

HEATER I USED

 

[Isabella6Storm4]

yes, just let them be. I know that if they turn purple or black than they will fall off. I have a hen with frostbite that is just pale like yours and idk if they can heal. The comb looks pretty good. If anything falls off it will just be the very tips. If she was outside at all, windchill could have done it. you could try a warm washcloth but i would just leave it. Almost all my roosters have smooth combs from loosing tips to frostbite

 

[twobuckchuckfarm]

yes, just let them be. I know that if they turn purple or black than they will fall off. I have a hen with frostbite that is just pale like yours and idk if they can heal. The comb looks pretty good. If anything falls off it will just be the very tips. If she was outside at all, windchill could have done it. you could try a warm washcloth but i would just leave it. Almost all my roosters have smooth combs from loosing tips to frostbite

Thanks so much for sharing your experience. The cold snap lasted about 4 days. I kept all 7 of my hens locked inside the coop to prevent exposure to the elements.

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

Her comb tips and edges of her wattles have obvious frostbite damage, but it's too soon to know if the tissue will be able to repair itself and heal, or eventually turn necrotic and fall off. The only reason to use a warm washcloth would be if the tissue was still frozen. She will be fine either way with no medical treatment needed. It sounds like you did everything right to try and prevent frostbite. Sometimes it's an unsolvable mystery why one chicken gets frostbite while the other flock members remain frostbite-free.

 

[twobuckchuckfarm]

Her comb tips and edges of her wattles have obvious frostbite damage, but it's too soon to know if the tissue will be able to repair itself and heal, or eventually turn necrotic and fall off. The only reason to use a warm washcloth would be if the tissue was still frozen. She will be fine either way with no medical treatment needed. It sounds like you did everything right to try and prevent frostbite. Sometimes it's an unsolvable mystery why one chicken gets frostbite while the other flock members remain frostbite-free.

Stella certianly has the largest comb and waddles of the whole flock, which comes with the greatest amount of risk. Thanks so much for chiming in. I'll keep my finger crossed that she is able to heal and keep most of her adorable waddles.

 

[Bear4boo]

Stella, my favorite hen is showing signs of frostbite after the recent cold snap. Luckily my 6 other hens are fine. This is my first time wintering over chickens, so I have never dealt with anything like this before. I took many precautions, including restricting their access only to the coop, draft prevention around the bottom of the coop (without loss of ventilation). I set up a nipple waterer so their waddles would stay dry. I even hung a small brooder/heater device above their perch for supplemental heat (linked below). To my surprise on the coldest days none of the girls were huddled around the heater. I feel like I did everything I could and clearly it was not enough!

Can any help me understand how this happened, despite keeping them locked inside with supplemental heat and proper ventilation (or so I think)? All the reading I've done on BYC suggests letting the injury take its course and to not treat the frostbite. Can anyone experienced with frostbite tell me if they think she will wind up losing her waddles and comb? I'm trying to prepare myself for the coming weeks of "recovery."

HEATER I USED

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This just happened to one of our hens too. The one with the largest comb and wattles. I feel so bad but, like you, we took all the same precautions that you did but the cold still got one of ours

 

[saysfaa]

...
Can any help me understand how this happened...

How long before the cold snap did you switch to a nipple waterer?

Being very well hydrated can help keep a good blood flow through the comb and waddles which can help keep them warm enough. If Stella was a bit reluctant to drink from a new type of waterer she might have been a little dehydrated even if the water was available.

If you are far enough north to have long nights, that could be part of the problem if she didn't drink enough water before roosting. They don't get down to drink in the dark.

Another possibility is that she hadn't been exposed to cold enough for her body to adapt to it. I've recently been reading research about genes in chickens that control how much heat their muscles generate. These genes are switched on and off by exposure to extreme-ish (for a chicken to be comfortable) temperatures. Some of this research talks about different breeds being more responsive in this way than other breeds.

Size of her comb, size of her body, differences in her feathering might be part of it.

Or she may just have roosted in a more exposed spot or something like that.

Or a little of each.

Or something none of us have heard of.

 

[Bear4boo]

How long before the cold snap did you switch to a nipple waterer?

Being very well hydrated can help keep a good blood flow through the comb and waddles which can help keep them warm enough. If Stella was a bit reluctant to drink from a new type of waterer she might have been a little dehydrated even if the water was available.

If you are far enough north to have long nights, that could be part of the problem if she didn't drink enough water before roosting. They don't get down to drink in the dark.

Another possibility is that she hadn't been exposed to cold enough for her body to adapt to it. I've recently been reading research about genes in chickens that control how much heat their muscles generate. These genes are switched on and off by exposure to extreme-ish (for a chicken to be comfortable) temperatures. Some of this research talks about different breeds being more responsive in this way than other breeds.

Size of her comb, size of her body, differences in her feathering might be part of it.

Or she may just have roosted in a more exposed spot or something like that.

Or a little of each.

Or something none of us have heard of.

They have been using the nipple waterer since fall so that shouldn’t be an issue.This is their first winter and the temps were -35 with wind chill. She’s acting fine at least so hopefully she will recover quickly.

 

[twobuckchuckfarm]

This just happened to one of our hens too. The one with the largest comb and wattles. I feel so bad but, like you, we took all the same precautions that you did but the cold still got one of ours

Awww, I'm sorry your hen got frostbite as well. It really is a sad sight to see. As much as I love there rosey waddles and beautiful large combs, I will have to choose my breeds a little more carefully in the future. The rest of my girls with smaller combs are all fine.

 

[theoldchick]

The only time I've had problems with frostbite was when the area started to bleed. It was on an aged rooster with massive comb and wattles. He liked to shake his head to impress the ladies which caused the frost bite area to bleed. I put him in a cage inside the coop so he could still be with his ladies but they could not go after his bloody comb and wattles. It healed on its own.