Frostbite Plus Yellowy Poos

[Sarahs Hens]

I have a chicken with frostbite on her comb and a yellow tinge to the urate part of her poo. Her appetite was down but has since returned to normal.

On Saturday morning, the temperatures dropped to -5 F in our area with humidity 80-90%. I rarely close the coop door, but with the cold temps, I did (stupid). That morning when I let them out, Amelia, one of my Speckled Sussex, hung back for a bit. I noticed the top half of her comb has signs of frostbite :/. She eventually moved to the nest box and stayed there for about an hour or two (she's not laying). When she finally emerged, she had pooped in the box (normal poo). She came out and stood in the sun but was slow and less eager for her food than usual. She perked up a little throughout the day but I noticed runny yellow poo and decided she needed close observation.

I brought her inside that day and set up an area in our basement for her. The past few days she seems perky and is eating/drinking normal. She's eating Purina Flock Raiser pellets, regular water and water with electrolytes. The top half of her comb is starting to blister so I've purchased some Vetercyn to apply.

The thing that concerns me most is that the urate part of her poo still has a yellow tinge to it. She was pooping only the whitish-yellow urate part on Saturday & Sunday. Now the poos include the dark part with the urate part but the urates are still very yellow. I've included some pictures below.

I looked through the Chicken Health Handbook but the only suggestions are possible kidney or liver issues without specifics. Has anyone seen this before and know the cause?

I did give her oatmeal with Poultry Cell vitamins mixed in a few days ago. Could that cause the yellow color?

Other notes:

Laying - My ladies don't have a coop light and stopped laying in fall. My Ancona just started to pick back up last week but my Sussex haven't.

Ventilation/humidity - I have 3 chickens in a 4x4 unheated coop. I don't keep water inside. I did a lot of research on this site when I fitted out the coop and believe it's well ventilated. There are under eaves vents and two large baffled vents. I know it's not possible to get the humidity below the outdoor humidity without heating or dehumidifying. With that said, I will not be closing the pop door again with humidity levels that high. Last night, for the other girls, I installed a low-wattage flat panel heater. It kept the temperature at 3 and humidity of 59% while it was -7 and 88% outside. I'll be using that on bitter cold nights from now on. My coop:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/coop-remodel-run-build-complete.1387764/

 

[Eggcessive]

The yellow urates in the droppings can be a sign of liver disease, and can be common in ascites (water belly) and reproductive diseases, such as egg yolk peritonitis.

Personally, I do keep my coop door closed at night with temperatures below 15 degrees F. As long as you have the overhead ventilation, it should get rid of excess moisture. At temps like you have had, it is impossible to prevent frostbite on combs. Your coop is very small, and I find that having a larger coop and more birds may be warmer. I don’t treat frostbite on combs. Vetericyn is fine to use while she is inside, but I would try keeping her in the coop where she will stay used to the cold. Her comb will become more rounded off in the next month or two. You will see it become more blackened and crusty in the next few weeks. In northern climates it can be helpful to get chickens who have smaller combs.

Here is some reading about frostbite:
https://the-chicken-chick.com/frostbit-in-backyard-chickens-causes/

 

[Sarahs Hens]

Thank you so much for your reply!! Those all sound pretty serious. What can I look for to narrow down the cause of the yellow urates? Her demeanor and apatite seem ok. I'd love to figure this out before she starts to decline. Any chance it was the Poultry Cell vitamins? She hasn't started to lay again this year so I'm hoping it's not EYP.

Thank you for the frostbite info as well. I definitely want a bigger coop... For now, I'm going to try insulating the bottom and side more. The small heater has reduced the humidity at least. The other girls were okay - I see them tuck their heads into their wings at night. I don't know why Amelia didn't do the same.

Edited to add: I am keeping her in the basement until I can diagnose the issue with her poos. I was worried she'd get worse outside.

The yellow urates in the droppings can be a sign of liver disease, and can be common in ascites (water belly) and reproductive diseases, such as egg yolk peritonitis.

Personally, I do keep my coop door closed at night with temperatures below 15 degrees F. As long as you have the overhead ventilation, it should get rid of excess moisture. At temps like you have had, it is impossible to prevent frostbite on combs. Your coop is very small, and I find that having a larger coop and more birds may be warmer. I don’t treat frostbite on combs. Vetericyn is fine to use while she is inside, but I would try keeping her in the coop where she will stay used to the cold. Her comb will become more rounded off in the next month or two. You will see it become more blackened and crusty in the next few weeks. In northern climates it can be helpful to get chickens who have smaller combs.

Here is some reading about frostbite:
https://the-chicken-chick.com/frostbit-in-backyard-chickens-causes/