Frostbite

[Coops Dad]

My Black Jersey Giant/Blue Andalusia rooster got a nasty frostbite on his comb and wattles during the Snovid freeze here in Texas. Going by the good advice from BYC members to keep him separated from his girls (they were trying to peck off the bits of blood and flesh from his wattles) and to let it heal on its own, he made a full recovery minus the tall points on his comb.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

My

Coop is 7x7x7 about 4 ft long and 2 ft wide on the top opposite sides. I hold a lighter at the bottom and there is zero flickering of a lighter.. surely it doesn't need more than that. ??

Well, there's a fine line with ventilation.
You do need air flow, but not direct wind.

Even in a well ventilation coop birds can suffer from exposure when outside in their run or wherever. Frostbite can be common. Roosters with large wattles can often suffer frostbite from just drinking water and getting their wattles wet.

I have a flock in an extremely well ventilated area, they sleep in the rafters. Never have had frostbite with any this group of birds in this particular area (last 5yrs or so) until this last cold spell. It had to be from exposure. A little frostbite on combs was the least of my worries when temps went from 43F at 10am to 6F by 7pm - a 37 degree drop in about 9 hrs with wind chills in the teens. Next day it dropped to Zero that night and wind chills at -24F. I'll take a few lost points, no frostbitten toes/feet and birds that are still alive, moving, chickening and laying eggs.

 

[Lavender6]

He will recover just fine. Do not try to remove any dead skin as it protects the live skin underneath.

I am spraying Vetericyn plus on it 3x a day but no touching

 

[Lavender6]

My Black Jersey Giant/Blue Andalusia rooster got a nasty frostbite on his comb and wattles during the Snovid freeze here in Texas. Going by the good advice from BYC members to keep him separated from his girls (they were trying to peck off the bits of blood and flesh from his wattles) and to let it heal on its own, he made a full recovery minus the tall points on his comb.

I hope mine does. He was beautiful

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I am spraying Vetericyn plus on it 3x a day but no touching

He's inside where it's not freezing right?

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

I am spraying Vetericyn plus on it 3x a day but no touching

He's inside where it's not freezing right?

x2
You don't want to apply anything water-based to frostbite if your rooster is still outside/exposed to freezing temperatures. And Vetericyn is water-based, which will make his frostbite worse if it freezes.

 

[frontyard chickens]

My rooster Merle has frostbite . My coop was covered all over with a canvas tent, no draft and adequate ventilation. I put vaseline ( people said do it, then AFTERWARDS many said not too) on his comb and wattles but is was -33 wind chill.
He has severe frostbite which has now blistered. I brought them all in the house. I just put them back out but left him inside.
Now many are telling me to cut the the frostbite off because he is in pain. I can't take him to the vet! My husband and Mother just died a month apart 4 months ago and I only have 1 income. I am disabled.
A guy down the road fights chickens and does his all the time. He has meds he puts on before he takes them off. I think this is extremely cruel. I don't want to have him culled! However; I don't want him in pain so I am at a loss. He is eating and drinking but not as well as he use too. He is shaking his head a lot. Please help me. I want what is best. I just cannot kill him!

How is he today? My rooster has mild frostbite and is not feeling well so I’m feeding him baby food and a baby aspirin per day.

 

[TJAnonymous]

Temps here got down to -20 below F. My chickens are not used to those temps. Despite having multiple coops and sheds to stay warm, I had quite a few chickens who opted to stay outside in the cold during the day. Out of 10 roosters, two of them with the biggest combs & wattles ended up with frostbite. I know they were among the group that wanted to hang out in the run all day instead of their coop! Here's pictures of the damage. I haven't done anything with it. No medicine or whatever. Think I should?

My Cream Legbar roo

My Welsummer roo

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Temps here got down to -20 below F. My chickens are not used to those temps. Despite having multiple coops and sheds to stay warm, I had quite a few chickens who opted to stay outside in the cold during the day. Out of 10 roosters, two of them with the biggest combs & wattles ended up with frostbite. I know they were among the group that wanted to hang out in the run all day instead of their coop! Here's pictures of the damage. I haven't done anything with it. No medicine or whatever. Think I should?

My Cream Legbar roo
View attachment 3363534

My Welsummer roo
View attachment 3363535

Did you read the previous posts in the thread?

I'm sorry that you're having a rough time.

There's no need to kill him.
There's really no need to dub him either.

As the damaged tissue begins to heal, the points will naturally dry up and fall off (self dub).
The wattles will likely do the same.
There may be some oozing of the wattles since they are so large, but at this time I would leave them alone.
Don't rub the damaged tissue with any ointments at all.

He may be feeling a bit of pain. You can give him 1/2 of an 81 mg (low dose) aspirin twice a day for 3 days if you feel you must, but personally, I would just leave it be.

He's eating/drinking which is good. Often birds will not eat as well when they are going through this. You can provide a bit of extra protein like egg, fish or meat to give him a boost.

Just my 2 ¢

My Black Jersey Giant/Blue Andalusia rooster got a nasty frostbite on his comb and wattles during the Snovid freeze here in Texas. Going by the good advice from BYC members to keep him separated from his girls (they were trying to peck off the bits of blood and flesh from his wattles) and to let it heal on its own, he made a full recovery minus the tall points on his comb.

 

[TJAnonymous]

Did you read the previous posts in the thread?

I did read. Neither roo is bleeding. I've been observing them for several days now and none of the hens have pecked at them. I left them with the flock to limit the disruption since no one was picking at them. I have nearly 60 chickens including 7 roos in that flock. It's one thing to remove a hen for a few days. It's quite another to remove a roo when you have multiple roos. It can really cause a disruption... Since they aren't bleeding, I felt would cause everyone less stress and strife to let them stay in the coop. Naturally if the situation changes, I would remove them immediately.

But my original question still stands... Should I spray them with vetricyn?