Frostbite??

[Ed62]

It got down to about 18 or 19 degrees last night. We decided to give the chickens the Vaseline treatment on their combs/wattles this morning. When I picked up our cockerel, I noticed he had 3 tips on his comb that were black. It is a very mild case of frostbite, if that is what it is. The black spots are probably less than 1/8" long. The hens did not have anything like that. Maybe his comb has always been like that, and I just didn't notice???

We do not appear to have a ventilation problem because there have been no signs of it. There is absolutely no bad odor in the coop, and there is no condensation present. I'm keeping the larger size poops cleaned up daily, so that is not a problem either.

Do you think he has a mild case of frostbite? If so, should he be treated with neosporin or something? If so, should the Vaseline be removed before putting it on?

Ed

 

[TheBantamPrevails]

Howdy. I don't know the answer for sure, but reading The Chicken Health Handbook, it seems like any frostbitten parts would first be red and swollen, then turn scabby, before turning black.

The book suggests putting neosporin on frostbitten combs and isolating the bird to prevent other birds picking the part.

My roosters' combs have specks of black here and there--I assume they are wounds/scabs from arguments with each other. So perhaps these were already there.

I look forward to reading what other people have to say.

 

[cletus the rooster]

sounds like a mild case.last year we had a BO that had that happen.remove the vaseline,put neosporin on.the black will eventually fall off where it meets the healthy tissue with no worries.there was talk about possibly cutting it off but fortunately that did not have to happen

 

[Knock Kneed Hen]

Correct me if I'm wrong...but I thought that you're supposed to put the Vaseline on before the cold snap (at night) to keep frost from sitting on the bird. I think it's a preventive measure, not a cure.

 

[Ed62]

Thanks for the replies. I'm sure it's a preventative measure, and not a cure. We just didn't think it would get that cold, and even if it did, we wouldn't have the problem yet. I'm learning.

Ed

 

[silkiechicken]

Post pics for better answers, but does not sound like frost bite to me if they are spots. Frost bite will take hold and cause swollen and then black tips, but not spots.

From a blog that came up with google search: http://backtobasicliving.com/blog/tag/comb-frost-bite/

 

[OlaFarmlifer]

All three roosters of our have frostbite on their combs and wattles, really bad. All swollen wattles. Two of my roosters decided to pick-on the other one so bad that he has a tri-angle cut on one wattle and it is leeking yellowish stuff from it.

What do you think? I am new to raising chickens as well. I hope you rooster is doing better than mine.

 

[BeccaB00]

I had a rooster that had the EXACT smae thing happen. I DO belive it was frostbite. After a little while of being black, all the tips of his comb fell off and now his comb has no tips, it's completely smooth over the top. We didn't treat our roo, and he was completely fine.

 

[Ed62]

Thanks for the replies. Outs looked just like the picture posted by silkiechicken. But it was not close to being as severe. Just the very tips of the comb were affected.

Ed

 

[Miss Lydia]

Olafarmlifer, you need to put neosporin on that roo maybe some infection there. but don't cut any of the frost bite off, the dead wil fal off on it's own.