Frostbite?

[BarnGoddess01]

It went below zero here last night. Coldest night by far of the year and of this young (9 months, Black Copper Marans) cockerel's life. The boys are in a metal coop so it's damp cold as well.

Is this comb frost-bitten or did I get to it in time? I've had a heat lamp on him all day. None of the other boys are showing any blue/black tips like this guy ....

 

[Fred's Hens]

Looks like it. Yeah, it was cold last night, and more sub-zero F weather is coming over the next week or two. We had -3 last night. Checked the hens this morning and they were dry and no frostbite.

A large combed rooster is particularly susceptible. I'm not a big fan of metal coops, but it that's what ya got, that's what ya got. The fine points of large combed roosters have gotten bitten for many, many years. Unless you intend to show him, there's likely no huge issue.

 

[BarnGoddess01]

My girls are in an insulated wooden coop - and there are more bodies so they are fine, thankfully. This guy isn't destined for the show circuit but still, frostbite MUST hurt.

I've got the heat lamp in there for them now. He's been standing under it all day. Guess I should of hooked it up yesterday instead of today!!!!!

Poor Willow ....

 

[Fred's Hens]

Glad you're layin' ladies are fine. Personally, heat lamps are too EXPENSIVE to run for the duration of our cold weather. Winter here is just too long. I'm inclined to breed for smaller combs and I try to choose our winter layers from the smaller combed pullet crop. Those with large combs, spend the winter in Kentucky where this sub zero stuff is quite rare. The Wyandottes, Buckeye's and Dominique, with their tight combs, were developed expressly for our climate. I am intent on trying some Buckeyes and Doms in the future, expressly for this purpose.

If your hen coop occupants did not get bitten, that fact greatly informs your thought process as to coop design and our cold winters and dealing with frostbite, eh?

 

[BarnGoddess01]

My boys are in a horse trailer. BIG, bright, spacious, but NOT warm. And not enough bodies in that grand space. The other issue I have with the heat lamp is that it keeps them up all night.

I'll change things up next summer and get the boys moved somewhere else next year. Wooden! Just the one boy having issues with the extreme cold and he's not the only big combed boy. I've got the babies in the house so I don't need the lamps on them for very long at least.