Frostbite!

[Chickie-chan]

Yeah I love it when humans and animals can understand each other.

 

[cowcreekgeek]

Yeah I love it when humans and animals can understand each other.

Esp. when horses or dogs were involved, I've seen some pretty amazing stuff .... there's so very much that they can pick up on, and then give back in a positive way ~'-)

 

[Chickie-chan]

I love animales with their willingness and silent understanding.

 

[TonyDomino]

A 100Watt bulb under an over-turned clay flower pot. Like a little furnace, they can roost above.

 

[gunbarrelflygir]

Re: Frostbite
For those of you experience in this - what does frostbite on a comb look like? We had a weird (and rare) sleet storm come through (I live south of Dallas, TX, USA) and now my buff rooster has a bloody patch behind his oh so cold comb. I brought him in (no small feat - he's at least a 15 pound bird) and cleansed the area with peroxide on a sterile 2x2 then put on a dollop of strong antibiotic ointment. I plan to try to make him a little cap when my husband comes home. Now, if THAT is accomplished, I will post a picture of that astonishing feat!
Is this a pre-frostbite condition?

Thanks in Advance,
GunBarrelFlyGirl

 

[ellend]

Re: frostbite: vaseline used as a PREVENTATIVE also is excellent! Try it yourself; go out on a frigid windy day, especially if there is sleet--vaseline one cheek. You'll see the difference. The barrier keeps the tissue from losing water, and the humidity from damaging the surface cell layers. Do apply vaseline to frostbitten areas to protect, but avoid rubbing; it's very painful; I've had MILD frostbite on the face from sleet, and it burns for days, even though nothing apparent but what looked like hives.

Re: treatment: suggest reading up on human medical sites (Mayo clinic, etc.--reputable ones!) on google, to see what they are doing now--frostbite care tends to change over the years with increased info.

Re: pain: Agree that chickens hold still to not attract attention. Some point to chickens eating during surgery, but they are also programed by nature to never pass up food, so that may not tell--that could also be stress relief. We have LONG known that human babies shut down after (and often during) circumcision, and that was in the past (and still by more ignorant and/or callous medical professionals) pointed to as "no pain", but monitoring devices long ago demonstrated the opposite; the emotional withdrawl is a RESULT of suffering, and the pain is acutely felt, notwithstanding a partially incomplete neurological system.

Re: straw--very bad for bedding for animals, because of moisture and compaction. Shavings better, maybe DRY sand if shavings too costly?

I have only pet bantams, and have a small (space restrictions) coop for them, so I have a raised 3 x 6 (floorspace) cage attached to the coop, with a small pop-hole open into it at all times. Two Plexiglass sides for visibility and light, choroplast back panel (inexpensive) with vent, and choroplast roof (again, inexpensive, lightweight, and easy to work work with--only a box knife and tape required!) that is slightly lifted for ventilation. Insulated floor with shavings. No snow or rain can get in. All panels can be removed for summer, so they have a pen-within-a-pen to provide space until I open their coop into their 6 x 20 totally enclosed pen in the am; I work nights, so can't always open it early, and I want them behind two secure barriers at night. The attached cage is their "outdoor play area" for when the pen is too wet or drifted, and I keep the food and water in there to reduce moisture in the sleeping coop. We freeze most of the winter, so I'm using a heated dog bowl with a thermocube to turn heat to it off if temps rise. (The three gallon heated waterer for chickens was an even WORSE disaster than the awful user reviews stated!!!) Of COURSE the plexiglass & choroplast are installed over or under the cage WIRE.

I do provide some heat; I bought a sweeterheater and installed it on the wall, and it's plugged into a "Model TC035 Allied Precision temperature contolled outlet" to turn on around 35 F, and off around 37 F. It looks essentially like a large outlet adapter. Put it into the freezer when it arrives, then test it with a light to see if it works. Then I put it in the garage on a warming day, with a fluorescent light plugged into it and a thermometer next to it, so I could see through the windows what the temps were (from sun warming the garage air) when it turned on and off, as internet warns of many defective devices. It didn't seem to be working when I first got it, but the freezer seemed to have done something...who knows. It works fine. I prefer this outlet for the sweeterheater because the thermocube has a wide temperature range, and I'd prefer they stay fairly constant, but not freezing. I don't want them TOO warm, though, at night. Be aware there are DIFFERENT models of Thermocube (cheap) with different temp ranges, avail. online. The Allied Precision outlet is more expensive, but it has the tight just-above-freezing range that I desire.

We do, of course, use a remote thermometer to keep close tabs on things, and if I could have found one at the time, I would have gotten remote humidity sensor also. No humidity problems to date, knock-on-wood.

TIP: I use leftover HEAVY RUBBER (not plastic/polyethelyne) POND LINER for every project under the sun! I have strips stapled onto the sidewall of my coop, overlapping and resting on the lid of the nest box, to cover the hinge end crack at the outside wall nest box to keep out rain and snow. I also use it as a "drip edge" cover where my coop and cage join, to keep water and driving snow out. Always flexible (unlike plastic) too heavy to deform or blow around, lasts years, and cheap. I also use it to line raised beds to keep my water from flowing out between board joints in the summer. Works great.

Good luck!!!

 

[Mother2Hens]

I've read that straw in the coop is not a good idea because it often contains mites (although I am no expert). However, following a recent large snowfall, we spread hay around outside of the coop to make paths for our five hens who were overwhelmed by their "first snow," which was unusually deep at eight inches. They liked to be able to scratch around in it when I tossed some seeds around. I also noticed that as the snow turned to mud, the straw was beneficial in cleaning their feet.

I appreciate cowcreekgeek's clarity concerning chicken's pain. We certainly cannot know the level of pain that animals endure. Scientific studies assert that even fish feel pain.

 

[tiaali]

I have heard that putting Vaseline to protect the comb and waddle are good. Hope this works. Can you temporarily block the holes with something that the hens won't eat?

 

[Chickie-chan]

I have heard that putting Vaseline to protect the comb and waddle are good. Hope this works. Can you temporarily block the holes with something that the hens won't eat?

I'm sorry, I lost you at "temporary block the holes . . ." Will you try explaining it again? Sorry.

Re: Frostbite
For those of you experience in this - what does frostbite on a comb look like? We had a weird (and rare) sleet storm come through (I live south of Dallas, TX, USA) and now my buff rooster has a bloody patch behind his oh so cold comb. I brought him in (no small feat - he's at least a 15 pound bird) and cleansed the area with peroxide on a sterile 2x2 then put on a dollop of strong antibiotic ointment. I plan to try to make him a little cap when my husband comes home. Now, if THAT is accomplished, I will post a picture of that astonishing feat!
Is this a pre-frostbite condition?

Thanks in Advance,
GunBarrelFlyGirl

Frostbite will start at the tips of the comb and it will be a purplish color. When it gets worst it may make its way down the comb and it will start to get darker in color until it is black. In your case though, I'm not sure if it would be frostbite. Do you know if he got in a fight?

Thanks everyone for your concern and info! There are some cool ideas I'll have to look into.

 

[centrarchid]

Frost bite in my birds with single / wildtype combs is indicated by affected tissue first turning a light yellow when first frozen. When tissue thaws it turns black from the bruising as blood vessels will be ruptured. At some point necrosis will set in where tissue between affected and healthy areas will turn yellowish and often swell with infection. Shortly after that the affected tissue will fall away. I am always concerned while birds infected because the stress makes them more susceptable to frostbite in other areas. With such an arrangement, frost bite in comb and toes often goes together. Loss of points on comb does not bother me but loss of toes does. Frost bite of comb and secondary problems associated with it a major reason why I trim combs of roosters.