Frostbitten single comb

[Mitsos Lamprogiorgos]

Can a frostbitten single comb become healthy and normal again?

 

[Brahma Chicken5000]

Yes a frost bitten comb can heal and look just as it was prior to frostbite depending on how severe the frostbite is. If the tips of the comb are starting to turn black then they will fall off and they will not be regrown.

 

[azygous]

Yes. However, the "points" are likely to blacken and fall off.

I had a Cream Legbar roo that had a floppy single comb that refused to stand up because it had such long "points". He got badly frostbit last winter and the tips all froze, along with severe blistering on the lower portion.

The tips turned white, then black and fell off, but the blistered portion eventually healed. Now his comb isn't so top heavy and it stands up straight and tall. I hardly notice the points are now rounded off.

Other than that, the comb is rich red and plump and healthy.

 

[Mitsos Lamprogiorgos]

Can vaseline protect the comb?
I used to use on mine!

 

[Brahma Chicken5000]

Yes, Vaseline and balm oil (?) will protect the comb and wattles from frostbite but you will have to apply it the comb and wattles and every few days.

 

[azygous]

I use Bag Balm on my roosters when the forecast is for single digits. It lubricates deeper into the tissue than Vaseline since it has lanolin in it, therefore protecting a bit deeper than just the surface layer.

However, if the temp were to dive twenty degrees below the freezing point, I doubt anything would protect exposed tissue. Keep in mind that one of the reasons rooster combs are so vulnerable is because they don't tuck their heads under their wings to sleep as hens do.

So, go ahead and grease up your roosters but know it's mainly just protecting the tissue from condensation forming on the comb and freezing. It probably won't be a defense against an extended deep freeze. That's why I add just enough heat in my coops to raise the temperature to just slightly above freezing when I know it's due to get down in the neighborhood of 0F or lower.

When my rooster got badly frostbitten last winter it was because I got lax and didn't turn the heater on when it got down to 0F one night. Everyone here keeps saying how dangerous it is to heat your coop and chickens will be fine with no heat no matter how cold it gets. But my poor rooster sure had a different experience.