Frozen chickens?

[Lenny loves chickens]

i would still put vaseline on their combs, but you guys are the experts here

@aart why not vaseline on the combs I do it so I am just curoius?

 

[Fallenone05]

@aart why not vaseline on the combs I do it so I am just curoius?

vaseline can worsen the frostbite on chickens because it retains moisture in the comb/in the skin. More moisture + sub zero temps = really bad frost bite.

 

[aart]

@aart why not vaseline on the combs I do it so I am just curoius?

Because it doesn't prevent frostbite.
Have a link to a post where someone actually tried some with V and some without, they all got nipped....I'll have to look for it.
Best to leave hands off, before and after frostbite.

 

[DobieLover]

put heaters out, put out heat plates, and try to do everything you can to keep them warm. also, make sure to put vaseline on their combs

Where in "Places" do you live in general? Do you keep chickens where winter temperatures regularly drop below 0?
I do.
I do not use supplemental heat.
I DO heat the water source but it is kept in the run.
I DO install tarps to block the winter wind in the run.
I DO have lots of ventilation in the coop and the roost areas are draft free.
I DO make sure the birds go to roost with full crops. Crops full of their normal diet.

A chicken's high metabolism and their ability to fluff their feathers to trap and warm air pockets in the down are how they stay warm in winter. So, these girls in a hard molt will need a place to protect themselves from wind and trap some of their body heat next to them, hence the dry fluffy bedding that gets added in mid-fall and allowing a hen to use the nest box overnight to help trap her body heat. I have 2 hens using nest boxes now and three others are done with them and back on the roosts with the vast majority that did not use the boxes. The nice thing about HENS using the nest boxes overnight is that most of them will hold it all night and not poop in the boxes, but instead wait until they get out in the morning. The cold will stimulate feathers to grow out quicker.

Vaseline on the combs won't prevent frostbite. Keeping the moisture in the coop as low as possible will. Even with that, large combs can lose their tips if it gets below -20F. For that reason, people in colder climates should select birds with smaller combs. This is the same reason why waterer positioning is important to reduce the chance of large wattles dipping into the waterer and causing frostbite. I keep my fount waterer at chicken chest height.

 

[3KillerBs]

Additionally, as a petroleum product, Vaseline can be irritating to the skin for long-term use.

I'm one of those odd people who love watching medical videos on YouTube and I've often seen doctors having to treat a secondary skin problem around an infected wound that was caused by the petroleum jelly that is part of the antibiotic ointment the patient was using.

 

[6BeachChicks]

Because it doesn't prevent frostbite.
Have a link to a post where someone actually tried some with V and some without, they all got nipped....I'll have to look for it.
Best to leave hands off, before and after frostbite.

Wow! I never knew that. It usually doesn’t go below 10 degrees Fahrenheit here. Won’t be doing that again. (I only did it once)

 

[aart]

- Vaseline on chickens in Quebec = the combs are sure to get frostbitten. The salve adds moisture to the skin instead of protecting it, so covering the single combs of my birds with it during particularly cold nights is a very bad idea. If there is a way to protect single combs with Vaseline without icing them over, I have not found it.

 

[Lenny loves chickens]

Coat with wax but you have to do before freezing temp....with none moisturizing stuff in it

 

[catballou]

Ditto Dat!


Do NOT do this^^^.

Why not? I heard that you should if it's getting bitter cold. I bought a hen with a frostbit comb so I'm wondering about it. She was from a storage container coop in Michigan. Poor thing.
I just read other posts about using wax. Well, wax would be as hard as a rock when it's bitter cold out. I'm talking -10° with a wind chill of -35°

 

[aart]

Why not?

Because it doesn't prevent FB.
Best to leave hands off before and after.