Help! Very cold chicken! *update* 13 days later - doing great!

[BeetleChick]

One of my almost 3 yr old new hampshire reds was kickedout in the 7* cold by the others last night, she has no feathers from her neck down. She is still alive, i have her wrapped in a towel by tge fireplace. What can i do for her?

 

[Nambroth]

Poor lady! Is she molting?

How is she doing, overall-- alert, perky, eating, drinking, etc? She she seem off or is she acting unusual or 'depressed'?

If she seems otherwise fine, check carefully for frostbite on her extremities... feet, comb, if she has naked wings check the tips as well. Unfortunately I'd be very nervous about moving her outdoors again after subjecting her to extreme cold then very warm temperatures. It can be very stressful on their immune systems! She may need to live indoors with you for a while until the temperatures outside are warmer.

 

[BeetleChick]

Yes, she is molting. The other chickens plucked all the rest of her feathers except for a few on her wings. She is naked her comb still feels cool to the touch, i keep changing her towels every 10-15 mnutes to keep them warm. She looks around when i change her towels, the rest of the time her eyes are closed. She's been inside for about 1.5 hrs. She wont be going back outside until the weather is much warmer, and not back with her flock until her feathers are back in.

Thanks for asking about her

 

[Nambroth]

If you think she has frostbite, you can gently soak her in lukewarm to warm water (never hot!), no more than around 105°F. It can help her. Don't massage any areas that you think might have frostbite.

Otherwise, I would probably let her rest undisturbed for a while, while making sure she has access to water and whatever her favorite food is.
If she doesn't show signs of interest in the food/water by this evening, check her crop to see if she's been drinking while you weren't looking. Extreme cold can sometimes cause dehydration faster than "normal". Hopefully she will perk up soon.

 

[BeetleChick]

She's curled up in a warm towel sleeping.

 

[BeetleChick]

Here is our patient, in her dog pen, in the warm garage, she just ate some grits.

 

[jadedcupcake]

Here is our patient, in her dog pen, in the warm garage, she just ate some grits.

Even without her feathers she is a pretty girl. I hope she feels better soon!

 

[Fancychooklady]

Oh poor girl, looks like a little frost bite on the tips of her comb. If she is eating that's a good sign.

 

[BeetleChick]

Update - we moved her out of the garage into our heated green house after 3 days. She is eating really well, she loves cracked corn which we mix with her chicken feed as well as snacks. She has pin feathers coming in all over her back, wings and chest.

Our main concern is how to put her back with the other chickens. I have 3 options: her coop which has 1 bantam rooster, 1 bantam hen and 8 red hens about her size or a little bigger, 2nd option: 7 hens: 4 barred rocks, 3 red stars but they love to pluck feathers. last option: a 6 month old bantam silkie rooster that my uncle gave us a couple weeks ago. We have had to reintroduce a hen before or put one in a dog pen to keep safe while molting, but never after the amount of time that this will require, I'm not putting her back outside until she has the majority of her feathers back.

 

[BeetleChick]

Here she is now! Pin feathers covering her back, wings & tail. She eats like crazy and loves to talk when i go check on her.