HELP with ventilation please, frostbite on comb

carlaashdown

Songster
Jul 9, 2021
168
205
138
SE Georgia, USA
We live in SE Georgia where it is normally hot and humid. It's been abnormally cold and windy for a couple weeks, but naturally we still have the humidity. We can handle the hot, we know what to do, but this cold and damp is different.

It is cold and windy today. Tonight, it is going to be 24 with 20+mph winds, so the wind chill will be in the teens. (temps are Fahrenheit)

My coop is a 10x12 converted shed with several large windows as well as ventilation we added in the roof peaks. This ventilation works well for us in our normal climate.

Currently, the inside temp is the same as the outside temp. So, at night it's been 30 outside - inside temp is the same.

No drafts, no unsealed holes. There is no condensation inside - walls, ceiling, or windows. The floor is suspended, wood, and I have it covered with vinyl flooring for easy clean up. I have about 4 inches of pine shavings on the floor. I cannot smell any ammonia. Their roost is about 4.5 feet off the floor with a poop tray underneath that I clean daily. I use DE and PDZ on the poop tray, but have added dry shavings daily to help with the cooler temps. Since the roost is near the wall - which is uninsulated metal - I hung curtains a week or so ago as a barrier between them and the wall, so they wouldn't be directly up against the cold metal. Behind the roost only, not the whole coop. Just used what I had to be frugal, since we don't normally need to winterize much, and it won't be up there long.

Seven chickens, big walk-in coop space with high ceilings.

I have been closing the windows and the pop door. Windows are the same height as their roosts. Pop door is, of course, on the floor.

*I'll post a picture of the roost, window, pop door relation.

This morning, I have two chickens with mild frostbite on their combs. Obviously, that is moisture related and likely due to our humidity combined with the abnormally cold, windy temps. I can't change the humidity. I keep the coop clean and dry.

My question: Should I keep the pop door open to increase circulation from the floor up to the roof vents? What else can I do?
 
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Can you bring the frostbitten birds inside for a day so they don’t lose the comb points?
Both are mild, but still concerning. I put my healing salve and aquaphor on them. I'm having a rooster issue right now, so I'd rather not remove any hens. I may put them in the "sick" crate that's in the coop. It's more protected and generally stays warmer in there.
 
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Can you bring the frostbitten birds inside for a day so they don’t lose the comb points?
No, that won't stop any damage.

Both are mild, but still concerning. I put my healing salve and aquaphor on them. I'm having a rooster issue right now, so I'd rather not remove any hens. I may put them in the "sick" crate that's in the coop. It's more protected and generally stays warmer in there.
Do.not.touch the compromised tissue.
No salve or goop will prevent nor cure frostbite.
Can you post pics of the FB combs?
 
No, that won't stop any damage.


Do.not.touch the compromised tissue.
No salve or goop will prevent nor cure frostbite.
Can you post pics of the FB combs?
I think she means so they don’t get further damage.

I will try to get pics when I go back out. I’m good on medical treatment. While not exactly the same, I’ve been in emergency medicine for humans for over 25 years.

Do you have a suggestion on the ventilation? I read through the ventilation post in your signature. Should I leave the pop door open tonight?
 
One those comb tips look frostbitten, nothing can be done to improve them. As @aart said, leave them alone.
Ventilation above the roosts is best, is there any? Can the upper area of at least one window, on the leeward side of the coop, be opened?
After a long time, I bought two combination thermometer/ hygrometers for my coop, and they have helped me figure out how things are in there. You can't get any coop dryer than ambient, but seeing condensation inside is way past 'okay'.
Here we also don't have roosters with big single combs, something you didn't feel necessary, given your mild climate. Your boy will maybe lose those comb tips, and will be just fine without them.
Mary
 
It is cold and windy today. Tonight, it is going to be 24 with 20+mph winds, so the wind chill will be in the teens. (temps are Fahrenheit)

My coop is a 10x12 converted shed with several large windows as well as ventilation we added in the roof peaks. This ventilation works well for us in our normal climate.
as long as you will close your normal ventilation enough to avoid drafts in high winds, the (outside) windchill is irrelevant,
Currently, the inside temp is the same as the outside temp. So, at night it's been 30 outside - inside temp is the same.
Are you positive those are frostbites and not pecking wounds from being cooped up? Please post pics. I am not sure how is it possible for them to get frostbites in such mild temps unless with drizzle and wind inside the coop.
 

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