How to prevent frostbite?

[KurdishChicken]

One of my hens has been sleeping non-stop and eating next to nothing. I think she's just exhausted from the wet and cold. I'm new to the game, and I plan on sealing up the coop to prevent and more water from entering by tomorrow morning. I brought this one inside for the evening to try and nurse her back to health.

 

[roseyred]

The best way to seal coops for wetness is tarps and bricks to weigh the tarps down.

 

[aart]

One of my hens has been sleeping non-stop and eating next to nothing. I think she's just exhausted from the wet and cold. I'm new to the game, and I plan on sealing up the coop to prevent and more water from entering by tomorrow morning. I brought this one inside for the evening to try and nurse her back to health.

The best way to seal coops for wetness is tarps and bricks to weigh the tarps down.


Remember to leave plenty of ventilation.

 

[mtchickengal]

Hi, fellow chicken lovers. I am going to pick up some bag balm this afternoon. it will be the first time I've used it. this is my 1st year w/chickens, too. A few weeks ago it was -22. The 1st day, I didn't realize it would be so cold & I let them hang out in the yard like usual. then I kept them in the enclosed coop/run area until it warmed up. 1 of my hens, and my rooster got just a dab of frostbite on their tips. I think it was that 1st day in the yard that did it. I have 14 birds total, including 2 leghorns w/huge combs. theirs are fine.

this weekend, it is supposed to be -15 for the night time low. I will bag balm them this afternoon & see how they do this weekend. Hope everyone had great holidays! Love this site.

 

[suebgbr]

One of my hens has been sleeping non-stop and eating next to nothing. I think she's just exhausted from the wet and cold. I'm new to the game, and I plan on sealing up the coop to prevent and more water from entering by tomorrow morning. I brought this one inside for the evening to try and nurse her back to health.

How is she? I had a few like this. We called one Olaf because he was literally 'frozen'. They hung on from a few hours to a few days but none made it. It's not even that cold in the UK yet. It only reached zero degrees once!

 

[mtchickengal]

Hi. I did get some bag balm & put it on all but 1 of my birds. He is a buff polish with only little nubs of visible comb, so hopefully he will be ok. My girls were not particularly happy to have me holding each of them in my lap, but oh well. hopefully it will prevent, or at least minimize the frostbite. My BA roo was not pleased that I tricked him. He has a huge comb & wattles(so I did those too.)I lured them to me with raisins. The leghorns were particularly difficult, so I did them when they were going to bed. It was 55 here yesterday & windy. By about 3pm, the wind turned icy & it was 0 before I went to bed. Now it is -7, but 8 above in the coop(humidity 48%.) I have a light in the run area & it is mostly closed in with plastic. There are some open areas, just for ventilation. It is supposed to be around -15 tonight. The girls seem ok for now, but they are mostly roosting near the light. they did have some oatmeal w/raisins earlier & a banana. I will give them some mealworms & sctatch grains here in a bit before they go in to bed.

This cold snap is supposed to last just for about 2 days. I will post on here about how my birds did. It is normally in the low 30's for highs here right now. Sorry to hear about birds not wintering well. It makes me sad. Best of luck everyone with keeping them taken care of.

 

[KurdishChicken]

She's still just sleeping all the time. I forced feed her some grains and a little grass, but she's not eating on her own.

A guy at the bazaar gave me amoxicillin of 500mg... And said to give her one. Does that seem like a lot for a chicken?

I'm not sure what else I can do.

How is she? I had a few like this. We called one Olaf because he was literally 'frozen'. They hung on from a few hours to a few days but none made it.
It's not even that cold in the UK yet. It only reached zero degrees once!

 

[mtchickengal]

Hi. I think the adult dose is like 500mg twice a day. I am a nurse to people, not animals, but I would say that is too much for a bird. I don't know if you have a feed store nearby, but I got some tetracycline there that I keep on hand. You mix it with their water. Not sure on the dosage, but look at that thread about sick birds & see what you see. Google dosages, maybe you can crush that & put a percentage of it in some water. Maybe use an eye dropper something. But be careful. I had a sick baby bird once & I think the kids & I overdid it. I 'm sure someone that knows more will reply, too. Good luck! I hope she is ok. She looks just like my Brownie.

 

[suebgbr]

I had some tetracycline powder. I put a 5ml spoonful in 4 pints of water. It has to be changed everyday so if you can scale it down it is better

 

[KurdishChicken]

Thanks for your help everyone. This chicken seems to be recuperating very well, but now she's in the very low end of the pecking order. The other birds are bossy or out an art letting her near them. One challenge after the next with chickens, apparently. At least she's back to health for the moment and all I did was give her some extra attention, a few nights inside, and forced fed some food.