I understand what it's like to have a roo with frostbite. Last winter our roo had a very tall comb & we went through 2 polar blasts. (Remember those days we the day high was -10'F and the night temps felt like -40'F? I certainly do!) I applied Vaseline nightly, but it really didn't help in those temps. Below is the frostbite progression from Jan 31- early March.
I apologize if the pics are gross. I do not know how to hide them until clicked.
The 1st "normal" pic was taken in early Dec. & the 2nd on Jan 31st - after the 1st arctic blast.
After 3 or 4 weeks Tank was looking better. The next pic was taken 2 days later. We had just gotten another round of below zero temps.
In general, the affected areas turned black & eventually fell off. I was told that rubbing ointments on it may cause it to bleed & it's better to allow things to heel on their own. I followed this advice & he didn't experience much blood. (Once he bumped it in a doorway, but otherwise, no blood. Just new pink skin when the the scabby black fell off. New tips were rounded & no longer pointy.) Most of the healing happened when it warmed up in March. From time to time (& when it was well above freezing) I sprayed some Vetericyn on his comb. I avoided the ointments.
The unfortunate end to his story is that Tank was unpredictable around other people. My family had a few colds in March (so the pics stopped) & then my mom unexpectedly died in April. Chickens went to the bottom of the list & my attention had to go toward the funeral & helping my dad. Since my children had to care for the animals, Tank had to go.
Here was my CCL. She has a larger than normal comb & some tips had frosting. In her case, this was as bad as it got. When the temps warmed, her comb went pink again.
This year, my orps have much better-looking combs - not as tall - and the temps did not get as cold. I applied Bag Balm nightly when the temps dipped into the single digits & below. My boys have a few white tips but nothing severe like last year. I've never had any frozen toes. The waddles are hard to keep dry. I removed all water dishes so they drink safely from the nipples. What I can't prevent is the waddles dropping down into the snow. (A few of mine love to eat snow.)
I apologize if the pics are gross. I do not know how to hide them until clicked.
The 1st "normal" pic was taken in early Dec. & the 2nd on Jan 31st - after the 1st arctic blast.
After 3 or 4 weeks Tank was looking better. The next pic was taken 2 days later. We had just gotten another round of below zero temps.
In general, the affected areas turned black & eventually fell off. I was told that rubbing ointments on it may cause it to bleed & it's better to allow things to heel on their own. I followed this advice & he didn't experience much blood. (Once he bumped it in a doorway, but otherwise, no blood. Just new pink skin when the the scabby black fell off. New tips were rounded & no longer pointy.) Most of the healing happened when it warmed up in March. From time to time (& when it was well above freezing) I sprayed some Vetericyn on his comb. I avoided the ointments.
The unfortunate end to his story is that Tank was unpredictable around other people. My family had a few colds in March (so the pics stopped) & then my mom unexpectedly died in April. Chickens went to the bottom of the list & my attention had to go toward the funeral & helping my dad. Since my children had to care for the animals, Tank had to go.
Here was my CCL. She has a larger than normal comb & some tips had frosting. In her case, this was as bad as it got. When the temps warmed, her comb went pink again.
This year, my orps have much better-looking combs - not as tall - and the temps did not get as cold. I applied Bag Balm nightly when the temps dipped into the single digits & below. My boys have a few white tips but nothing severe like last year. I've never had any frozen toes. The waddles are hard to keep dry. I removed all water dishes so they drink safely from the nipples. What I can't prevent is the waddles dropping down into the snow. (A few of mine love to eat snow.)
