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Genetics partially plays into it as well. I tend to keep track of the lines that it comes from and slowly cull those out.I'm not sure either. I can't pinpoint what causes half of it. My pheonix flock really can't get better housing (multiple times the minimum space guidelines, practically unlimited ventilation, roosts of multiple sizes and plenty of space where snow cannot get.) And I have birds every year that end up having a foot or two die off. Other flocks have the same issues, but the pheonixes are the really frustrating ones because I quite honestly can't find anything that would warrant needing to be fixed
Dampness is the worst enemy to combs and wattles.
Lack of body fat plays into feet getting frozen in my experience.
What happens is the chicken gets cold and stands there shivering, they don't sit on their feet and shiver, they stand and shiver, effectively allowing their legs to freeze. Or a roost pole isn't proper for the chicken.
I have a four year old rooster that has frostbite on a few toes because for some reason he molted later this year than normal. Being in the molt and also lack of body fat because of molting contributed to him standing for extended amounts of time and leaving his legs exposed.
If I'm at home when it's cold I'll go and check on them periodically and get them to move around a bit to stave it off as much as I can.
It seems like some of them actually try to get frozen feet. Those I typically process for consumption. No point in selling them and giving someone else the problem.