It's Been Chilly

[XanderWiFi]

I've told my wife and mother we are doing the right things, I suppose I need a little reinforcement myself. With the western fronts moving in it has been chilly the past few nights-currently 13 degrees. I just want to ensure I am not missing anything and doing right by my gals-who are definitely used to the 20-30s range of temperature, and hopefully doing okay with this recent dip and windchill.

Our coop is a very nice amish made, with roof soffitts and seals quite nicely with all the doors and windows closed. The roost is flat 2x2s-I know flattened 2x4 is the recommended but it is what came with the coop. I have about two feet of clean bedding for them to get down into if needed as well. The ventilation is roof soffitts.

The top layer of water began freezing every hour or so. Following the instruction video posted previously, I ran a 60w bulb through the middle of the cinder block their water tub rests on. Seemed to do the trick. I keep their food topped off and whipped up some hot oatmeal and steak scraps for them to get some hot chow in their bellies.

All that said, they are cold, I can tell. The leghorns are puffing themselves into poof balls and only standing on one foot at a time (at times). Combs staying pretty red overall. My EE, red comet, and polish hens seem largely unaffected as they move around. Many parts of the day I see them sheltering under the coop huddled together. Some go back inside the coop which makes a bit more sense.

I know they are hardy creatures. Is there anything I may be missing? What are the common signs of frostbite and hypothermia in these guys?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Hunched up puffy birds are just warming themselves. They are okay. The temperature dropped fairly quickly so some birds are still adjusting. I haven't had a bird freeze to death.

My test to see if they are okay is to toss out some scratch. If they get moving and eating they are fine. Young birds tend to do better than older birds. If a bird refuses to eat and drink I might be a bit worried.

Your temperatures aren't too low, so I wouldn't worry.

Frostbite will show up generally on the tips of combs and wattles. Mild frostbite can look whitish. Black tissue at the tips means they will lose that tissue. Those with severe frostbite will get lots of black tissue and swelling. Nothing you do will help the healing process, so it's best to just let it be and it will heal up. They can get frostbite on their toes too. I have a few with missing toes.

 

[Folly's place]

Ventilation is very important when it's cold too, so don't close things up too much. There should be NO condensation anywhere in the coop, and it shouldn't be 'stuffy' when you go out in the morning!
Mary

 

[Smuvers Farm]

Before they get frost bite, get some bag balm, vaseline, coconut oil (or another oil that solidifies at lower temps), etc, on to their waddles and combs. Keep an eye out for white and/or black spots, especially on the tips of their toes and combs.

DEFINITELY keep your coop well ventilated. As previously said, the condensation is more likely to cause frost bitten chickies, rather than the cold temperatures.

You're doing fine Xander...

 

[XanderWiFi]

Good to hear. Not an ounce of condensation anywhere in the coop. It was 7 degrees when I woke up this morning. Took them out some more hot oatmeal and everyone seemed in good spirits.

Checked the toes and combs. No obvious swelling or discoloration. I do notice their combs become a speckled gray-red at times but have read this is more related to their laying habits as after eggs and later on they go back forth from that and the red hearty red.

I was curious about this on another thread. Why the heavy oil/vaseline on the combs for cold temperatures? I would think that would conduct more coldness than anything.

 

[Smuvers Farm]

Good to hear. Not an ounce of condensation anywhere in the coop. It was 7 degrees when I woke up this morning. Took them out some more hot oatmeal and everyone seemed in good spirits.

Checked the toes and combs. No obvious swelling or discoloration. I do notice their combs become a speckled gray-red at times but have read this is more related to their laying habits as after eggs and later on they go back forth from that and the red hearty red.

I was curious about this on another thread. Why the heavy oil/vaseline on the combs for cold temperatures? I would think that would conduct more coldness than anything.

It blocks moisture. Again, COLD is not the enemy, wetness and moisture is.

 

[IdyllwildAcres]

I was curious about this on another thread. Why the heavy oil/vaseline on the combs for cold temperatures? I would think that would conduct more coldness than anything.[/QUOTE]


My GUESS is that moisture will not stick to the oil.... Not sure though. Well ventilated coop for my girls and the temps rarely get into the teens, first winter for me as well but no snow yet here. I have about 75 sq. ft of ventilation for 7 chickens. 10X the recommended amount, practically an open air coop. Linked to left

Gary

 

[aart]

I was curious about this on another thread. Why the heavy oil/vaseline on the combs for cold temperatures? I would think that would conduct more coldness than anything.

Some swear by it to repel moisture from gathering on comb,
which is what cause frostbite.
Others do not, I am one of those.

Definitely think frostbit tissue shouldn't be messed with.
IMO it's best not to even touch it......it's compromised tissue and touching it could very easily make it worse and/or introduce infection.

Have had several birds with frostbit combs and wattles most were the mild graying of the tissue, some had black necrosis that eventually soughed off. I think the wattles get bit because they drag them thru the snow, they seem to love to nosh on it.

I just keep a watch for swelling that lasts more than a few days or obvious infection. Had one boy who's wattles were swollen for 2-3 days, then swelling receded and tissue turned black, took a couple months before black tissue came off and pencil thin scars developed, by spring you could hardly tell it had happened.
Swelling:

10 days later

 

[Smuvers Farm]

I 50/50 agree with @aart. I might use the lube as a preventative measure, if I knew some really deep cold/wet weather was coming through... HOWEVER, if the chicks already were frostbitten, I wouldn't mess with it. There'd probably be more damage done trying to treat the problem.

 

[Folly's place]

Roosters with small combs and wattles for cold climates!!! The best solution, IMO. Like these! Or even this boy...
Mary