Mild frostbite?

[HB72]

Seems to depend on how cold it gets. Here’s what Gail Damerow says about it:

Does coating combs with Vaseline work?​

“That depends on how low the temperature drops and for how long. Vaseline, or any other petroleum jelly, prevents the dissipation of heat from the coated comb and wattles. And the coating insulates the comb from moisture and thus from freezing.

“Also, Vaseline freezes at a slightly lower temperature than the cell fluid in a comb or wattles. It therefore protects these parts from freezing at temperatures hovering around 32°F. However, if the temperature goes lower, especially for a prolonged period, petroleum jelly will freeze and therefore fail to prevent frostbite,” she states.


Here‘s a link to the whole article on frostbite prevention and treatment:

https://blog.mcmurrayhatchery.com/2023/02/07/gail-damerow-discusses-how-to-treat-and-prevent-frostbite/#:~:text=And the coating insulates the,hovering around 32°F.

this is great thank you

 

[HB72]

Here is a photo taken today - now four days out from the cold snap. Will thankfully be more of the 40 and 50 degrees this weekend.

 

[HB72]

Not necessary to argue about the use of vaseline on combs. Lots of people use it. We all try to advise people here with our own experiences. Gail Damerow has a few books and is well known on educating people about chickens. She is not always right about everything. I like some of what she writes, but it is not necessary to use sprays, creams, or ointment on frostbite. Because they freeze themselves, it may cause more frostbite. I have treated some cases of average frostbite that resulted in rounded combs. It is up to the OP to read all our advice, and decide for themselves which opinion to follow.

thank you

 

[HB72]

Do you have photos?

Sounds like she's doing o.k. - she's eating/drinking/active.

Don't mess with the comb. No ointments, no oils, nothing. Leave frostbitten tissue alone. Usually tissue will dry up and round off on its own without any intervention.

Don't feel discouraged, you did what you could to provide wind blocking and protection. It can happen at those temperatures just due to exposure.

Even when temps are going to be in single digits and wind chill is -F I let mine choose where they want to stay - in the coop or run. Most go in/out all day long, going inside to hang out, then coming back out when the wind dies down. Even with wind protection, good ventilation, etc. etc. frostbite can happen.

 

[Jcbaker]

Following to see if anyone believes it is frostbite as I was concerned about one of my hens combs and curious to see what everyone thinks. I am new to chicken keeping and our first winter last year we didn’t have to worry as our run was small and entirely covered out of the wind. We now have a 30x40 uncovered run and a much larger coop since chicken math got us and we went from 4 to 15 so it’s been different this year dealing with Michigan Winter!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Here is a photo taken today - now four days out from the cold snap. Will thankfully be more of the 40 and 50 degrees this weekend.

Yes, it's Frostbite.

 

[Eggcessive]

Here is a photo taken today - now four days out from the cold snap. Will thankfully be more of the 40 and 50 degrees this weekend.

Can you post another picture a week or so of the comb? I’m just wondering if the white parts might get better and turn pinker, or if they turn black like the other tips. Yes, it is frostbite, but it takes a week or so for the damage to be more evident.

 

[HB72]

Yes will do!

Can you post another picture a week or so of the comb? I’m just wondering if the white parts might get better and turn pinker, or if they turn black like the other tips. Yes, it is frostbite, but it takes a week or so for the damage to be more evident.

 

[Jcbaker]

Following to see if anyone believes it is frostbite as I was concerned about one of my hens combs and curious to see what everyone thinks. I am new to chicken keeping and our first winter last year we didn’t have to worry as our run was small and entirely covered out of the wind. We now have a 30x40 uncovered run and a much larger coop since chicken math got us and we went from 4 to 15 so it’s been different this year dealing with Michigan Winter!

Here is a couple pictures of my hens I am slightly concerned about. The sapphire gem is molting so her comb is not the prettiest. The other is my olive egger and she is not molting. She’s the one I am mostly concerned about. They are both acting normal otherwise.

 

[Mrs JMC]

Hi All,

This is our first winter having chickens in Golden CO, our flock is just ten months, one being a barred rock. We just had three days of - 8 to -10 weather here and on the last day of the cold snap the barred rock started showing signs of what I think is mild frostbite on her comb - small white areas on some of the tips. They all did great up to about 1/2 through that third day. We brought the whole group in the garage that afternoon for the night - some seemed to be getting stressed from the cold and they perked right up once we had them in the garage. (not a heated garage). (wondering if on that last day since it was the most blustery if we should have just keep them in the coop and not the run?) It seemed as though the barred rocks comb got better but tonight (2 days after the end of the cold snap) when i went to give them some treats before bed I noticed some whiter areas on the tips of her comb. As far as I can tell all their feet look good.

We have 6 chickens and a large coop, deep litter with shavings good ventilation up high and the run is large (10 x 20) with straw on the ground outside, three sides of the run and the top are covered in clear plastic tarps to stop the wind and snow. We feed a scratch and peck layer feed with 18% protein and give cracked corn and black soldier fly grubs for treats before bed to help keep them warm.

Our temperatures are back to normal Golden, CO 30's to 20's at night and 30's to 40's during the day.

She seems fine, eating, drinking and normally interacting. Is there anything I should be doing for her comb? Just keeping an eye? Ointment or infection prevention? We tried to do all the right things for this cold snap and are feeling like we missed something.

Love to hear your expert advice and thank you! Since it's our first winter we are doing a lot of overthinking and worrying and want to do the right thing for the girls!

I used Neosporin antibiotic, not the one for pain relief though. There's also gel ointments for skin burns that will help and this is also good,