Minnesota!

[holm25]

I think I am going to stick with my Cochins right now and wait on other breeds. I love the Cochins more than any other breed I own. I especially love blue black and splash birds. They are my favorite.

 

[NathanZee]

It doesnt really hurt them. They just dont look as pretty.

Oh good. And what about their feet, do chickens feet ever freeze?

 

[holm25]

Oh good. And what about their feet, do chickens feet ever freeze?

They do everyonce in awhile bit it depends on your roosts I've been told.

 

[Minniechickmama]

I have a oegb rooster with a huge comb, will putting bag balm on it every day prevent frostbite on the coldest days? And do wattles need the same treatment as the comb? I'm trying to prepare for any blizzards that might be coming....

If you were a breeder of them, you would dub both the combs and wattles, but yes, the wattle will freeze too, and when they do they look like two water balloons hanging from their face.
If I have a bird get frostbite, I don't touch it at all. It is my understanding that the pain of it is as bad as getting 3 degree burns. If they get frostbit, I leave it and let Mother Nature take care of it. The tissue that is frostbitten will be necrotic and will fall off regardless and I don't want to add to their pain. That is why using nipples or the little cup waterers are so much better in winter if you can use them
With wattles like my New Hampshires and Welsummers get, I definitely need to do something besides pans.

REMEMBER it is NOT THE COLD that gets them, it is the MOISTURE and then the cold that freezes the moisture. Feet get frostbite too, so try to keep them dry. And their is a difference between dry (super cold) snow and wet snow. for this.

Wet feet with poor protection and roosts that don't allow them to cover their feet with their body can end up frostbitten too.

 

[Minniechickmama]

I guess I don't care which time we keep, I just hate changing times twice a year. I don't know why but it just messes me up alot. And it seems to effect me worse the older I get.

I am in 100% agreement!

 

[Minniechickmama]

Minnie I like the cornish the most and wanted them for their size. I wanted to add some different colors in the flock too.

If you aren't as concerned about the breeding quality then, try the hatchery WLRs. They are pretty and when you cross that with other colors, it can be fun. The White Laced Red should be a single edge of white, but most hatchery ones have a double laced pattern that is heavy, light or anything in between. In the few that I have here, I have quite a range of the pattern, and mine are better quality body, but the color really needs work more.

Here is one of my cocks:


No, this is not a Velociraptor pretending to be a chicken

 

[Minniechickmama]

Thank you three! Can it actually hurt the chickens health to freeze the comb? How cold with humidity does it have to be for them to get frostbit? @duluthralphie I won't have to worry about my two hens either. One has absolutely no comb or wattles, and the other is young and is still growing them.

I am going to jump in and say, if your coop feels damp, or if you have frost on the inside walls, there is too much humidity. Warm, damp coops when it is cold are bad bad bad.
Hens rarely get frostbite on combs and wattles unless they are exceptionally big or might just get their very tips nipped.

 

[Minniechickmama]

It doesnt really hurt them. They just dont look as pretty.

I beg to differ.
Frostbite can effect fertility. It also is like them being sick. They won't eat or move around as much, they have to fight frostbite like they have an infection. And frostbite hurts for a chicken or any animals as much as it would a person. It is tissue that has frozen and killed.

 

[holm25]

He is pretty Minnie!! Is he in your EE pens or do you have the WLR cornish??

 

[holm25]

I beg to differ.  

Frostbite can effect fertility.  It also is like them being sick.  They won't eat or move around as much, they have to fight frostbite like they have an infection.  And frostbite hurts for a chicken or any animals as much as it would a person.  It is tissue that has frozen and killed.  

Yikes. I was always told it just froze the tissue and it didnt really hurt at all.