Poor rooster. It's been a tough winter!!!*PICS*

[77horses]

wow...for some reason the pictures aren't showing up on my first post!

that's weird....

 

[ams3651]

i know what you mean by a coal shed, my gram used to have one. Even if you could wrap a long tarp around it to stop the drafts it would help. Maybe leave a little bit exposed at the top. If its close enough like mine is, I ran a heavy duty extension cord out to the coop and mounted a heat lamp right near the roost. I only use it when the temps get in the low teens or lower. My RIR roo as a little black just on the very tips but what you have looks like it may be dangerous. There was a good post about dubbing on here a few weeks back, maybe you should consider it.

 

[Reinbeau]

Quote:
Are you sure you uploaded the pictures, if so, are you sure you used the same names in the post as in the picture?

As for your roo's comb, I've got a BO roo out there with a huge comb and he's only had a little twinge at one tip - is your coop ventilated enough to avoid moisture build up, and at the same time draft free overnight? None of my birds look as bad as your poor guy! Whereabouts in NE are you? I'm in southeastern MA, and we've had extreme cold this winter lasting for a few weeks at a time, below zero three or four nights in a row.

 

[KareyABohr]

I live in Iowa and know all about cocks combs and frostbite. Here is what you need to do.

This is going to sound TERRIBLE, but trust me it is a lot better than letting the frostbitten area get infected and puss up.

First you are going to have to steel your nerves. Then you are going to have to take a very sharp pair of scissors and cut it just below the frost bitten part into the healthy tissue. Make sure you go low enough so that you don't leave any dead tissue behind. It will bleed a bit and for that I use a syptic pencil the kind your grandpa used for razor nicks.

Then just give him lots of love and treats. He will heal up in a week or so although his comb will never be "right" again.

 

[blackrooster]

man his comb got frost bite

 

[Picklestix7866]

I think that he should be okay. Three of my RIR hens got frostbite on their combs last year. Eventually the tips just fell off. Try to put on antibiotic ointment and vaseline on the comb and wattles. This year I put a heat lamp up and kept it going all winter.
Good luck!

 

[basicliving]

Poor roo. My SGD roo got frost bite on his comb around Christmas. Most of the tips that were black have fallen off and the two remaining black tips look like they will fall off anytime now. I kept a triple antibiotic cream on it. I applied it at night when he was on the roost for about a month after he first got the frost bite. After that the tips stopped weaping and I was not as concerned about infection. I still watch him very carefully, but he seems to have healed up just fine.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do. Dubbing is certainly an option, but I'm personally happy I haven't had to resort to that. If it had gotten infected, there is no question that I would have though.

Take care,
Penny

 

[chickenmum]

My RIR male Sue got frostbite maybe worse than that. Do you think it was a moist winter or something?

 

[basicliving]

In the case of my roo, the frostbite occurred during a stretch of weather with highs in the low 20's, high teens for several days with a LOT of wind. My chickens free range during the day, and the roo would not go into the coop until night time. The coop stays 15 - 20 degrees warmer than outside temps and I do not supplement heat. Interestingly, ever since the day he got the frostbite, he now stays in the coop when it's cold and windy. It may be a coincidence, but I'm happy for it!

 

[fowlfarm]

If you leave his comb alone the frost bitten tips will fall off and it'll bleed for a little while, or you can choose to trim the dead portion of his comb of with a pair of sharp scissors(sterile=Boiled in water) and apply triple antibiotic ointment to the cuts. These too will bleed but this procedure will reduce his chances of infection. Hope this helps