Possible frostbite

[diogenes2946]

I'm in Southern Maine and December '25 was cold -- below 30 for weeks, a couple nights around 0. It's my first chicken year and I have 6 Buff Orpington hens that are 7 mo old and laying well. The coop is well ventilated, on 3 sides at the top and l use deep litter - never any odor in there and it's dry. Yesterday I noticed 2 of them have 1 or 2 white-ish ends on their combs. Just the very tip, maybe 1/4" or less. My research suggests frostnip (if that's a thing, maybe just mild frostbite). There's no insulation on the coop. So my questions are:
1) If it is frostbite, can I expect it it to heal on its own given how mild it is?
2) Do you think I should install a heater? I'm thinking Sweeter Heater above their roost.
I could post a photo if needed.

 

[azygous]

White comb tips denote frostbite and dead tissue. The best way to treat frostbite is to not do anything as any attempts can do more damage. The white tips will turn black in a few weeks and eventually fall off, reducing the size of the comb.

While combs that have been damaged by frostbite are more susceptible to freezing again under severe weather conditions, the reduction of the size of the comb can actually reduce the chances of future frostbite.

But your coop may need modifying to help prevent this from happening again under worse weather conditions.

I use Cozy Coop heaters in my two coops. They keep the coops from getting below freezing, and they do not get hot enough to burn the chickens if they contact them. Have you seen this thread? https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/topic-of-the-week-coop-heating-and-fire-safety.1211386/

 

[Folly's place]

Welcome!
Your pullets will be fine, it's why some of us in the 'frozen north' prefer birds with smaller combs, not single combs. I do have some birds with single combs, and the tips of their combs do get frozen.
Here we rarely get far below 0F, and we don't have a heater out there. The heater bases for the waterers are necessary though.
We all love winter, right?!?
Mary
Birds with large wattles, single combed roosters especially, will have frozen wattles if you use an open water dish. And twice we had a bird who held the edge of the water dish with a foot, and had frozen toes and an entire foot.
We never have 'dog bowl' waterers out ther in cold weather!

 

[Debbie292d]

We heat our coops to 40F all winter. They'll go outside when it's 20F or higher and no wind. These are silkies, though, so frostbite is one thing they don't get as easily.

Our growout pens have hutches, like glorified dog houses for them, and there's a cozy coop radiant heater in each of those. Those are akin to your sweeter heater idea, just smaller.

 

[Folly's place]

And we don't have either Silkies or frizzles, because they don't manage either cold or heat well. Cute birds, but those feathers just aren't as insulating as normal feathers.
Mary

 

[diogenes2946]

White comb tips denote frostbite and dead tissue. The best way to treat frostbite is to not do anything as any attempts can do more damage. The white tips will turn black in a few weeks and eventually fall off, reducing the size of the comb.

While combs that have been damaged by frostbite are more susceptible to freezing again under severe weather conditions, the reduction of the size of the comb can actually reduce the chances of future frostbite.

But your coop may need modifying to help prevent this from happening again under worse weather conditions.

I use Cozy Coop heaters in my two coops. They keep the coops from getting below freezing, and they do not get hot enough to burn the chickens if they contact them. Have you seen this thread? https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/topic-of-the-week-coop-heating-and-fire-safety.1211386/

I like the Cozy heaters, but the Sweeter Heater can mount above the roost which is better for my coop. More expensive but oh well.

 

[diogenes2946]

Welcome!
Your pullets will be fine, it's why some of us in the 'frozen north' prefer birds with smaller combs, not single combs. I do have some birds with single combs, and the tips of their combs do get frozen.
Here we rarely get far below 0F, and we don't have a heater out there. The heater bases for the waterers are necessary though.
We all love winter, right?!?
Mary
Birds with large wattles, single combed roosters especially, will have frozen wattles if you use an open water dish. And twice we had a bird who held the edge of the water dish with a foot, and had frozen toes and an entire foot.
We never have 'dog bowl' waterers out ther in cold weather!

I have one of those Premier All-Season waterers and that keeps the water from freezing --no open bowls. Thanks.

 

[Three Stents]

another reason to provide some sort of heat and insulation

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Ventilation is very important, perhaps more so than heat. Adequate insulation guarantees that condensation does not become a problem. We do not keep water in our coop overnight. The birds' breathing can cause a buildup of condensation if there is insufficient ventilation. Try to provide one sq foot of ventilation per bird, above the birds' heads while roosting, to control condensation. This will help prevent frostbite.

 

[Debbie292d]

I have one of those Premier All-Season waterers and that keeps the water from freezing --no open bowls. Thanks.

We use nipple buckets. 5-gallon ones in the coops (don't freeze due to the temp stays around 40F) and smaller versions in the growout pens with fish tank heaters in them.