Problem for Winter?

[thlayli]

I live in Iowa and the windchill during winter can hit -40°.

My Orpington rooster is molting and one of the pin feathers on his neck must've broken, because the hens plucked him naked and now he has a mullet. I'm worried about the exposed skin now that we are heading into the colder months and the soon to be coldest part of the year. I have a heated waterer but it isn't a nipple waterer and I don't want him to get frostbite. Is there anything I can do for him? Am I worried for nothing?

 

[Debbie292d]

I live in Iowa and the windchill during winter can hit -40°.

My Orpington rooster is molting and one of the pin feathers on his neck must've broken, because the hens plucked him naked and now he has a mullet. I'm worried about the exposed skin now that we are heading into the colder months and the soon to be coldest part of the year. I have a heated waterer but it isn't a nipple waterer and I don't want him to get frostbite. Is there anything I can do for him? Am I worried for nothing?

Wind chill doesn't matter unless the wind hits the chicken, it's the actual temp they will be in. If your coop has no drafts, he should be okay as he'll grow back at least the start of some feathers before it gets terribly cold there. I'm in Wisconsin so think it's pretty relatively the same. When it gets below freezing, humidity will be an issue as well as below-freezing temperatures.

By your saying it's not a nipple waterer, you seem worried about that. Do his wattles get wet when he drinks? We use a nipple waterer, but I know a lot don't.

If it suddenly turns cold though, do you have a garage or somewhere a little warmer for him until he grows his neck back?

 

[thlayli]

Yes, my coop is made of refrigeration truck panels -- it's very insulated. I only mention the windchill because when it's -40 outside it's still well below zero inside the coop, even if it isn't drafty or damp. Their waterer is like a bell waterer, where it's filled in the top and has a flat bowl on the bottom, so they dip their beaks into it. I'm just worried if he splashes water on his neck it'll freeze and cause damage. Honestly I don't know if they'll get water on their wattles. Last year none of the chickens had really developed their combs and wattles by frost time so they didn't have the opportunity to get frostbite.

And, yes, I do have a heated garage, but he'd be spending weeks in a dog crate away from the flock, and I don't really want to do that. I have another rooster and introductions could get...complicated. He isn't injured or anything, just naked on that part of his neck.