question about frostbite...

[NYRIR]

Hi,
this is my birds first winter.I researched and battled back and forth about heat lamps and decided to try it without.Ok, we put vaseline on the combs every three days...ALL of them...34 chickens! They still got frostbite

I FELT HORRIBLE!! Like a failure in raising chickens!! Sooo I had the hubby put two heat lamps in the coop...if the power goes out I will have him hook up a generator...seriously...to keep them warm enough.My question is...will it scar them? What do I expect next?Most is just on the points...and it looks a bit better just since we heated the coop.Does it ever heal back?

 

[Judy]

Depends how severe the damage was, but, the points will probably not heal without some damage, and they won't grow back.

Frostbite is caused by high humidity as well as cold temps. Might be time to rethink your coop's ventilation system as well. Have you seen this?

https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=1642-VENTILATION

 

[NYRIR]

Actually the coop is pretty well ventilated.All across the back at the top and across the front at the top is about 6 inches of hardware cloth.Each side near the top has a 1 1/2 x 5 inch ventilation window so both ways get a cross breeze.We did sooo much research before we built the coop,I'm pretty sure it's not too humid in there.The points are like a pale color...some have small bits of black.They do look better but still messed up.I haven't noticed any signs of infection yet.

 

[NYRIR]

Oh...and yes...we looked at that article and several others. Thanks

 

[centrarchid]

NYRIR,

I contend with frostbite from time to time as well although my winters likely not as harsh as yours. Nothing is applied to combs and evidence for role of high humidity is not strong. On extreme cold nights birds need to avoid direct wind, have a topped off crop when going to roost and if possible have buddies to roost next to.

What are your birds actually roosting on? Wood? If they are having a hard time keeping feet warm, blood flow will be shunted away from comb and wattles as well.

Another consideration is that chickens simply have limits in respect to cold tolerance. In colder climates frostbite is par for course unless birds of proper genetic background are kept. I now dub my birds simply because only way to reduce frostbite when temperatures get extremely low.

 

[Mrs. K]

Mine have occasionally gotten those little black specks and kind of pale spots, but by summer they were healed up and you could not tell. Mrsk

 

[NYRIR]

centrarchid...I don't believe they are getting direct wind.The air vents are about 3 feet above the top roost.As for enough buddies..we have 34 chickens in a 7 x 12 coop. I know,I know...it's probably too many but we haven't weeded out all the roos yet and so far there is no major fighting.Everyone seems to accept their positions well.The birds roost on a 2 x 4 (sideways) and there are 4 of them in a ladder like position.There are also roosts along the front of the coop because we had some who insisted on roosting on the sills.The windows are hardware cloth, covered by weatherstripped plexi-glass,although the coop is not insulated..And still some,alas,must sleep in the nest boxes.As for the "topped off crop"...I'm lost on that one...could you explain?


Mrs. K....I HOPE that happens for me as well! Mine do not look as bad as some of the pics I saw when researching frostbite.

 

[Attack Chicken]

Bagbalm will work better plus it helps heal the areas. This is was I use on my leghorn girl out in the coop.

 

[gumbii]

they might not be as bad as the pics, but give it some time...


i recommend dubbing... even the hens... frostbite is painful... sorry...

 

[NYRIR]

How do you "dub"? I know my DH said a lot of the older farmers around here used to "cut the tips of the combs"off??