Rooster with frostbitten wattle - view pics help us decide on dubbing

[tinners204]

Quote:
How do you know, did you ask them????

 

[moduckman]

Don't worry about it. It does not appear to be severe. If frost biten severely, the frost-bite part will fall off eventually. One alternative is to cover the waddles and single combs (if applicable) with vaseoline. Hens are usually okay since they tuck their heads under their wings. Also, you might find yourself some VetRx, for comb, waddles and respiratory distress and antibotic for the water. This never hurts. Many times the waddle freeze is from them dipping in water when they drink.

 

[mjelse]

Thank you so much for all the advice. It is still a hard decision. He does seem uncomfortable as he shakes his head as if bothered by something, but as some of you have pointed out I do not know how he experiences all of this.

It is interesting to see what a hot issue this is for all of us and this explains why my decision is so hard.

I could guess that combs and wattles help with temperature regulation in the summer, even if they do not sweat. They can circulate blood through this uncovered flesh and cool themselves, the same way African elephants cool themselves with their ears. In Massachusetts hot summers are starting to be runners up to cold winters for chicken stressors, but even at that Fergus' wattle is ginormous and the hens survive without anything like that. I dunno that he really needs it. Cutting it off would also be traumatic, the narrowest and thinnest point is more than an inch long and kind of thick. He is seriously blessed in the wattle department.

The frost damage is worse than it looked on the pics. The wattle was covered in salve and reflected alot. Some of it has turned white since this a.m. I think it is still worth waiting to see how it turns out. I am not a cruel person but I would like to keep chix for a long time and want to keep learning about them. I have had birds lose the tips of combs when they blackened and feel off after frostbite that started out with this kind of purpling. It is hard to imagine chunks of this enormous massive wattle doing that. I think this discussion is unresolved enough that if I can I will post pics of the progression so others can see how this turns out.

From a future perspective, I have to say that this has made me realize that his wattle and really cold temps are not a good match. I don't want to have him live inside in cold weather, and I don't want him to suffer if I can prevent it. I am failry certain this injury is painful, if I watch him I can see it in his behavior, and it looks like it hurts. So in some ways I am not sure if I lack information or will power. After all this is over I at least will have more information, and will share it. -- mj

 

[moduckman]

Try the vasoline on your roosters. it can't hurt.

 

[Momma_Cluck]

Sorry if I am mistaken-- but I thought Combs and wattles served the purpose of producing testosterone--making them fertile?????

 

[moduckman]

Having a comb freeze does have fertility issues, but i thought it had more to do with infection and fever and not feeling like breeding. OEG and Modern Game get dubbed and still reproduce.

 

[morelcabin]

All about combs and wattles...
and by the way...from what I have read "dubbing" seems to be a practice used more on battery hens than any other...

http://www.backyardpoultrymag.com/issues/3/3-1/Dave_Anderson.html

 

[moduckman]

All Modern cocks and OEG cocks MUST be dubbed to show or they are DQ'ed. Still, they remain fertile.

 

[mjelse]

I think the testicles produce testosterone. In roosters, they are inside the chest cavity, funny place.

Maybe people just associate combs and wattles with fertility. It would be interesting to find a way to do sperm counts on roosters.

re: vaseline and frostbite - I have put a nice beeswax salve on the wattle and on his comb and it al least is making things look better, has smoothed some of the cracked, whitened tissue. There is an interesting long publication on "emollients" such as vaseline that somebody has posted links to on this forum. It discusses a practice in Finland of putting oily and greasy salves on human faces to PREVENT frostbite. After reading it or more accurately, "skimming" it, I decided to use salves ont AFTER fristbite, that it might make things worse BEFORE.

Some guy posted a pic of a roo wearing a baby sock as a hat. Maybe that is a thought. I already used a sock section to cover the neck of a plucked hen.

 

[moduckman]

The thing with fertility and frostbite stems from the fact that high fever can make a bird infertile. Frostbite can can infection and fever.