Salmon Faverolles have wet beards...

[Denwendairy]

Recently I moved our waterer inside the coop as our temperatures have dropped to well below freezing. Since I moved it inside, I've noticed that the normally beautiful beards of my two Salmon Faverolles seem to stay wet all the time. It doesn't seem to bother them but I am concerned that they could end up with skin irritation or a fungal disease of some kind. They also have free access to the outside run during the day and the wet beards in freezing temps concern me.
Can I give them a beard trim? Any others ideas for me?

 

[yawningreyhound]

My experience last winter was a wet wattle from dipping into the heated water bowl on a -18 degree day here in Colorado. That wet wattle was a frost bitten wattle the next day. It was swollen and blackish and it had split to bloody tissue on one side. I felt so sorry for the hen.

I took her in to the emergency veterinary clinic where I'm a veterinary technician and we did some research to see how to treat her.

Preventing infection and treating pain are the standards of care.

With our protocol, the bloody area healed within two days and about 11 days later, the blackish parts had dried, hardened and fell off like a scab.

After that, I invested in the Chicken Waterer which I learned about at The Chicken Chick I believe. It keeps them dry in the bad weather. And since it's attached to an insulated cooler ($10), the water stays liquid. Downside is it needs heat tape wrapped around the water dispenser tube as that's the vulnerable area; and if you use it in the summer, it needs something wrapped around the same tube to prevent sunlight from growing stuff.

But it definitely keeps their wattles (and your beards) dry.

I've read it's ok to trim Polish top knot for increased sight, so why not beards, too?

Good luck!

 

[Denwendairy]

Thanks yawninggreyhound! That is definitely what I am trying to avoid. I'm glad your chicken got such great care and everything worked out ok in the end!
I can't quite figure out why they've just started getting wet as the waterer is the same i used outside in the summer. The only difference is that it now sits on a heated waterer base so is about 4 inches higher off the ground.
I will go check out the Chicken Chick site to see what they suggest. Thanks for the suggestion!

 

[yawningreyhound]

Thanks yawninggreyhound! That is definitely what I am trying to avoid. I'm glad your chicken got such great care and everything worked out ok in the end!
I can't quite figure out why they've just started getting wet as the waterer is the same i used outside in the summer. The only difference is that it now sits on a heated waterer base so is about 4 inches higher off the ground.
I will go check out the Chicken Chick site to see what they suggest. Thanks for the suggestion!

http://www.chickenwaterer.com/

maybe they dried quicker in the dry air and now not so much.....did they have a different technique for dipping their heads when it was lower? and now that it's higher they lead with their beards? a real mystery for sure!

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

My Silkies do the same thing. Temps here were in the 20s today, and everyone is running around with wet beards. I've never had frost bitten wattles (and I've had my Silkies for about 4 years, and other bearded breeds since I started raising chickens about 9 or so years ago- they drink out of black rubber bowls in the winter). Maybe its because bearding suppresses wattles, I don't know. I've even seen them picking little bits of ice out of each others beards, with no issue.

 

[Denwendairy]

http://www.chickenwaterer.com/

maybe they dried quicker in the dry air and now not so much.....did they have a different technique for dipping their heads when it was lower?  and now that it's higher they lead with their beards?  a real mystery for sure!

A mystery indeed! I like the chicken waterer - Any chance you could send me a pic of yours with the heat tape wrapped around? Did you just get that at the hardware store? I think nipple waterers are definitely the solution if I can make sure they don't freeze. Thanks in advance for your help on this!

 

[Denwendairy]

My Silkies do the same thing. Temps here were in the 20s today, and everyone is running around with wet beards. I've never had frost bitten wattles (and I've had my Silkies for about 4 years, and other bearded breeds since I started raising chickens about 9 or so years ago- they drink out of black rubber bowls in the winter). Maybe its because bearding suppresses wattles, I don't know. I've even seen them picking little bits of ice out of each others beards, with no issue.

That is good news! I didn't know that bearding suppresses wattles. Now that I think about it, it makes total sense but I hadn't made the connection! Always something new to learn!
Our temps are a bit more extreme here... It was -26 Celsius here today, think thats about -13 Fahrenheit. Yep, thats crazy cold! Definitely seems to help to keep them out of the wind and the Faverolles seem to stay in the coop more than some of the other breeds.

PS- think howfunkyisurchicken is one of the best names I've seen yet!

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

We've had temps that low as well. And it IS crazy, crazy cold! But, they do just fine. If they were living in the wild, there would be no nipple waterers (at least that how I look at it). The nipples couldn't hurt though, that's for sure!


And thanks