Single comb marks

[hagoesch]

Hello from Wisconsin with a comb question. Two of my ladies have excellent single comb specimens, but both are looking a little worse for wear.

The black and white hen, Mini, (left) was doctored with some hydrogen peroxide and Neosporin last night on the roosting bar after I realized blood on the first tip of her comb. My guess is that she bonked it or took a peck from one of the others (she's the bully, so it wouldn't surprise me if someone was fighting back). As for the rest of her comb, as with that of our Cream Crested Legbar, Crocus, (right) there are various black spots, white spots, paler portions at some of the tips, and white lines that look like drying skin. I think maybe most of these are old injuries? It was terribly cold last week, and I read that mild, early-stage frostbite manifests on the comb as washed out color, but even with that cold their coop is draft-free and stays above freezing/below 70% relative humidity, and in the past several days the temps rose to the low-mid 60s F (low 40s overnight)... so I can't imagine that the pale tips each have one of are due to frostbite. I also read that sometimes spots can be the result of mites/lice, but I see no evidence of those.

I very much hope this is normal chicken "wear and tear," and appreciate any thoughts you may have!

Thank you,
Heather (and Minuit + Crocus)

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Looks mostly like peck wounds to me. I'm also in Wisconsin. Make sure you don't close up your coop too much. That's high humidity which can lead to frostbite at lower temperatures. You need the air to move through and remove the moisture from your birds respiration.

I always expect some degree of frostbite on combs in winter. It doesn't generally bother them, and most times it's the roosters as they don't tuck their heads at night like hens do.

 

[hagoesch]

Looks mostly like peck wounds to me. I'm also in Wisconsin. Make sure you don't close up your coop too much. That's high humidity which can lead to frostbite at lower temperatures. You need the air to move through and remove the moisture from your birds respiration.

I always expect some degree of frostbite on combs in winter. It doesn't generally bother them, and most times it's the roosters as they don't tuck their heads at night like hens do.

Thank you, Lisa! Which part of Wisconsin are you in that frostbite is a foregone conclusion in winter? As for our coop, it is 5 ft wide x 16 ft long, built into a corner of an uninsulated pole barn addition to our garage. The two non-barn-wall sides and the top are fully chicken wire. I hung a heavy tarp over the side closest to the a Dutch door that is kind of drafty, and stapled painter's plastic to the bottom half of the other side. This leaves that top half of the long side and the entire top open. Their little pop door in the coop is open all day to let them free-range from sun-up to sun-down. The two windows in their coop are open if it's not too cold or windy. During the night if everything is buttoned up in their coop, there is air flowing in the Dutch door gaps and through the soffits in the roof eaves. I have a window at the far end of the barn I can open as well if the humidity is getting too much... just trying to find a balance between adequate ventilation and ensuring it doesn't get too cold in there since there is no insulation or heating. I know they're pretty cold-hardy but it's hard not to worry!

Cheers, Heather

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I'm about in the center of the state. We generally are okay until we get those stretches of -20's. Last year we never really got that cold, so I didn't see any frostbite for the first year in a long time. It's generally just the young roosters with big combs, and perhaps a few comb tips on big combed hens.

We block the prevailing wind side as much as possible, and we keep open doorways on the east and south side of my large shed which isn't insulated either. My shed used to be tin, but we converted it to plywood and wood siding. It isn't as drafty as it used to be.

As long as your birds don't have a draft over the roosts, and they have draft free places to stand they will be okay with some air movement.

 

[hagoesch]

I'm about in the center of the state. We generally are okay until we get those stretches of -20's. Last year we never really got that cold, so I didn't see any frostbite for the first year in a long time. It's generally just the young roosters with big combs, and perhaps a few comb tips on big combed hens.

We block the prevailing wind side as much as possible, and we keep open doorways on the east and south side of my large shed which isn't insulated either. My shed used to be tin, but we converted it to plywood and wood siding. It isn't as drafty as it used to be.

As long as your birds don't have a draft over the roosts, and they have draft free places to stand they will be okay with some air movement.

Nice, thanks! By "keep open doorways on the east and south side of my large shed..." does that mean this is the space in which your coop is located, and that regardless of the weather you open those east and south doors? We have two roll-up doors on the north and south ends of the barn, and three hinge-top windows on the east side. I typically keep the window at the north end of the barn open, and only open the other two fully if the weather is nice because these two are IN the coop. The north door is kept closed generally, and the south door is opened again if it's nice. There is a dutch door on the east side as well, just to the north of the coop, and I open the top when it's nice. Do you think I'm allowing enough ventilation? I don't know really what configuration is best for when the temps really start dropping, finding the best balance to prevent it getting too cold in their coop but also not too humid to invite frostbite. Would love your thoughts, if you have a minute

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

My shed is 40x40 and is set up so it houses 2 donkeys, 6 goats, geese, muscovy ducks and chickens. I do have pens, but generally the chickens can go anywhere in the shed. Because the donkeys and goats need to go in and out there's open doorways.

Generally once temperatures fall below 30-40 I close all windows, especially anything north or west because that's where the cold blows from. There's always enough cracks to allow air to move through. I'm sure your shed too has some natural drafts. I use them as my ventilation in winter.

You don't want moisture to build up as that will cause frostbite and will make thing feel colder. A dry cold is warmer than a wet cold.

On Warner days I open up a bid door that faces east. Warmer to me is 20-40 degrees.

I know I saw you set up on a different thread. Can you share that picture here as well. Than I would tag in @aart who knows coops and building.

 

[hagoesch]

My shed is 40x40 and is set up so it houses 2 donkeys, 6 goats, geese, muscovy ducks and chickens. I do have pens, but generally the chickens can go anywhere in the shed. Because the donkeys and goats need to go in and out there's open doorways.

Generally once temperatures fall below 30-40 I close all windows, especially anything north or west because that's where the cold blows from. There's always enough cracks to allow air to move through. I'm sure your shed too has some natural drafts. I use them as my ventilation in winter.

You don't want moisture to build up as that will cause frostbite and will make thing feel colder. A dry cold is warmer than a wet cold.

On Warner days I open up a bid door that faces east. Warmer to me is 20-40 degrees.

I know I saw you set up on a different thread. Can you share that picture here as well. Than I would tag in @aart who knows coops and building.

A menagerie! I envy how far along you are. (We'd like to add two dairy sheep and a couple guard geese up top with the chickens. Meat rabbits in the barn. On the hillside, possibly two feeder pigs. And down in the pasture maybe a tractor with meat turkeys or meat chickens?) First comes infrastructure and skill-building, all of which will come in time, but never soon enough

Anyway, thanks for sharing how you manage that great large space as well as your thoughts on our setup -- I'm taking lots of notes. Below are the two images of our coop during the build and once finished with some markups to show direction, where the openings are, and what I've (loosely) covered. Hopefully it's legible. It's actually partly designed off of the coop @aart shared! Not sure where it's located, if it's a cold-winter place, but we'll see if you, Aart or anyone else has thoughts.

One Q about the humidity in particular: During stretches of days with high humidity (70+) and/or consistently wet and snowy (and thus naturally high humidity), how do you manage keeping the coop mostly closed up but with an inside humidity within the optimal range of 40-70? Do you have a fan? Open the windows and hope for a breeze? Thanks!

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Which way is north on your pen? Is it possible to solid up the north side?

@aart is brilliant, and she's always helpful.

 

[hagoesch]

Which way is north on your pen? Is it possible to solid up the north side?

@aart is brilliant, and she's always helpful.

The first photo has directionals marked in. It's kind of messy, ha. The coop is built into the southeast corner of the barn, so north is at the opposite short end where the other roll-up door is, and west is the opposite long end of the barn that is actually the wall of the back of our garage. The two windows in the coop and the Dutch door face east. Given our prevailing winds are from the northwest, the coop is naturally well-placed. At least we have that going for us.

 

[aart]

Spots on comb look like a bit of dry pox, virus spread by mosquitos.
Best left alone, it'll go away within a few weeks.


More pics of barn, inside and out?
Looks like eaves are closed off?
Which is too bad because that's the best place to ventilate on cold climates.

Temp and humidity should be about the same inside and outside building,
with a bit of lag throughout the day/night,
that's when you have enough ventilation.

It's the near freezing temps surrounding thaws when I see the most frostbite.
Gray is mild, white is serious, black is severe(necrotic).
Hand off here, before and especially after, all have healed.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/frostbite-in-sw-michigan.74597/