The IMPORTED ENGLISH Orpington Thread

[HighStreetCoop]

Does anyone here have Orps in cold climates? My poor guy got some frostbite in January when the temps dropped to -35'F (high of -10'F during the day) for about 4 days. Things were finally starting to heal, then this week we just got hit with a 3rd polar vortex! Only -18'F, but the winds made it feel miserable! The hens have no problems, but the huge rooster comb turned black on the tips. It's no problem when we stay above -5'F, but those severe cold stretches are brutal. As a preventative, I used Vaseline a few times & now am trying Bag Balm. The coop's ventilation seems good & the walls are insulated. The winter run is kind of like a greenhouse, so about 20 degrees warmer when sunny.

I see a lot of beautiful roos with perfect combs. Is it possible to prevent frostbite in severe cold? The roo's wattles are also a concern. When the chickens go out to the yard, they sometimes like to eat snow. His wattles flop down into the snow. Wet+cold= frostbite. I've been keeping them locked up for the past month. My hens have no problems. Any suggestions for the roo?

I see people putting Vaseline, coconut oil, and bag balm on their roo's combs and wattles when it's really cold.

Quote:
Yep. That's splash.

 

[laadeebug]

That's an interesting color. Is he a splash?

Yes. Blue Splash with a little bit of dirt bath brown highlights. he he!

 

[tnmommy]

If it isn't too bad they might recover but you might want to bring him indoors and gradually warm him. I've heard preparation h, of all things, is good to heal the inflammation. He may lose the tips. If so the dead tissue usually falls off on its own.

 

[Ashley Stroud]

Just want to share some pics of the chicks I received back in mid October. They are our pets/yard ornaments but critiques are always welcome--I'm new to Orps and learning where I can

 

[Mahen100]

Pretty birds, Ashley, you are going to enjoy watching them develop. I like the Black's green sheen, and the Black roo has some nice broad feathers in his tail there, hope a few of the big curved feathers will too when they appear.

 

[Mahen100]

...Any suggestions for the roo?

I don't have any experience with the extreme cold you have there, but I surely have lubed my Orps comb (and waddles) a couple of times during the relative extreme cold here.

You can find "Vetericyn" at tractor (or online) if you don't have any...and that is what I would use post frostbite to prevent infection. Its a great tool in my experience for any birds cut, nick, or skin worry. .

You are right about moisture being more the enemy than the cold, and that is why in the less frigid temps here I like let my birds out when they are willing, to move around and let their blood circulate to help prevent damage...then I lube up before cooping them back. I was worried about OrpB's large comb as it had some grey/dark abnormal color after our first cold plunge when he first came out of the coop, but that has gone away, and my fingers are crossed he'll stay that way. It did encourage me to rig a heat lamp in the coop prior to this last plunge to take the temp up a bit and the humidity in the coop down a bit. I once had a high flying polish roo who was not to be caught, lubed or protected from frostbite roosting 30 feet up in a huge old magnolia tree. When his frost bit comb healed, the tips were smooth and red, not really ugly, but blunted and tale-tell he'd been bitten. We do what we can.

 

[jeremy]

@jeremy I think we have decided to pull her out this weekend into our flock that doesn't quite make the cut for breeders. We thought we would try breeding her and seeing what developed but, obviously we are getting too much diversity from the chicks. I have some messages into Keith from UK to see if he has any idea of a standard of the Reds and specifically what the chicks should look like. Got a message into Sandra also, as I greatly appreciate her opinion and profession

Chicks should orangey-yellow at hatch, similar to other Wheaten based birds. RIR chicks are most similar in genotype & phenotype to Red Orps.

Yes. Blue Splash with a little bit of dirt bath brown highlights. he he!

Hm... you sure that gold color is from a dirt bath?

 

[jeremy]

He's gonna be a good looking bird, I'd love to see updated pics of him at a year or so.

 

[megalomaniac]

@Ashley Stroud

All those youngsters look to have a lot of promise. Personally, I prefer my jubilee roos to be a bit deeper/richer mahogany ground color, but that is more of a personal preference than anything.

 

[Dueling Rooster]

Here is my guy....only 7 1/2 months old.