Ugh, I was fear has happened. Small black spots on combs a waddles.

[BarneyNCyndi]

We don't have the extreme cold out here north of Seattle but we have rain and cold. I had a heat lamp for the our girls in side their coop. We have six ladies, 2 RIRs, 2 buff Orpingtons and 2 barred rocks. They were born around the first 2 weeks of July this past year. We had lots of rain then a cold spell; it got down to 28-38.

We had a few stubborn girls not wanting to go into the coop after dark and we where encouraged to replace the heat lamp with a bulb for light. Now one girl has a few spots on her comb and a spot on her waddle. I remember that she was the one running around looking like she got a bucket of water dumped on her.

So tonight after researching what to do here, I put a mixture of bag balm, antibotic plus A&D ointment on our girls. This stuff was thicker and sticker then peanut butter. I wasn't sure how thick how much to apply. My technique was to put on rubber gloves and tried to warm my goop between my hands. I painted their little waddles and pasted the combs between my palms. They are now goopy headed girls.

Now my question is what should I be looking for in changes. Are the black spots going to fall off the comb? If so, what about the cheek, will it be a sore?

Now, heat lamp or no heat lamp? I don't think they can truly dry off without it? Your thoughts?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Those temps definitely aren't cold for a chicken. It gets well below zero here and my hens rarely get any frostbite. My big combed Mediterranean roosters do have problems though.
What breed/s do you have?
Keep in mind that most breeds were developed in colder climates than yours and didn't have heat or comfy coops. Their ancestors, jungle fowl evolved to handle a wide range of climates including the Himalayan foothills. All that before anyone conceived of heat lamps.


When it's cool, humidity is a bigger issue. It stays humid here as I'm sure you encounter as well.

Lose the heat lamps, lose the light. Let them get used to the weather and hemeral lighting.

A few black spots, if from frostbite aren't that big of an issue. The A&D ointment is a good idea. By spring, all will be well.

 

[BarneyNCyndi]

It is the cold and wet that have me concerned. As an example this morning we had icy fog. We ended up having a sunny day but that is soo not the norm. Tonight it is supposed to get down to around 36 but ice will form on the roof of our run. If we have fog to we will have it will be icy everywhere. I believe that is what settled on thir combs and caused the frostbite. Today, those girls look like grease heads.