What's your "rule" for greasing combs?

[estpr13]

Way to go Ivan3. I just knew that someone on this website would have had to have done something like that! What a hoot!

 

[babiestwo]

I have a question on frostbite. If I have my chickens in their house with a heat lamp do I have to worry about frostbite? I live in North Dakota and we have had such a bad winter that the chickens are spending all their time in the house.

I am sure they are itching for spring to get here just like the rest of us!

Thanks

 

[Chicken Woman]

I have 2 RIR hens that got it on the tips of combs. We had -22 nights for awhile there. Now I use bag balm every 2 days

 

[The Chicken Lady]

Ivan3, that is hilarious. Now you should make him a top hat.

***

Yeah, the main risk with the wattles is that they drink water and their wattles get all wet. Wattles are also susceptible to frostbite. We've had a few members this winter who've posted in the Emergency section about how to care for frostbitten wattles. The Vaseline can help a little with prevention of that.

One of the roles of the comb and wattles in chickens is to help keep the bird cool during a hot summer. The blood runs through the comb and wattles in extremely tiny, tiny capillaries (that's why they're such a deep red color); heat from the blood escapes through the skin.

(By the way, if anyone is interested in a diagram of all the body parts of a chicken, so that they can learn the correct terms, you can find one on BYC here in the Learning Center).

 

[patandchickens]

I know it would be nice to have a simple (yet accurate) rule of thumb about what temperature you start getting risk of frostbite.

Unfortunately my understanding is that it depends considerably on humidity.

Which means both 'humidity of your climate' and 'humidity of your particular coop'.

(also of course on breed, etc)

So what may work just fine for one person in one area may lead to frostbite problems for someone else in another situation.

I realize that isn't "helpful" but alas I fear it's the way the world IS.

Me, my coop doesn't get terribly cold but I vaseline combs (in the evening, when chickens are on roost, so's to avoid the rodeo aspects of it) anytime we are having weather cold/damp enough that I'm surprised how not-cold the thermometer says it is, based on how my face felt when I was outside. If I had a more conventional coop I would probably apply precautionary vaseline twice a week regardless, in the cold part of the winter.

JMHO,

Pat

 

[vermontgal]

I try to vaseline when I think it will get below 15°F INSIDE the coop, which is normally when it gets below approx. -10°F outside the coop.

2 nights ago it got down to -12°F when the forecast was for -3. I missed that one, and the coop got to 10 with no vaseline. They look OK, but I should look closer.

I bought a 100w reptile heat lamp (ceramic) which only emits heat, no light. I'm planning to use that when we get that -20°F weather.

If I didn't have single comb gals, I wouldn't heat the coop at all. I

my BR but next time around it's pea combs all the way.

Pat - I know you're probably sick of me asking for numbers...!

But do you have any sense of what combos of temps + humidity are problematic?