Will great ventilation alone prevent frostbite on large comb & wattle breed in New England?

[mowin]

I won't have large comb chickens anymore. One year one of my RIR got frostbite on her comb, most of the comb, and another couple of chickens had small pieces of frostbite on the comb. It was not due to cold and moisture as it was too cold for moisture, the air was dry, even in the coop. The problem may have been due to age, they were six years old. Circulation slows down a bit as we enter old age. I now have Brahma and Orpington which have very small combs.

If you are at all familiar with dog houses, you know that the dog house should appear to be a bit small for the dog. This is so his body can warm up the air in the doghouse. It needs to be big enough for him to curl up in, lay down the way he likes, but not have extra room. The coop should be the same. If it is too big the warmth of the chickens will not warm it up. In this case you might need something to heat it up a bit.

Chickens are not dogs. Chickens don't warm up a coop. They keep themselves warm.

 

[Sunshine_Amy]

@Penpal, thank you for the well meaning advice, but as mowin is saying, and everyone else in the thread if you read their replies, it is perfectly possible to keep birds comfortable and avoid frostbite, as they are all saying they have, in quite cold temps, and the trick I believe is to allow them to gradually adjust to the changing seasonal temps, in a natural manner, to keep them well fed and hydrated, and perhaps above all to avoid the dangerous build up of the moisture within the coop (generated by the chickens themselves––breathing, pooping––and their waterer), that is typical in an average small coop. The recommendations I'm getting here are 1 square foot of ventilation per bird, which actually requires a fairly large coop. The goal is not to warm up the coop, but to keep the quality of air fresh and dry, and draft free. The Woods Open Air coop (found in a classic book by Prince T. Woods called Open Air Poultry Houses) seems to be a favorite here. I cannot do that this year, but am doing an affordable alternative.

 

[Sunshine_Amy]

About the topic question, though... I don't think ventilation alone will prevent frostbite. Having a place out of the wind or drafts is important too.

Also, I was VERY careful to do all I could to make sure they were well hydrated and well fed all the time - good blood flow through their combs helps avoid frost bite as does digestion. They got used to hopping down off their roost for a fill up and drink in a flashlight beam if I wasn't sure they were not low on food or water late in the day or if I was leaving before dawn for the day. Especially during the longest nights and the coldest stretch of winter.

Thank you for this clarification, saysfaa.

I'm realizing as I read these replies, that so far as I can tell, everyone has a set up where the venting is on one side at the bottom, ala Woods. Has anyone with substantial top ventilation had success down to zero F with large combed birds? Or can you point me to an example of someone who has?

 

[mowin]

Thank you for this clarification, saysfaa.

I'm realizing as I read these replies, that so far as I can tell, everyone has a set up where the venting is on one side at the bottom, ala Woods. Has anyone with substantial top ventilation had success down to zero F with large combed birds? Or can you point me to an example of someone who has?

My top vented coop. This is during the building process. You can see the seam on the side for the top hinged panel. There one on each side, and high and low side soffits and open as well. I added two 3"x 8" open areas on the bottom to help with the natural airflow. If the bottom of the coop was closed tight, I don't think I'd have the proper airflow. Also, I keep my heated waterer in the coop during the winter, although I did have a slight issue this winter when we had a very foggy night that got cold quick. My roo had a touch of frostbite on his comb. Which is odd, because he's a EE with a pea comb. All my gals were fine and have much larger combs. Go figure...

 

[aart]

About the topic question, though... I don't think ventilation alone will prevent frostbite.

Agrees.
I've found FB can happen at near freezing temps, when humidity can be higher than at lower temps...and no matter how much ventilation you can't make the coop less humid than outside it.

Having a place out of the wind or drafts is important too.

True in the coop for sure, then they are outside rubbing their wattles against the snow banks to nosh on snow.

Have seen a lot of FB here, more mild than severe.
Tho even the severe cases were not life ending, as documented here:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/frostbite-in-sw-michigan.74597/

 

[Ted Brown]

Thank you, Ted, this sounds very good! If I understand you correctly, in normal circumstances, without leaking water, your large comb/wattle chicken has done fine in your (very well ventilated by design) Woods coop up to -22F?

My flock does well in temperatures down to - 22F but we get periods that are colder than that. In those circumstances I have had frost bite on my rooster and some of the hens.

As a consequence I am trying to shift to Chanteclers a breed known to be very cold tolerant.

Remember that egg laying decreases during the winter, another factor to consider. Chanteclers are reported to be good winter layers.

After four winters I have decided to optimize my flock in favor of cold tolerance. Most certainly I will avoid any breeds with large combs/waddles.