Winter is Coming! Checklists, tips, advice for a newbie

[K Epp]

Has anyone thought of or tried A+D diaper rash ointment not the cream. Its really thick and works great on babby bottoms, cracked heals, elbows, any kind of scrape, ect...If its for babies I don't think it would have anything in it that would hurt chickens, but I don't know that for sure, Just a idea to look into for frost bite.

 

[LadyCluck77]

I'm sorry Lady Cluck, your birds got hammered by old man winter.  It was the same for me my first winter with a Rooster.  It's all learning and a humbling experience this chickening. 

That it is indeed! I really do love the Leghorns, they are so sweet and gentle with my son. The pic in my Avatar is one of them playing in a sandbox with him.
Maybe I'll make a breeding project for pea combed leghorns
While I'm at it, they will also be auto sexing.

It has been a rough winter, we do not usually get quite this level of weather in Maine, it's usually cold, but the -30 temps are not typical, at least not that I remember in my lifetime. When I come in after shoveling, my own fingertips actually turn red and burn with frost nip, just after ten minutes, this is with two layers of gloves. I'll try the bag balm tomorrow, we're due for another storm Friday and Saturday,

 

[Rettarain2]

So...i seem to have similar conditions as you all have listed and a bit of frostbite on combs of leghorns..it is tan looking on the tips..BUT MY ROO. A Isa brown comb has turned black and part of his waddle..
My question is..DOES IT HEAL? FALL OFF? KILL THEM ? I feel terrible it but with 35 below its been so hard to keep the chill out... I have tons of straw and pine shavings on the floor..their feet look GREAT!!!
So help folks..what do I do at this point? Oh the "Polar vortex" has lifted..so its slowly warming up..double digits FINALLY..

 

[aart]

So...i seem to have similar conditions as you all have listed and a bit of frostbite on combs of leghorns..it is tan looking on the tips..BUT MY ROO. A Isa brown comb has turned black and part of his waddle..
My question is..DOES IT HEAL? FALL OFF? KILL THEM ? I feel terrible it but with 35 below its been so hard to keep the chill out... I have tons of straw and pine shavings on the floor..their feet look GREAT!!!
So help folks..what do I do at this point? Oh the "Polar vortex" has lifted..so its slowly warming up..double digits FINALLY..

The dead tissue will often die, dry up and fall off with no problem. But swelling and infection can occur that will probably need medical attention.

Do a search on frostbite to read about different scenarios:
advanced search>titles only> frostbite

 

[Bogtown Chick]

Frostbite areas of the comb and wattles should be cleaned well twice a day or at least once a day. Neosporin without the "caines" or Bacitracin to the affected areas. Consider vet Rx's for Baytril or cephalexin if you start to "smell" infection, see extra exudate, lethargy and weight loss in your bird. Consider buying also the $21 Veterycin spray for wound treatments. It lasts a while and works great.

Yes many threads on here on frostbite treatment. I have one with photos showing what to expect as they heal from last winter.

 

[carousel86]

My roosters have frostbite too! My problem is that they won't let me pick them up!

 

[GAFarmGirl87]

Lady cluck, i don't think that there is anything you can do for large single comb birds in those temps.

I am getting rose comb leghorns in the spring. They still have kinda big wattles though.

EEs or Ameraucanas are the way to go.

X2 - I'm in GA & I used vaseline on my roos, but it didn't help. I have a mixed flock, but majority of my birds are BCMs or BCMs mix. I have some EEs & a couple of Ameraucanas, and I'm impressed with their hardiness, though the BCMs lay more eggs. When I hatch my eggs, I'd like to have EEs & maybe a mix of BCMs with my Ameraucana roo. That should give me a pea combed Olive Egger.

 

[Alaskan]

I often have a little frostbite on the combs and wattles of my birds, the ambient humidity is just very high here.


Anyway.......

Frostbite on the comb points and wattle edges has always taken care of itself by itself. The frostbite areas just die and then fall off. As long as it is just the outer edges of the comb or wattles, I have never seen much swelling, or infection. The birds didn't seam too upset by it either. I just keep an eye on it, I don't do anything.

This winter I have leghorns for the first time (a fit of insanity on my part, stupid of me to have bought single comb leghorns)

With them, it looks like they have frostbite spots where the comb flops over. This is in the meaty part of the comb, not the edge, so I have been watching it. Dunno how this frostbite spot will heal, but there is definitely a greater chance of swelling and infection etc. since it is a dead spot surrounded by living tissue. Anyway, I am watching it now. I don't plan to do anything, and haven't done anything yet. I am just going to keep a very close eye on it, watching for infection.

I should add, that even though my chickens are pets, they are also fully livestock. If your chickens are highly valued pets, the extra time and money spent doctoring the wound to make sure there is no infection, would be worth it.

 

[Bogtown Chick]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/742274/freezer-camp-in-our-minnesota-coop-frozen-wattles-on-roo

I don't know if I've posted this here already...maybe I have...but this has lots of pictures of my frost bit roo from last winter. What to expect. Treatments I tried. Getting meds from the vet...etc Time line for healing really.

I still have my rooster and he finally crowed this morning for the first time in a long time...LOL. I hadn't realized that he hadn't for a while until I heard it. And I think it was because it was above zero this morning!!!

 

[LadyCluck77]

Thanks for including so many pictures of what happened to Rog and how it healed. All that TLC really made a difference. He still seems very happy and beautiful.
I know what to expect now with my two hens. I'll try and treat them this weekend with the neosporin and I'l be hoping for better weather. We'll be getting freezing rain all day Saturday.

It was -5 this morning at 7:00 but I still opened the pop door for them- I thought it was better to just let them have the option during the day, since it is supposed to warm up while I'm at work.