Still cold. Do you see Daisy’s breath?
First something pretty: The Old Codger has given me his snow shoes .. aren’t they wonderful. When I walk the dogs across the snow in the morning I shall be wearing these . 
I look forward to our morning walk.
And now for something not so pretty. The arctic storm has left its mark on some of the chickens. The poor old barn chooks especially the white Leghorns have frostbite on their combs. It is cold now, but it has been evil cold these last few days.
Their combs and wattles have gone creamy and puffy, and then darker by the day. The areas will blacken and then fall off.(One of the roosters has a completely black comb already) These girls will always bear the scars of the Storm of 2014.
They have heat lamps but as you know in the night time they roosted above the lights, keeping their feet warm, but their heads were exposed. I have very tingly stingy toes myself from the cold, my feet got the worst of it, and a thumping headache which should get better today as the air warms up, so I think they will all have the same feeling in their heads and will hopefully improve as we drift back up to freezing point. They will need some extra TLC though.
We also need to watch for infection so I will try and catch all the afflicted girls over the next few nights and pop them into the warmer chook house, then I can keep a better eye on them.
It seems to me that geese don’t just fly South For the winter they fly South ALL winter.
It was a little warmer again yesterday so the tractor started on the first try and John was able to merrily scoop snow and dump it in untidy piles in out of the way places. Happiness filled.
Have a lovely day.
Your friend on the farmy.
celi
The Kitchen's Garden 
74 responses to “Frostbite on Barn Chickens”
I think I have heard of people using vaseline or a similar petroleum product on the wattles and combs of their chickens and roosters during extreme cold. Of course, you have to catch the silly creatures in order to smear them with goop, but it might be worth a try in the future?
Juliana
Morning juliana, I hope we do not have another bad storm like this again for a while.. it is rare to get that cold here for that long..But they are all being caught and locked up in the chook house for the winter.. no more free range chooks for a while.. c
It must have been cold for the poor hoekoes to suffer like that… watch your toes though…
Another special line to add to the ‘sale’ items of candles and soaps.
Viv’s hoodies & leg-warmers for chooks”!
You guys are hilarious, Viv is way too busy knitting ME a hat!! c
Oh Celi!!!! Poor chickens!!! I know…I had leghorns and they really like to roost hight up in the barn. Look out below!!!! LOL So sad about their frost bite… 😦
Love your snow shoes! They are beautiful!!!! At the end of this season I am going to snag a pair to trek along next winter with Summer…she will be big enough then. Ordered her snow boots and a e warm winter parka! Pink! 😀 I really like those snow shoes the old codger parted with! He’s a good friend! I’ll bet he gets a kick out of you! Spider Woman gone Snow Shoer!!! 🙂
You should be getting some warmth soon. Today it is above zero here! Supposed to last a week! Nice warm winds coming across our area for a while. Yay! Summer is doing great! Working on leash training! I am afraid to take her out at night without it cuz she likes to run and she is very fast for a little puppy!!!! LOL Doing great with crate training and last night she slept almost all the way through!!! I finally got some much needed sleep! Love to Boo and Marmalade!
How are Sheila and Mama doing?
Take care my friend! ((((Celi))))) Muah! Good day to the Fellowship!
Poor Hens! My crew are surviving and no sign of frost bite, although one of them has decided to go into her moult right now – silly girl!!
I have problems with my feet in the cold, suffer badly from Chilblains and have to get my Mum to send special cream over from the UK as its not heard of over here!
Oliver (little grey kitten) went missing this morning. Wasn’t here for his 5am breakfast (JJ was though). Called and Called, no Oliver. Did a Celi and walked my property and the road outside in my PJs dressing gown, slippers and torch calling and searching – no Oliver. Waited until it got light and searched again, this time for a little frozen body, fur, blood, anything to tell me what had happened – nothing. Sat and drank cup of tea after cup of tea sobbing, when at 9:30am who comes through the cat door like he hasn’t a care in the world but Oliver!! Not a mark on him, although JJ did pin him to the floor and gave him a good wash, but I think it was because he was as worried as I was. Bloody Cat nearly gave me a heart attack!!
So sorry to hear of the chickens’ frost bite, that’s awful. Does it hurt for them? Many years ago we had to leave the cottage because the propane began to turn to a liquid and thus unable to heat the cottage, it was -40°C! Our cars wouldn’t start and we were outside for several hours. Even though we had snowmobile suits and boots on, the cold wore us out and my feet literally froze. I had to have help to remove my boots! My BIL (not then because I was just 16) massaged my feet to try to get the circulation back, the pain was incredible. Surprisingly and thankfully, I didn’t get frost bite! I guess my toes were quite accustomed to being cold all the time so it didn’t seem that different to them, but boy did it hurt! I hope the chickens don’t have pain.
I’m glad it’s beginning to warm up there too, by Saturday they are saying that we will have +6°C! Can you believe it? Perfect yoyo weather to catch a cold in! My head has been aching too, have you tried an espresso? I find sometimes it helps when the weather is really wonky. Once I had such a headache, it was debilitating until a storm came through and the first thunder and lightening boom, it was gone! Go figure!
Stay warm and cozy, the better weather is coming soon.
Eva XOXO
More coffee!! And excellent idea Eva.. thank you.. There is a rumour that it may rain here tomorrow.. RAIN.. bonkers.. c
Looks like mine got a touch of frostbite too. Just my Rhode Islands though, the Buff Orpington has a small enough comb she seems to have been spared.
I think we should all get the small combed varieties from no on.. Something I never even thought of!,, glad your came through ok.. c
Yep! That’s what I raise. Nice and easy, non aggressive Buff Orpingtons! Posted above where I get mine! 🙂
Love my Buff, Goldie. She is a sweet bird. The other two Reds are good egg layers and scratchers but not nearly as friendly. But by not as friendly I mean don’t readily like being picked up and played with. I only have 3 and I have two little kids so the chickens have ended up more like pets and are pretty spoiled. 🙂
Your posts make me so happy. Even the ones with hard realities in them. I just wanted to tell you that, because I read almost every day!
Jennie i am thrilled that you are out there and reading every day, thank you.. have a lovely lovely day.. c
Artic Muck Boots and Extreme Alpaca socks are our answer to frigid weather here in Montana. We see all the farmers wearing the Muck boots and my young great grandsons wear them, too. They are pricey but warm feet are worth the cost.
Thank you Melina, Boo ate my thermal boots and I am reduced to my NZ gumboots, but I really must invest in a good pair of boots again,which was bad luck really.. I will investigate these Artic Muck boots.. i need something that can get filthy! c
Love the muck boots, if it gets too warm you can roll them down. One caution – don’t wear them anywhere near a bonfire, they melt!
oops.. I will watch out for that! c
We used to have Silver Laced Wyandottes with rose combs. Never any frostbite and they are a heavy bird that are very cold hardy. Now, for some reason, we have Barred Rocks with single combs and I see that the very tips have turned black. So, next replacement chic will have rose combs again. Sigh,
rose combs.. check! learning all the time.. thank you emily.. c
I like your idea of different breeds every year to keep track of age. Better than leg bands which are hard to see at a glance. Have you tried any of the Polish breeds for fun value? They are funny and docile with their top hats.
I feel so sorry for the chickens. Such pain to suffer.
I know, poor wee things, all but one have been caught amongst much flapping and trauma and taken back to the Chicken Coop..no more freedom for the big combed ones! c
Me too, I have a silver spangled Hamburg and always wondered about her little crown like comb…now I know it’s a rose comb! I just looked them up and the blurb says they’re very cold hardy…..not that that’s a problem here in heatwave heaven! Glad you’re a bit warmer today.
Poor old chookies. A comb is such a tiny thing – how on earth does one keep it warm? I’m also glad you’re a bit warmer today.. x
So sorry your chooks got hit. Those tiny appendages are so vulnerable. When I adopted my kitty, he had no ear tips from being on his own most of his life. Needless to say, I tell Henry daily that he ought to be very grateful not to me out in it this year. Also, needless to say, he’s not impressed.
so amazingly cold Cecilia. Poor little chooks