One would think that with unseasonably warm weather, freezing combs would be the least of my concern, especially since I purposely chose winter-hardy chicken breeds (I thought)... The problem was that the chickens hadn't really had an opportunity to acclimate to the cold. On the one night that the temperature fell to 7°F, the girls had been foraging all day in a drizzling rain and returned to the coop that evening with their feathers soaking wet. It was this moisture, added to the freezing temperature and lack of acclimation to the cold, that increased the chance for frostbite.
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| Day 1--Initial stage of frostbite... |
My daughter was the first to notice the change in Henrietta's comb. I knew immediately what had happened, and according to the encyclopedia there isn't anything to do to treat frostbite. The book does list some tips to minimize the possibility of frostbite including: reducing the humidity by removing damp liter, coating the combs with petroleum jelly, and heating the coop. I also find an entry in the book "dub," which means to surgically remove the comb. One purpose of "dubbing" is to prevent or treat frostbite in a large-comb breed. I'm definitely not ready to remove all my hens combs as a preventative measure! The good thing is that she hasn't appeared to be in any pain. She never quit eating or laying a daily egg and she's still the first to jump for a treat! She's already lost 3 tips of her large comb, but as long as she doesn't see her reflection I doubt if she cares... I still think she's beautiful--with or without a comb!
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| Two weeks |
Here's the best part of this post: To celebrate the release of the book, The Chicken Encyclopedia: An Illustrated Reference by Gail Damerow, Storey Publishing has generously offered to give a free book to one of my lucky readers! For those of us who sometimes would rather thumb through a book than the Internet, I think is a great "search engine" for all chicken-related info... I enjoy how this book is arranged in an easy A to Z format, and it's full of detailed definitions, color photos, illustrations, charts, tips, etc. Once you start browsing through this book, it's hard to put it down! All you have to do is leave a comment below and I'll include you in a drawing for this book. I'll announce the winner in two weeks--so check back at my next post!
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| 3 weeks |
You'll increase your chance at winning this book by visiting each of the following sites over the next two weeks.
1-March Inside Storey (The tour kick-off!)
2-March For the Love of Chickens
3-March Vintage Garden Gal
4-March The Garden Roof Coop --That's me!
5-March Common Weeder
6-March Chickens in the Road
7-March Garden Rant
8-March Fresh Eggs Daily
9-March My Pet Chicken Blog
10-March Coop Thoughts
11-March BoHo Farm and Home
12-March Happy Chickens Lay Healthy Eggs
13-March A Charlotte Garden
14-March Farm Fresh Fun
15-March The HenCam
16-March Life on a Southern Farm
17-March ADozenGirlz, the Chicken Chick™
18-March North Coast Gardening
(Note: U.S. residents only. Please include your email address or another way to reach you. If a winner does not respond within 10 days, I will chose another winner.)
Oh, please include me in this! I and my grandson ( Granny Baa & Bugs) are raising chickens together and have you as one of our links. We love all things poultry, especially chickens !
ReplyDeleteI am loving the links too as we like to see what other chicken lovers blog about.
I found out about the petroleum jelly on the comb from someone at a wild animal rescue group. She waits until they settle down at night then goes in with a flashlight and swabs them down.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to hear Henrietta made it through all right.
Your poor little lady. I am glad that it doesn't seem to bother her.We our starting our new flock this year and I would love to have a reference book to guide us through.
ReplyDeleteHi- thanks for sharing the info about frostbite. The photos really helped. Several of our girls have some black spots on their combs and I was wondering if it was frostbite. Thanks for including us in the drawing - excited to read Gail's book, one way or another. Best part about the contest is connecting with the chicken bloggers. What a great group! Laura on Cape Cod surfingthesandbar@yahoo.com
ReplyDeleteWOuld love to win this book! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI am on the verge of taking the leap to having a flock of backyard chickens. This book would help a lot!
ReplyDeleteJILLIPILLI Mar 5,2012
ReplyDeleteI found your story very informative. I am working up enough courage to start a flock. They will be free range but I will need some guidance. I was raised on a farm but left for the city in jr high. I don't remember enough to get me thru. Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks for sharing the info about frost bite. Would love to win this book!
ReplyDeleteserafyn12 at yahoo dot com
This book sounds like a must-read. I hope Henrietta continues to do well!
ReplyDeletejewelia.k@gmail.com
Please include me in the drawing for the book. San Diego recently changed it's regulation on chickens, goats and bees. We can now have all of them with less restriction, even in the city!
ReplyDeleteMy rooster also had frostbite right before I bought him.It didn't keep him from breeding chicks last year but he lost the points on his comb.I'd love to win the encyclopedia. Thank you!Judy
ReplyDeleteThanks for the info on the frostbite, the pics were a great help!
ReplyDeleteI adopted a Rhode Island Red that had a floppy comb. She is the only one who seems to get frost bitten, but it turns only grey and seems to come back in the warmer weather. I did put vasaline on them when it got really cold but they did not like it and were scratching it off. I was afraid it would make it worse.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the great info! I was afraid that my hens were getting frostbite, but after seeing the picts I can say they don't. I would love a copy of that book. eposegate@hotmail.com
ReplyDeleteHappy to have found your blog... I will be back soon, as I'm trying to learn everything I can about raising chickens before I took the plunge.
ReplyDeleteI'm really enjoying the blog tour, getting to see beautiful pictures and to read great and useful information about my favorite bird, chickens! !!! Thanks Angela
ReplyDeleteI will be getting chickens tend of March and have so much to learn. I am thrilled to find your blog and this awesome contest .
ReplyDeleteI hope Henrietta continues to do well.........
lisabrawner59@gmail.com
I would love to be in the contest for the book! This is my second year with chickens, but I still have a lot to learn!
ReplyDeletemshanklin1@gmail.com
Congratulations Michele ~ You're the winner! Check your email for the details!
DeleteThis book is a must-have in every chicken-keeper's library; two thumbs up here!
ReplyDeleteThank you for posting the photos of your hen as she went through the stages of frostbite. Our BC Marans roo, Marcel, had gotten into a fence fight with another of our roos, and at first I thought his comb had turned blackish because he usually scabbed like that when he had fence fights in the past. Then, a week later, I saw that the coloration was off and heading downward towards the comb's core section. I figured it was frostbite, but I'm glad the photos you posted confirm that for me.
ReplyDeletePlease do also enter me to win a copy of the Chicken Encyclopedia. Thank you!
Ooops! My email is ana (at) fmafarms.com.
DeleteThank you for talking about chicken's need to acclimate to the temperatures. Our temperatures will go from 85 to 35 in a 24 hour period of time and the girls just have a hard time adjusting.
ReplyDelete~kim
kim@frankandkim.com
Looks like a great read. talynw@hotmail.com
ReplyDeleteThank you for the interesting post. I would like to add this book to my library.
ReplyDeleteI have also had chickens that got frostbite on their combs. Usually I rub them with a little bag balm. I don't know if it helps them but it makes me feel a little better, not knowing what else to do for them.
ReplyDeletebadmunki68@yahoo.com
I'm just about ready to get my first chickens--this looks like a great book! Thank you! clairelaine@gmail.com
ReplyDeletepick me, pick me! :) probasco12@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteMy daughter and son-in-law just bought land and will have chickens, this would make a nice gift.
ReplyDeleteI'm planning on a small flock for my grandsons. As we're "newbies" this book would be perfect!
ReplyDelete(ltschaepe@sbcglobal.net)
I would love to have this wonderful book! I currently have nine chickens that are all layers/pets. They are named after French women (I call them the French Chicks): Manon, Odile, Fleurette, Gigi, Suzette, Lulu, L'Etoile, Joelle and Eglantine (Eggy)! I love them and their goofy personalities...
ReplyDeleteI too have dealt with frostbite, it is no fun; thankfully the birds seem to recover quickly and without much fuss. I would love to add this book to my collection! (amyable80@yahoo.com)
ReplyDeleteI would love to get started with chickens this year :) Our farm is sadly lacking and our garden is full of juicy bugs...
ReplyDeleteWould love to get this book. So needed right now. eddie@schleitheim.com
ReplyDeleteThat would be a great book to have...chickens aren't always problem free, and it would be a great resource!
ReplyDeleteWould love to add this book to our collection. Thanks for making it available! Officially the "Chicken Mom" at our place. Thanks! Alicia Hickson~aliciah936@yahoo.com
ReplyDeleteI would love to win the Chicken Encyclopedia and I am so excited to have found your blog by way of another one I follow - - "Chickens in the Road". Now I have yours bookmarked and will follow it regularly. I love everything about gardening and keeping chickens and doing things in the back-to-basics way.
ReplyDelete~ Theresa W
I would love this book for the information but if its full of chicken pictures some of them will end up in my quilting I'm sure!
ReplyDeleteI have baby chicks right now. I'm from MN, so I am expecting frostbite. Would love to win this book.
ReplyDeleteI had a problem with frost bie on combs too! I learned to rubb on some vaseline and use a heat lamp! Thanks for the post!
ReplyDeleteI would love to win the Chicken Encyclopedia, and I am thrilled to learn of your Chicken Blog. Henrietta is a cutie!
ReplyDeleteIt would be wonderful to win the Chicken Encyclopedia! I recently raised 3 roosters and found the information in your cool Blog on frostbite very interesting. E-mail address: DocVBK@msn.com
ReplyDeleteOh awesome! I would so love to read it.
ReplyDeletesoluckyducky at gmail dot com
We are getting our first batch of chickens in 2 weeks...I can't wait! Would love to have this book as a reference.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a must have reference!
ReplyDeletePlease include me and my chicken friends in your drawing. We could use any help available since I am new at chicken raising. Thanks. Great Blog.
ReplyDeleteevyart@surfbest.net
My husband and I are about to close on our first house, and we are so excited to have a yard and be in an area where we can try our hand at raising chickens! It would be so helpful to have this book! Shandus.parish@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteHi, I really like your blog, full of information:) I would love to have the book and my family would really put it to good use. We are an urban startup. Total novices. Thanks for the consideration, I hope we win!!!
ReplyDeleteI'm trying to learn everything I can about chicken keeping...before I get them. *crossing my fingers and toes!*
ReplyDeleteI love the garden on top of the coop! how cute :) dianalaw@hotmail.com
ReplyDeleteJust beginning my research on chicken characters , soon to take the plunge into the coop! The encyclopedia of chickens would be a great resource!
ReplyDeleteHaha- my mom sent me a link to your website as a possible means of making me further homesick (I currently live in Indonesia). Little does she know I encounter chickens walking along my street on a daily basis, and consequently decided months ago that I'd like to start rearing some when I return to California. Your blog will definitely prove all the more useful- can't wait to read more, and I'll keep my fingers crossed about the book drawing! :)
ReplyDeletekatiepapoe@gmail.com
I will be getting chicks for the first time on 4/20 and I can't wait! I need this book!
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear of your chicken, but am glad she isn't in pain. I just found your site and wish I had earlier.
ReplyDeleteBut I do hope I am the one blessed with the book, I think it looks like it would be a great help. We just moved to our farm this past December and are getting ready to do heirloom gardening as well as chickens, goats and honey.... my e-mail is peters_helpmeet@yahoo.com
I thought I would pop in to introduce myself and thank you for passing on your knowledge about chickens. I've had my girls for a few years now and always find any info helpful. I am your newest member, feel free to visit me in the orchard.
ReplyDeletePlease enter me in your drawing for this wonderful book!
ReplyDeletepatrice@everydayruralty.com
This summer we're building the coop, and next year when our baby is a little older we're going to be getting chickens! I can't wait!!
ReplyDeletesteeplechaser29 (at) yahoo (dot) com
Please enter me for the book.........lpotter@ppshuskies.org
ReplyDeletethanks for the chance to win!!! I am hoping to dive into the chicken world this year!!! Thanks so much!!! Amber
ReplyDeletefigandchloe at hotmail dot com :)
This looks so interesting. My girls love free ranging--except when the citified neighbors don't like the girls paying a visit!
ReplyDeleteGail is one of my heroes! Her and Karen Pryor :)
ReplyDeleteI would love this book. I've never had to deal with frostbite...yet. We did just recently move to rural Missouri from Texas, so I know it is coming. I did make sure that my Silkies could handle the weather, and when we decided on large fowl chickens for eggs, I decided on the Marans due to their feathered legs.
ReplyDeleteI would Love this bOOK!
ReplyDeleteWould love this book! I have some chickens that I would like to learn more about
ReplyDeleteOMG my kids would love this book!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for the contest! I am so very excited and surprised to have won the book! Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!
ReplyDeleteThanks for all the comments and entries! The contest is now closed - congratulations to Michele for winning a copy of the book, "The Chicken Encyclopedia!"
ReplyDeleteI don't know where that book got the info on the vaseline/petroleum jelly when it comes to frostbite. I know a lot of people use it to prevent frostbite, but I don't think it helps at all. Here in Alaska, it's common knowledge that vaseline will not help at all and can make things worse ...frostbite damage is very similar to a burn, and any oils or greases make them worse, not better. Even if you did use vaseline to help avoid frostbite, you'd have to quit using it once they got it. Again, here in Alaska, people heat their coops a little once they get solidly below zero, and nobody uses vaseline or petroleum jelly on combs. Chickens acclimate just fine, and thin combs always get frostbite ...and when the time comes (Spring) the frostbite goes away and they heal up just fine ...frostbite on chicken combs doesn't seem to bother them at all. My chickens all have square-tipped points on their combs due to frostbite loss and they are perfectly healthy and happy (including all winter when their combs have black or gray tips and have frozen.)
ReplyDeleteAfter spending some time in the winter researching, I am now starting my small flock of 3 that get to free range. Looking to figure other ways to keep the women happy- and we all know how hard it is to keep one woman happy, let alone three!! LOL
ReplyDelete