Frostbite, yes?

[anniegal]

I've been trying to figure out the issue with one of my Polish hens toes for several weeks now and - after first thinking & treating for SLM with little improvement - my reading here (BLESS YOU ALL for sharing your experiences) is making my think this is frostbite...

Just hoping to get some confirmation/thoughts from others who've dealt with this.

Ann


(attaching recent pics, including her perfectly healthy L foot - how is THAT possible?!?)

 

[anniegal]

P.S. the purple is just leftover Blu-Kote

 

[gtaus]

is making my think this is frostbite...

Just hoping to get some confirmation/thoughts from others who've dealt with this.

Where do you live? It helps others give better answers when you put your geographic location on your user icon.

I live in northern Minnesota, and I have to deal with potential frostbite every winter. It can get as low as -40F here, but this year I think the coldest we have seen was about -20F. Some of my chickens have gotten frostbite on their combs, but usually they recover in the spring and summer. I don't recall any frostbite on their feet, but I have a 2X4 laid flat for their roosting bar. That way, the chickens can lay down on their feet, tuck them into their feathers, and keep them warm.

The best frostbite prevention is good ventilation. So, how do you know if you have adequate ventilation? Well, I put a humidity/thermometer both inside and outside of the coop and checked to see how much difference there was between the readings. My reading both inside and outside the coop were the same, so, I figured my ventilation was good. There should not be a great difference in either the humidity or temps.

The good news is that I have never lost a bird due to frostbite. And, I don't treat frostbite when I see it. Chickens recover pretty quickly on their own. Also, in my thinking, if I had a chicken breed that did suffer from frostbite in our winters, then I would not get that breed anymore. I don't want to heat my coop, so it's just better for me to get cold hardy chickens that are able to make it through my winters.

Finally, let me say that there is some discussion on whether or not to treat frostbite. Some people treat frostbite, but others warn that you can do more harm trying to treat the birds. I don't treat my birds that get frostbite, and they seem to recover on their own. I don't know if that is the best way to handle frostbite, but it works for me with my flock.

 

[Eggcessive]

Yes, that looks like the toes were frostbitten, and she is already losing the tips. She should heal just fine once the other tips come off. As she loses them, a little betadine or chlorhexidene to the toe stump would not hurt to apply. But I don’t use anything on them if the temperature is below freezing.

 

[Egg Snatcher]

That’s frostbite. Looks like it’s healing up nicely.

 

[anniegal]

OMG THANK YOU SO MUCH for confirming my thoughts! I'm new to chicken keeping (first winter) so was completely flummoxed when this started up!! It is SUCH a relief to finally feel like I know what's going on!!

Now on to preventive measures...

I must say I AM still confused how she's so bad on just ONE foot - not to mention WHY she's the only one of 7 total (and 1 of those the same breed) to get it! A couple of the others have a tiny bit on their combs but the others are 100% fine head to toe...

And THEN there was the trauma of the other ladies not giving her any break but going after her poor damaged toes like the (adorable) savages they are when I first tried (unsuccessfully obviously) to reintegrate her... My dh has built an amazing partitioned area in our coop and run now that will hopefully make that more successful very soon.

I've loved having a house chicken in the meanwhile but... It's just TIME, you know?!?

Again THANK YOU for your input!!

Ann

 

[Yardmom]

Yes the toes are frostbitten. The ends that are black will come off. I experienced this for the first time with guineas this year. I was very surprised that it takes months between when the frostbite occurs and self-amputation. It looks like your girl is only losing a small bit of toe, so she should get along just fine even after it comes off. It may be she was tucking one foot better than the other is why it is on one foot. In my research I found information that said that when they get very cold their body heat moves to their heart and other internal organs leaving the feet colder.

 

[Eggcessive]

Sometimes only one foot will be affected if they accidentally step into water when temps are freezing. I had a little rooster who liked to roost on a metal garage can lid, even though we had plenty of wooden roosts. He got some frostbite on toe tips.