frostbitten caruncle?

[binji]

i think one of my ducks has gotten frostbite on the knob of caruncle that sits above his bill.
it hasnt gotten above 20 degrees here in probably the last week, and these two refuse to stay in their house and instead sit on the back porch all day until i bring them inside or until it's bedtime.

the knob on top of jenkins's bill has turned black and is hard to the touch, like a scab. ive tried to bring him in more and keep him warm so it hasnt really progressed and it doesnt seem to bother him when i touch it, but a good bit of it does seem affected. the other one's caruncle knob thingy is turning orange.

is there anything i can do about it at this point? any tips to keep them from freezing themselves to death when im at school or away?

 

[iluvsedward]

I've heard of a few people on here putting petroleum jelly or bag balm on them to help prevent it. It acts almost like a layer of fat. Hope this helps!

 

[binji]

i think it might be a bit late for that, but ive gone ahead and put some petroleum jelly on both of them just in case.
will it hurt them to ingest it though? like, if it comes off in the water or in their feathers and they eat it is it safe?

 

[chickens really]

The only protection is to get them out of the cold ..Frostbite is dead tissue. ..It continues to freeze if put back out in extreme temps. Shelter and dry straw helps.

 

[binji]

if it's already dead what do i do

 

[chickens really]

if it's already dead what do i do

Can you bring it in or provide heat?..Wash it's dead tissue with warm salt water and Dry..You can put then Vaseline or even Chapstick on it for the time being..Hmm..Also a picture would help or a better description of severity..

 

[SterlingSilver]

if it's already dead what do i do

Don't do anything. Try to lock them inside of your coop. I have no experience with ducks but don't try to pick or trim off the dead tissue.

 

[binji]

they come inside the house as often as im able to bring them in, but they can get out of their coop on their own so locking them in wouldnt help much anyway(theyre safe, just capable of breaking things)
ill try to get a picture in the morning

 

[iluvsedward]

Im no expert on it but i know with frostbite theres not much you can do, except try to prevent more from forming, which is why I recommended petroleum jelly. It is by no means fullproof but it does take the edge off of the bitter skin-biting cold. I would avoid touching at large as it can be painful depending on the severity. If you can fix a safe heat source inside their coop that would of course be a help. There is a fire risk with heat lamps but there is also a flock-freezing-to-death risk.

Hopefully someone with more experience can chime in.

 

[onaharley]

Great info here! I'm sorry that you are going through this and I hope your ducks can recover from this, as best as he can.