Missing Toe Nails?

[beritbeth]

HI! I have a white Cochin rooster who is just over a year old. I've noticed the past couple of weeks that he seems to be missing two of his toenails on one foot. When I picked him up a couple of weeks ago, (when I first noticed it), there was a small amount of blood on my coat, but I couldn't see where it was coming from. I only saw that the area surrounding his toes were bright pink, not bleeding. I'm a first time chicken owner, as you probably can tell, so I just want to make sure everything is alright. Is it common for chickens to lose toenails? Is there anything I did to cause this? Is there anything I can do to stop this from happening again? Thank you!

 

[DoubletakeFarm]

I have a couple roosters that are missing toenails too. I assume it's from fighting, but curious to see if someone here say it's from something else.

 

[beritbeth]

I only have one rooster, and no hens. I'm getting some more hens tomorrow though. I don't know what it could be from either!

 

[arrowti]

Is it cold out? We had a duck rip out a couple claws after they got caught on in the frozen earth. Bled for a day, but she refused to stop walking. It healed relatively quickly.

That's one beautiful rooster by the way.

 

[DoubletakeFarm]

I only have one rooster, and no hens.

Now you REALLY got me wondering. Frostbite? Vitamin deficency? I have no idea. I googled it and it seems fairly common, but nobody has an answer as to why they fall off.

 

[Eggcessive]

That looks classic for frostbite of the toes. Here are some pictures below, and ithe skin above the black frostbitten part is usually pink and swollen:

 

[beritbeth]

Okay! It was cold out and he did get frostbite on his comb and wattle, (which has healed remarkably), but it wasn't that severe on his toes. But I can see that the reason for his missing toe nails could be frostbite. Will his toenails ever grow back or is this permanent? Thank you!

 

[Eggcessive]

No they won't grow back. The black areas will simply dry up and fall off. It doesn't look that severe. I had a bantam rooster that got a couple toe tips frosbitten, and another who tore off a claw, but they didn't grow back. The main thing to prevent is moisture or high humidity in freezing weather. Overhead ventilation high up in the coop will help get rid of the moisture, and preventing wet spots can help. With chickens, that can be a challenge.