Flock Talk
Frostbite
The temperature was minus-5 degrees Fahrenheit, meaning it was a bundleup morning in Michigan, where I live: extra layers, balaclava, thermal socks and liners under my work gloves. As the wind blew powdered snow across our acreage, I headed out for the morning release. Feeders were topped off, frozen waterers swapped for fresh, and all coop doors secured again; the birds were all still inside.
With the bone-chilling blasts driving the temperature below zero, it wasn’t safe for the chickens — or me — to be outside. When I went back inside, however, I wasn’t alone. Davey Orpington peeked out from under my arm, his eyes bright and alert but his comb dull, its tips dark purple with frostbite.
“Frostbite is one of those risks for any animal, including humans, when temperatures turn cold,” says Richard Fulton, a veterinary pathologist with 30 years experience in poultry pathology and medicine.
According to Fulton, extremities such as a chicken’s toes, wattles and comb are most susceptible to frostbite as these areas naturally lack the warmth brought by proper circulation.
“Those structures then die on their ends and get black and leathery, which is referred to as dry gangrene,” says Fulton, who also holds a doctorate degree in pathology and is a diplomate of the American College of Poultry Veterinarians.
PREVENTING FROSTBITE
Safeguarding your flock’s bodily structures starts with ensuring their residential structure can withstand the winter. All doors and windows should shut tightly within their frames, with no drafts entering to chill your chickens. While ventilation openings are necessary for air circulation, these shouldn’t be too big, nor should they open directly onto the birds or their perch.
“The addition of wind quickens the development of frostbite,” Fulton says. “Eliminating draft — and thus windchill — would help prevent frostbite.” These precautions might not be enough, however. Even without drafts, frostbite can develop.
It all comes down to exposure of those fragile combs, wattles and toes. While all chickens have toes, not all breeds have cold-hardy combs. Keeping frostbite out of your flock might simply be a matter of better breed selection.
In regions where the winter temperatures routinely drop below freezing, breeds with single and buttercup combs — tall and multipointed — are more susceptible to frostbite than breeds with pea and cushion combs — small combs that lie low to the skull. Sicilian Buttercups, Lakenvelders and Silver Gray Dorkings are stunning but won’t endure the winter as well as Ameraucanas, Brahmas and Chanticlers.