Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[Kris5902]

Close to the head is unlikely to be frostbite. Is it possible he got fresh with one of the girls and she pecked him?

Only way I can figure (without a picture) for that sort of spot to be frostbite would be a drip of some sort causing a wet spot that gets bitten? Now, I don’t do winter… I’m not kidding when I say delicate west coast flower here, - anything F is torture IMO, so I thankfully don’t have much experience with this…

 

[knoturavggrl]

Close to the head is unlikely to be frostbite. Is it possible he got fresh with one of the girls and she pecked him?

It is absolutely possible. He has definitely been amping up his game with girls lately the closer they get to laying age. Wing dancing and awkward hop grabs, its kinda cute actually in that awkward teenage boy way. I have not seen him be even remotely aggressive about it though but that doesn’t mean one of the girls didn’t take offense and nip him good for attempting.

Or .. or .. it could actually be dirt and I am all worried about absolutely nothing. Its my first winter with chickens so everything feels like more of a big deal then it likely is.

I have decided to calm the heck down, try and forgive myself, watch him closely and keep giving aspirin and mash with added protein, eggs, peanut butter ect. If indeed it does turn out to be frostbite I will carefully reevaluate my coop and see what needs adjusting and strongly consider a panel heater to have on hand for extreme weather events. This isn’t remotely normal for my area. I will not touch it as much as I would like to know for sure if it’s dirt or frostbite its not worth potentially causing further harm.

Thank you for taking the time to respond. I am a research person and I have read tons but its not the same as having experience and dealing with the emotional roller coaster AND the emergency. That will take time to develop and your help is much appreciated .

 

[cfonts]

I hope that everyone has a very Merry Christmas. I know, I know... I'm two days late! (Let's just call it "Hawaiian time" )

Just wanted to share my favorite gift this year:

My fiancé surprised me with this framed photo of Chickadee What a sweet & thoughtful gift.

I also found the perfect place to display her photo... on my book cart (or chicken cart )

 

[Kris5902]

It is absolutely possible. He has definitely been amping up his game with girls lately the closer they get to laying age. Wing dancing and awkward hop grabs, its kinda cute actually in that awkward teenage boy way. I have not seen him be even remotely aggressive about it though but that doesn’t mean one of the girls didn’t take offense and nip him good for attempting.

Or .. or .. it could actually be dirt and I am all worried about absolutely nothing. Its my first winter with chickens so everything feels like more of a big deal then it likely is.

I have decided to calm the heck down, try and forgive myself, watch him closely and keep giving aspirin and mash with added protein, eggs, peanut butter ect. If indeed it does turn out to be frostbite I will carefully reevaluate my coop and see what needs adjusting and strongly consider a panel heater to have on hand for extreme weather events. This isn’t remotely normal for my area. I will not touch it as much as I would like to know for sure if it’s dirt or frostbite its not worth potentially causing further harm.

Thank you for taking the time to respond. I am a research person and I have read tons but its not the same as having experience and dealing with the emotional roller coaster AND the emergency. That will take time to develop and your help is much appreciated .

That 100% sums it up! The emotional roller coaster is honestly the worst part. Frostbite will look bright red, swollen/blistered, and chapped before going back and dying/falling off. You would most likely see it in the comb tips, not lower. What sort of temperatures/humidity are you dealing with?

 

[knoturavggrl]

Pics please… the tips of the comb will go first generally. Yes, I finally ended up with frostbite experience last year… Dean lost several comb tips he was standing “guard” out in -5c with -20 or lower windchill for who knows how long before I noticed and manually relocated his girls (hiding from the blizzard) and him back into the coop… and Mr Marans got some as well (I think the metal roofing, condensation, and roost placement was the problem there).

As @Ponypoor points out it was fine until some of Dean’s girls pecked at it many weeks later, it bled like crazy, so I brought him in, which led to several other rooster/flock politics issues. Also frostbitten areas are more prone to subsequent cold damage. The area around where Dean lost the parts of his comb to frostbite last year bled again this year in our far less intense cold snap. We tend to get very wet cold weather here.

I will get pictures tomorrow morning, I was in a tizzy today of worry so I didn’t think to get any photos. I know they will really help others help me and Oreo.
Thank you for sharing your go round with frost bite it makes me feel a little better knowing I am not alone with the issue.
If indeed it is frostbite I will be watching him super close with 10 girls one of them could well have a go at it. I have an emergency tent enclosure that could be set up inside or in the garage ready to go if need be. I could even bring in one of the less inquisitive girls to keep him company.

 

[knoturavggrl]

That 100% sums it up! The emotional roller coaster is honestly the worst part. Frostbite will look bright red, swollen/blistered, and chapped before going back and dying/falling off. You would most likely see it in the comb tips, not lower. What sort of temperatures/humidity are you dealing with?

It got down to 2F with windchills in the -30’s unheard of in southern ohio. Also, it dropped from the 40’s to 8 degrees in 2-3 hrs during the worst night.

I have used his rather large comb as a bell weather so to speak. So its gotten a-lot of close observation time throughout the duration of this cold spell. Yesterday, it looked perfectly normal today black spots In a few places. Pics to come asap tomorrow. Based on your description maybe I can hold out some hope it isn’t frostbite maybe…

It is warming now rapidly thankfully and should be in the 60’s next week absolutely unbelievable weather.

 

[micstrachan]

Happiness is fresh Straw

They do look very happy!

 

[micstrachan]

Roaming babies in da house

So stinkin’ cute and their fluffy butts are magnificent!

 

[BY Bob]

Well, I made it 2 hours in the jeans then my abdomen started to get a bit touchy. Back to pjs it is for the rest of the day.

Baby steps. Congratulations!

 

[Kris5902]

It got down to 2F with windchills in the -30’s unheard of in southern ohio. Also, it dropped from the 40’s to 8 degrees in 2-3 hrs during the worst night.

I have used his rather large comb as a bell weather so to speak. So its gotten a-lot of close observation time throughout the duration of this cold spell. Yesterday, it looked perfectly normal today black spots In a few places. Pics to come asap tomorrow. Based on your description maybe I can hold out some hope it isn’t frostbite maybe…

It is warming now rapidly thankfully and should be in the 60’s next week absolutely unbelievable weather.

Those are some nasty temperature swings! this year on our two worst days temperature and windchill wise, I just didn’t even give my flock the option of going out in it… I learned from last year. Very few ventured out in the weather and when the wind picked up almost everyone found shelter… the girls in the rose bush Dean was standing in front of didn’t suffer any damage. He was just a white puff surrounded by white snow and enveloped in blowing white snow. If it wasn’t for his comb and wattles being exposed I might not have seen him, or his silly ladies nearby.