personally I could never cut my chickens combs and I eat 75 percent of my birds. I just wouldn't be able to. Let the combs fall off (if they are black) would be my first thought. Same with goat ears, they turn black and fall off when left in a field under freezing temps, nothing you can do. It just 'is'

sorry, I can't give you more help

How many animals are you talking about? Most of the folks here have fewer than a dozen birds, so it might make more sense to check with your local county-extension agent, a 4H program or a feed store.

My understanding of frostbite is that it is cellular damage to tissue from lack of blood flow (as capillaries shut down) and or actual freezing (which breaks the cell walls). The danger with black tissue is that it is dead tissue, and may become infected, leading to gangrene or death from other infection. Small amounts of damaged tissue may heal normally, but if the skin breaks, infection is almost guaranteed. Basically cutting off the wattles is an amputation, so I *presume* that standard wound-care procedure applies: make sure the cut is as clean as possible to get out all of the damaged tissue; cauterize and cover with as clean a dressing as one can manage (creams such as you would use on your own wounds). There may be some sort of chemical available at the feed store that will help with this.

The wattle falling off is basically "self-pruning" and the body's natural response to dead tissue, and probably depends on how much tissue damage has taken place and/or the general health of the animal. Key to general health is making sure that the animal has plenty of good, high-quality food and liquid water. A defensible wind-free space where they can be in still, dry air is also crucial.

Without seeing how much tissue is damaged or how healthy each animal is, I would not make any specific suggestions, but I would only suggest attempting amputation if there is clearly a lot of damaged tissue on an otherwise-healthy and robust animal. Amputation trades permanent disfigurement to prevent a fatal infection, and presumably would only be attempted if fatal infection is the likely outcome without it.