I feel your pain. I had two trees i was planning on transplanting last fall and had taken all the screens off. Winter hit early and i didn't get to them before the snow did. When it melted all the bark from snowline to ground was gone. sad.

I pulled my trees, but the bark was gone a foot and a half up and all the way around. My neighbor had two trees chewed on all the way around, but only three inches up. He painted them with a latex paint, and they are budding out like normal. I have seen my dad do the same, with some success when the chewing wasn't too drastic. If they are only chewed partway around I would leave it and let the tree heal itself like a pruned branch would, though it will likely be set back some. Whatever you do they will make it or they wont, and you have a year to decide what to do.

Thanks- if they look okay this summer can I be confident they'll be okay? (The chewed strip is extensive - if the tree will never be the same I'd rather start over than forever deal with sick trees- that said if they can recover we'd rather wait it out).

unfortunately it can be difficult to be certain or even confident. we may get the right conditions for a fungal attack or another difficult winter that could push an already crippled tree past its ability to recover. it is a simple enough thing to transplant the tree to a less desirable location on your property and replace them with healthy trees in the spots you really want them, then hope for the best and learn from your observations. I have had luck transplanting in the past, but those were healthy trees, and moving a damaged one may be more than it can take too. If they do recover they should be able to cope with the injury better over time, but it will set you back some.

Its really a chance, but it is hard to cut down a living apple tree you have already time, money, and hopes invested in. On the other hand, establishing a healthier tree may well be the way to go, and less angst over time.

I have a huge wolf river tree that was backed over by a bulldozer, run over by a tractor, browsed back by deer and battled shade its whole life. It is the healthiest tree in my orchard (though a little misshapen) Trees want to survive! Good luck!

Thanks- I suspect I'll wait and see.

One other question - on 2 of them the damage is 6 inches above the graft- should I lop off the whole tree just below the damage (there are already new shoots forming in that space)?

you could do that so long as you are sure the growth is from the scion, not the rootstock. select the most vigorous shoot and this time next year you will probably have a whip to work with. If they were the only two trees in my yard I would just pull and replant.