Just 8 hours prior, he was strutting, crowing, eating, and mating with the hens. Absolutely no sign of distress or illness.
I have cameras in and around the coop, run, and back yard. At 2:10, a racoon was spotted, on the ground, outside the run.
The rooster was on the awning over the coop door, inside the run - along with about 5 other chickens. The racoon can be seen walking around the run/coop area, but never got on top of the run where he could have (potentially) reached in to grab at the chickens. The run is wrapped in 1" chicken wire, and there were no signs of the racoon having gotten on top, nor any damage to the chicken wire. So I think it may have been purely coincidental that the racoon was there.
At 2:15, the rooster begins to wildly flap its wings for about 30 seconds. Then its over. Its legs hanging over the awning, discovered this morning.
There was no damage on the body, no missing feathers, no blood or bruising, and no palpable broken neck. The video does not reveal anything causing the rooster to behave this way. The other chickens next to him didn't jump down, though they did shuffle a bit to avoid the flapping wings.
Seeing as there was no likely predation, or other event leading to the its death, I'm concerned that it may have some type of illness.
His comb was bright red. There was no coughing, panting, or other signs of illness in the hours prior. Even as he lay there, he seem completely healthy.
Should I be particularly concerned that this is pathological and communicable? Anything to look out for with the other birds? Or on his body?
I have cameras in and around the coop, run, and back yard. At 2:10, a racoon was spotted, on the ground, outside the run.
The rooster was on the awning over the coop door, inside the run - along with about 5 other chickens. The racoon can be seen walking around the run/coop area, but never got on top of the run where he could have (potentially) reached in to grab at the chickens. The run is wrapped in 1" chicken wire, and there were no signs of the racoon having gotten on top, nor any damage to the chicken wire. So I think it may have been purely coincidental that the racoon was there.
At 2:15, the rooster begins to wildly flap its wings for about 30 seconds. Then its over. Its legs hanging over the awning, discovered this morning.
There was no damage on the body, no missing feathers, no blood or bruising, and no palpable broken neck. The video does not reveal anything causing the rooster to behave this way. The other chickens next to him didn't jump down, though they did shuffle a bit to avoid the flapping wings.
Seeing as there was no likely predation, or other event leading to the its death, I'm concerned that it may have some type of illness.
His comb was bright red. There was no coughing, panting, or other signs of illness in the hours prior. Even as he lay there, he seem completely healthy.
Should I be particularly concerned that this is pathological and communicable? Anything to look out for with the other birds? Or on his body?
