Bantam rooster found dead still warm blood in/around mouth and on foot

kaitb22 · Jan 2, 2012

Hello all,
I am brand new to the forum after searching for an answer to the cause of my rooster's death. He is a 5 or 6 year old bantam who has always been healthy to my knowledge. He lived at my boyfriend's house with various hens over the years, and came to live with us about 6 months ago. He lives with 2 bantam hens, 2 hens of different breeds (not really up on breeds), and a mallard duck. He was crowing as usual this morning, a hen sounded like she was laying an egg, and the duck was quacking away. It was a little noisy, but didn't sound out of the ordinary. I was in bed when this started and took a quick drive before checking on the birds. The first thing that I noticed was that one of the hens and the duck were out of the coop (not too unusual), then after putting them back in I noticed the dead rooster and that the bantam hens were missing. The rooster was on the ground just a few feet outside the coop sort of on his side with his wing outstretched, eyes closed, and a small amount af blood in and around his mouth. When I picked him up he was still very warm, and seemed to be holding on to the grass beneath his feet. There are no visible injuries, just the blood around his mouth, a very small amount of blood on the feathers around his head, and a small amount of blood on one foot. His neck is bent slightly, but I think that is because he was on his side.

There is a neighborhood dog who is walked without a leash who has come through our yard before and got one of the bantam hens, but she ended up being fine. The dog is my main concern, but no one here witnessed an attack and there was no unusual noise. My first thought was dog attack with internal bleeding, but would he have died so quickly? Do you think the dog would have any injury to his face since the rooster has blood on this foot? Could this be from natural causes or self-inflicted? Also, if the dog is a suspect, any advice on dealing with that issue or confronting the owner?

Our rooster was a true pet and member of our family, and we are reeling from the loss. It's easier for me to cope with a death when I know why it happened, so any advice or related experience will be greatly appreciated. Thank you all!

KandiandJerry · Jan 2, 2012

ITS HARD TO SAY WHAT HAPPENED BUT MY GUESS WOULD BE IF THE DOG STRUCK BEFORE HE WOULD AGAIN IN OUR STATE THERE IS A LEASH LAW IF THE DOG ATTACKED THE BIRD WAS MOST LIKELY IN SHOCK AND PROBABLY HAS INTERNAL INJURIES BUT I WOULD FOR SURE CONFRONT THE DOG OWNER JUST TO LET THEM KNOW IF THERE WAS PROOF THEY COULD BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR BIRD

snowflake · Jan 2, 2012

Did you find the other hens? The owner of the dog will most likely deny that it was his dog. picture is worth a thousand words. You may have to dog proof your chicken area in order to keep them safe. sorry for your loss. Not to likely the dog would have any wound, it is so hard to tell what happened.

seminolewind · Jan 2, 2012

Hi, dogs rip them to shreds. My guess would be a hawk. Maybe the roo put up a fight so the hawk took someone else. My guess, anyway.

Cetawin · Jan 2, 2012

Dogs are funny creatures...some kill them by simply grabbing them and when they do not move anymore, they grab another "toy" and so on. Other dogs tear out feathers and shred the bird. With bantam hens missing as well it sounds like your boy tried to stop a predator getting the girls and was killed in the process. Could be feline or raptor but do not exclude other possibilities. Secure your coop area. I am sorry for the loss of your pet...my birds are pets too and I have suffered losses so I know how hard it is emotionally.

Me & Jack · Jan 2, 2012

So sorry to hear about what happened.

Flock Runner · Jan 2, 2012

i've had dogs get out and attack my birds before. normally i get there in time but when i don't that is normally the seen. i'm so sorry but if it does turn out to be the dog don't blame it. it's natural instinkts and they don't know any better. to punish it any amount of time after the instident would be pointless. i'm not saying it's the dog for sure but that is what it sounds like. either that or a fox or possum. they tent to grab smaller animals and leave but the rooster may have been defending them and lost his life in the prossess.

also

stormylady · Jan 2, 2012

There is no proof that it was a dog or even the dog that went through your yard before, it could have been just about any predator, I certainly wouldn't go accusing anybody just yet. It seems like the word "dog" in a post brings out the worst in us chicken people, but truth be told you really don't know. That being said I hope you find the rest of your hens and they are all fine. Do you know how the animal got in the coop?
I didn't read all the reply posts sorry, was the coop broken into , like dug under the fence or ripped chicken wire or are there any little holes that a small animal could have gotten through? Ever since my raccoon attack I always check on my chickens if they get louder than usual or go silent (I'm a paranoid mess now when it comes to them.)
I'am so sorry for your loss! and I hope that you found your missing hens,

After the raccoon attack in my coop last year and the hens scattered and were really nervous for quite sometime after that.

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Bantam rooster found dead still warm blood in/around mouth and on foot

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