Cockerel died overnight

[Lumikko]

This looks like a case of sudden heart-failure to me. It is not so unusual and known to happen mostly to young cockerels under the age of one year.

Thank you. As awful as that is, it would be preferred over something infectious.

 

[aart]

he did not appear mentally appropriate prior to falling

What does that mean?

 

[Lumikko]

What does that mean?

Fancy speak for "he seemed weird before he fell". Watching the video again, he sort of seemed dizzy (for lack of better term), slide sideways a little and then backwards. I think it's mostly just fluff talk saying they can't tell from the x-rays what caused it and I should do a necropsy.

Edit: that sounded a little harsher than I intended. The x-ray report rules out any easily visible signs of respiratory illness, foreign body, etc. It does show evidence of a neck injury but it is hard to say if that caused death. Because he appeared momentarily unstable prior to the fall, they'd recommend necropsy to find a diagnosis.

 

[MilesFluffybutt]

I am so sorry for your loss. To me it looks like he was winding up to crow. In the process of standing up, he stepped back too far and freaked out when he lost his footing. I would lower and widen the roost.

 

[Eggcessive]

Having witnessed several deaths of chickens over the years doing fine just minutes before, they do have almost seizure-like activity during the throes of death. That well could have caused the neck injury since he was on the roost.

 

[aart]

Fancy speak for "he seemed weird before he fell". Watching the video again, he sort of seemed dizzy (for lack of better term), slide sideways a little and then backwards. I think it's mostly just fluff talk saying they can't tell from the x-rays what caused it and I should do a necropsy.

Edit: that sounded a little harsher than I intended. The x-ray report rules out any easily visible signs of respiratory illness, foreign body, etc. It does show evidence of a neck injury but it is hard to say if that caused death. Because he appeared momentarily unstable prior to the fall, they'd recommend necropsy to find a diagnosis.

Not really harsh.....may well be accurate.
I did notice the head dip then 'stumble'.
Could have been something neurological, which a necrospy probably would not detect, or he just lost his balance.

 

[Lumikko]

Not really harsh.....may well be accurate.
I did notice the head dip then 'stumble'.
Could have been something neurological, which a necrospy probably would not detect, or he just lost his balance.

I do feel guilty for not going forward with the necropsy. The vet we went to for the xray doesn't do them so it would be sending out to Cornell. I'll continue to monitor the crew and, hopefully, this was an isolated incident.

Thank you all again.

 

[LaFleche]

" SDS is an acute heart failure disease that affects mainly male fast-growing broilers which appear to be in good condition. Affected birds suddenly start to flap their wings, lose their balance, sometimes cry out and then fall on their backs or sides and die, usually all within a minute. In 1993, U.K. broiler producers reported an incidence of 0.8%. In 2000, SDS has a death rate of 0.1% to 3% in Europe.[13"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broiler#Cardiovascular_dysfunction

 

[humblehillsfarm]

I do feel guilty for not going forward with the necropsy. The vet we went to for the xray doesn't do them so it would be sending out to Cornell. I'll continue to monitor the crew and, hopefully, this was an isolated incident.

Thank you all again.

Don't feel bad for not doing the necropsy. You're not likely to learn anything excessively useful considering this wasn't a contagious disease. Best to save your money for the future. A necropsy is a luxury few among us choose to pursue and it's never an easy decision, but it's not one you need to feel guilty about.

 

[aart]

I do feel guilty for not going forward with the necropsy. The vet we went to for the xray doesn't do them so it would be sending out to Cornell. I'll continue to monitor the crew and, hopefully, this was an isolated incident.

Thank you all again.

Eh...don't feel guilty.