Dead Little cockerel, how did he die?

[kristamarie]

I have 3 little roosters, 12 weeks, and 2 hens living in a large dog cage as a grow out pen until they can join the older ones in the coop. This morning I was woken up by a pretty loud scuffle in the spare room, nothing unusual with 3 Roos fighting for dominance..... And then a hen flew into our bedroom! The door wasn't closed properly the night before and they were all out. When I was scooping them back into the dog cage I realized I was missing one, and upon looking around found the lifeless body of one of the old English game Roos in a corner with his head lying in a pool of liquid. His comb was light yellow, all the colour drained from it and he was still warm and not at all stiff. I looked him over and there is no trauma to the outside of his body.... No bloody scabs, no feathers missing, he was just dead.

My question is- is it possible for the other Roos to maybe snap his neck and kill him? The liquid that came out of his mouth was brownish and slimy, no blood.
It may be helpful to know he was healthy the day before, crowing and picking fights with his brothers. There was no impacted crop, I would know to look for that.

Anyone encounter anything like this before?

 

[dawg53]

This morning I was woken up by a pretty loud scuffle in the spare room, nothing unusual with 3 Roos fighting for dominance.....

I think you answered your own question.

 

[realsis]

yes I'd guess the other roo killed him. they WILL fight to the death. sadly I think this is what happened. cock fighting can be vicious! any fighting for that matter can lead to this.. unfortunately.. I'm sorry for your loss. you might want to separate the other roos because they will continue to fight for dominance. and if you don't its likely to happen again. he had killed once he will do it again. just to be safe. separate them. best wishes

 

[kristamarie]

Thanks, just wasn't sure if they'd be able to actually kill that young!

 

[Michael Apple]

12 weeks old? You had them together too long.
I have always followed the practice of separating cockerels at six weeks. This prevents injuries. You could stretch it out to maybe 7-8 weeks, but you are taking chances. I had 7 cockerels with my last group of chicks that were hatched March 20. 6 were sold today.

 

[kristamarie]

I've been trying to sell them for about 2 weeks now.... No bites, I can't even give'em away! Are silver duckwing old English not desirable?

 

[snowflake]

I am surprised there was no blood, they usually are pecking at each other, could he have flown into something and broken his neck?

 

[Michael Apple]

I've been trying to sell them for about 2 weeks now.... No bites, I can't even give'em away! Are silver duckwing old English not desirable?

It depends on your location. I think they are a good looking bird. Try to prepare for when you get too many cockerels. It always happens whether you order chicks or hatch eggs. Some of the larger feed stores have a quick turnaround of chicks and adults. You may only get meat price for them but it is better than ending up with injuries or mortalities. If you can, always build more than one coop and pen if you have the space. I prefer to do those things rather than cull a healthy cockerel.