Dead rooster

[Swampy_9]

I am freaking out but im trying to keep my thought straight as best as i can cause this rooster was more than that but a very very good pet for me.

I went out like maybe 6 ish to give them all scratch. They actually all ran up to me and him the most excited. so i decided to let them at it while i finished some chores inside and went out like 17 minutes later to put them in for the night. It is frigid so i thought to put them in early and i feel like i could have just stayed out there and seen what happened. Because i went out saw him fully belly up, stiff and gone. I checked him over and over and no injuries. The only thing i saw was that one of the hens had been pecking at his comb but nothing that was like a gash or a wound. I tried to see if i could somehow revive him but nothing. Im not at all sure what could have happened.

If he just asphyxiated OR like maybe something i couldnt have known about? few months ago before snow came around he had a problem with his vent. But bounced back, though i thought maybe the lack of crowing was because it was so cold? Does this just happen?

 

[thecatumbrella]

I’m really sorry you lost him like that. The fact that you were only gone for 15-20 minutes, and he was happily eating when you left, makes me think he had a heart attack or some other strange event. Animals normally lose interest in food when they are ill, but that didn’t seem to be the case here. Curious what others think as well.

 

[Mrs. K]

Yes, it does just happen. Not real often, but often enough that most people have it happen if they keep a flock for more than a couple of years. It was not your fault, there is nothing you can do about it.

It is called sudden death syndrome. It is exactly how you describe it, very much alive and fine, so very alive, you really can hardly believe the bird is dead. And you very seldom find them dying, they are just alive, and then just dead.

An old timer told me, that it is a genetic flaw, in the bird. Often times a heart attack. But at least it is over quickly and no suffering.

Mrs K

 

[Chixnbacn]

Oh man is that rough I am sorry

 

[Laurasb65]

Sorry to hear that. I agree with Mrs. K and Thecatumbrella, heart attack, sudden death syndrome.

 

[Anon112]

I'm sorry for your loss.

It's hard watching an animal suffer, but it's so jarring when they are gone suddenly.

If there are no injuries, I would assume a heart attack or something of the like.

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

I’ve had a couple chickens that this happened to. No signs of illness or injury, just dead going about their business. I assumed with one it was a genetic issues because the eggs got very messy in the nest and I had to clean them off. None of the others survived. She survived for a few months but fell off the roost one night stone dead. Never even laid an egg