Dead rooster

[rhsou]

Rooster appeared healthy a couple hours ago but now found him dead in the coop.
Feathers look ruffled and messy so thought maybe he could have fought to the death with our other rooster but these 2 roosters grew up together and we have seen no sign of aggressive fighting between them and the other rooster looks perfectly normal.
There are cats in the area and we have seen cats pounce at the chickens before but have never actually seen them fight let alone kill the chickens.
I don't see any blood.

Anyway, my question is with a chicken dead from unknown causes should I consider it potentially diseased and just bury it or should I still think of it as safe to butcher and eat it?

 

[rhsou]

Additional info should anyone deem it needed.... Body is still warm but it is stiff.

 

[Den in Penn]

Since you didn't see the rooster die the death will remain an unexplained death. It sounds like he just had a tussle with something or a fright that caused his death, probably a heart attack or stroke. On the farm we never ate a chicken that died from unknown causes.

 

[Smoochie]

I would guess it was another rooster. Roosters do often get along fine until one catches another rooster mating his "girl" and then all hell breaks loose... Very common. He could have died from natural causes but it wouldn't be my first guess.

 

[Smoochie]

& no I would not eat him. It could have been death by disease.

 

[GhostRider65]

I would not eat him for 2 reasons, the obvious disease issue and that he has been a few hours dead and not bled out as when you butcher, all that blood will probably be in the meat joints ect., and as you have seen I'm sure from the store bought chicken the yucky black bones and gray viscous slime that accumulates while cooking from all the undrained blood........I wouldn't if I were you....... If we have 1 that keels over for no apparent reason, we usually burn the carcass just in case.....Kim