I woke up and my Rooster I saw dead

[chickens really]

Yeah I’ll just stress myself out lol. Thanks for your help

No problem....

 

[DwayneNLiz]

Yeah I’m deffinately going to have to watch them to see if I notice anything off. Thanks

sorry to hear this keep an eye on their poo too, many times it will be the first sign that something is 'off'

Yeah he could of been suffocated. Haven’t seen them spar bad yet but they were the two that always did it most. The hens are at that age to start driving the boys crazy. I just have to make sure he the other Cinnamon Queen Roo doesn’t go after my speckled Sussex Roos now. I want one roo for each breed. My Cinnamon Queen roo is named Arugaru cause he’s the boss lol. I guess hubby better finish our silkie coop so he can get started on one for the Sussex next. Just don’t want anymore losses. I’ve read they are usually not bad if the were raised together but, yeah hormones. It’s hard losing them when you just don’t know

flock dynamics are tricky sometimes they can be fine and then one day a rooster may decide he wants to be top bird and go nuts
but i do recommend leaving the silkies in a covered run, they cant see that well and a very easy means for aerial predators

good luck with the others!!

 

[Hen Pen Jem]

Greetings Sasha Clay,

Be calm...your approach to this incident must be rational. You have to look only at the facts.

Let's break them down:

• The cockerel was fine the previous day.
• Next morning, deceased.
• The body was warm, except the head. This is significant, when the heart stops, the farthest extremities will chill first. This gives you a relative time of death. Indicates death was within the hour of find.
• The body was on it's side. When a chicken dies of "Sudden Death" they flip onto their back.
• There was no evidence of fighting, blood, feathers, blood dots on the comb or wattles.
• Crop was empty, this is normal for the morning.

The cockerel heart stopped but why? I don't think it was "sudden death", and I don't think it was Marek's either. You would have noticed definate changes in him, prior to death. There are four forms of the virus, all have distinctive symptoms, except for the forth. The forth type, is internal tumors. Which are seen in a necropsy. However, their is significant weight loss from this form. I assume your cockerel had a hearty appetite, prior and good weight and strength.

Having had many roosters, there is no doubt they do scuffle and even have deadly fights. I am not there, so I am basing my opinion on the information you provided. But, it appears to me that your cockerel, had an early morning scuffle, perhaps lost his balance, and may have hit his head or neck on the perch before falling. If his wings were not spread, he most likely died quickly.

I have been with a hen from the moment of death from a heart attack, for one hour after, when her head turned blue and cold. And I, have found one of my roosters dead from "Sudden Death". Heart attack or heart stoppage, they are on their side, wings closed. "Sudden Death", they are on their back, with legs straight out. When they die from illness, they will usually be in a sitting position or on their side. Violent deaths, wings are splayed, necks twisted and dropped feathers indicating thrashing before death. These are just the most common scenes I have observed over the years.


You are right to be concerned about Marek's being contagious to other avian species. If I had parrots I would do a necropsy just to be sure. There are blood tests for Marek's, but they are not reliable. And, many chickens that are exposed simply don't get sick. So a necropsy of the dead cockerel is really the most reliable way to know for sure.

So, these are my views on the subject...hope they are helpful in some way.

So sorry for the loss of your little guy.

God Bless to you and your flock...and to your parrots too!

 

[SashaLClay]

sorry to hear this keep an eye on their poo too, many times it will be the first sign that something is 'off'


flock dynamics are tricky sometimes they can be fine and then one day a rooster may decide he wants to be top bird and go nuts
but i do recommend leaving the silkies in a covered run, they cant see that well and a very easy means for aerial predators

good luck with the others!!

Yeah we are definitely keeping them locked in the run. I know the other chickens will definitely pick on them as well. We were thinking of putting the Golden Laced polish in with the silkies after they used to each other. They can’t see neither and we only have 3 hens. We’ve been giving them feather cuts for now. The poo looks good so far. We have laminate with sand over it under the roosts and I clean it daily and sand in the coop as well so I inspect lol. I guess that’s the nurse in me lol but this chicken thing is new so everyday I try to learn something. Happy for this site and people like you on here. I’ve learned a lot from here so far.

 

[junebuggena]

Yeah he could of been suffocated. Haven’t seen them spar bad yet but they were the two that always did it most. The hens are at that age to start driving the boys crazy. I just have to make sure he the other Cinnamon Queen Roo doesn’t go after my speckled Sussex Roos now. I want one roo for each breed. My Cinnamon Queen roo is named Arugaru cause he’s the boss lol. I guess hubby better finish our silkie coop so he can get started on one for the Sussex next. Just don’t want anymore losses. I’ve read they are usually not bad if the were raised together but, yeah hormones. It’s hard losing them when you just don’t know

This has nothing to do with the dead bird, but you do realize you can't pair Cinnamon Queen hens with a Cinnamon Queen rooster to get more Cinnamon Queens, don't you. They are sexlinked cross breeds that do not breed true.

 

[SashaLClay]

Greetings Sasha Clay,

Be calm...your approach to this incident must be rational. You have to look only at the facts.

Let's break them down:

• The cockerel was fine the previous day.
• Next morning, deceased.
• The body was warm, except the head. This is significant, when the heart stops, the farthest extremities will chill first. This gives you a relative time of death. Indicates death was within the hour of find.
• The body was on it's side. When a chicken dies of "Sudden Death" they flip onto their back.
• There was no evidence of fighting, blood, feathers, blood dots on the comb or wattles.
• Crop was empty, this is normal for the morning.

The cockerel heart stopped but why? I don't think it was "sudden death", and I don't think it was Marek's either. You would have noticed definate changes in him, prior to death. There are four forms of the virus, all have distinctive symptoms, except for the forth. The forth type, is internal tumors. Which are seen in a necropsy. However, their is significant weight loss from this form. I assume your cockerel had a hearty appetite, prior and good weight and strength.

Having had many roosters, there is no doubt they do scuffle and even have deadly fights. I am not there, so I am basing my opinion on the information you provided. But, it appears to me that your cockerel, had an early morning scuffle, perhaps lost his balance, and may have hit his head or neck on the perch before falling. If his wings were not spread, he most likely died quickly.

I have been with a hen from the moment of death from a heart attack, for one hour after, when her head turned blue and cold. And I, have found one of my roosters dead from "Sudden Death". Heart attack or heart stoppage, they are on their side, wings closed. "Sudden Death", they are on their back, with legs straight out. When they die from illness, they will usually be in a sitting position or on their side. Violent deaths, wings are splayed, necks twisted and dropped feathers indicating thrashing before death. These are just the most common scenes I have observed over the years.


You are right to be concerned about Marek's being contagious to other avian species. If I had parrots I would do a necropsy just to be sure. There are blood tests for Marek's, but they are not reliable. And, many chickens that are exposed simply don't get sick. So a necropsy of the dead cockerel is really the most reliable way to know for sure.

So, these are my views on the subject...hope they are helpful in some way.

So sorry for the loss of your little guy.

God Bless to you and your flock...and to your parrots too!

Thank you. Yeah he was a healthy weight and was eating good. He wasn’t blue yet but red color from his head was definitely pink from no blood flow. Rigor hadn’t really set in yet so it was definitely within the hour or so. I looked him over everywhere under all his feathers, his eyes to see any abnormalities and he looked fine. That’s why I was worried. Couldn’t find a cause of death lol. Thank you for all the info. I might have to dig him up and see how his organs look.

 

[chickens really]

........Yikes....

 

[chickens really]

Thank you. Yeah he was a healthy weight and was eating good. He wasn’t blue yet but red color from his head was definitely pink from no blood flow. Rigor hadn’t really set in yet so it was definitely within the hour or so. I looked him over everywhere under all his feathers, his eyes to see any abnormalities and he looked fine. That’s why I was worried. Couldn’t find a cause of death lol. Thank you for all the info. I might have to dig him up and see how his organs look.

....Best wishes....

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Like @Eggcessive said, a necropsy is the only way to know. I used to do it myself but since I raise extremely rare birds I need to know exactly what is going on so I always send those that died from unknown causes to the vet school for lab work.
I've found one rooster dead in the morning like you did and another came out in the morning doing his normal routine and a minute later he was dead. It was a heart attack in both cases.

 

[chickens really]

Bottom line is Birds die of many causes...Most are not a death sentence to your Flock...Kind of like beating a dead Horse...