My favourite rooster died today, not even 24 hours since becoming ill :'(

[MiniChickenMommy]

Hello everyone,
My favourite rooster died today so suddenly, I'm so devastated. He was perfectly fine yesterday, and last night when i shut them up he was the same as usual.
I went out this morning and opened the cage, he didn't come out straight away but I didnt think anything of it. By 11:30am, he still hadnt come out of his coop so I went down to have a look and his comb and wattles had turned purple, he was just stood there huddled up and with his eyes closed. I picked him up straight away and started ringing the vets. By 2pm I had him at the vets for an emergency appointment.
He was so lethargic barely opening his eyes for more than a few seconds at a time and his comb was still a dark purplish colour. The vet said it wasnt due to parasites or respiratory, so the only other things it could be were organ failure or something wrong with his blood. She prescribed 3 medicines in total.
An hour later, he was still breathing but barely, and in his last moments he kept opening his eyes, and when he saw me and I stroked him he seemed to be contented. Then he rolled his head back and passed. I am so devastated. How can a perfectly healthy 19 month old rooster just die so suddenly? I keep wondering was it something I fed him? He had bacon rinds yesterday, which i give to them all about once a week. Could this have caused a blockage inside?
I dont know what I'm looking for really.. Has anyone else had a similar experience with their rooster becoming ill and dying in less than 24 hours?
I am just so devastated RiP RooRoo

 

[Jack3291]

R.I.P

 

[coach723]

There are lots of things that can happen, and yes it can sometimes be very sudden. The best way to know is to have him necropsied, often that is the only way to know for sure. You can ask your vet for resources on that or use the list below. If you want to have it done you need to save the body, refrigerate but don't freeze it.
https://www.metzerfarms.com/PoultryLabs.cfm

 

[MiniChickenMommy]

Also, does anyone know what I should do with his body?? I cant bury him as my back yard is concrete, cant cremated him and wont throw him in the bin...

 

[Ascholten]

Sometimes that happens sadly, perfectly healthy pets, or seemingly so anyways, can have strokes or stuff just go wrong... just like with humans.

Can you take him to a park or something and bury him? I know vets take animal bodies for disposal but don't think that's how you want to do it, not to mention the money they'd charge. Do you have an animal humane society, they could possibly assist?

Aaron

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Also, does anyone know what I should do with his body?? I cant bury him as my back yard is concrete, cant cremated him and wont throw him in the bin...

Can the vet give you options about disposal?

 

[CluckerFamily]

I am so sorry.

 

[MiniChickenMommy]

Thank you everyone for your replies.
I haven taken him to the country park just down the road from me which I visit with my dog regularly and have buried him there

 

[Thanigai]

Hello everyone,
My favourite rooster died today so suddenly, I'm so devastated. He was perfectly fine yesterday, and last night when i shut them up he was the same as usual.
I went out this morning and opened the cage, he didn't come out straight away but I didnt think anything of it. By 11:30am, he still hadnt come out of his coop so I went down to have a look and his comb and wattles had turned purple, he was just stood there huddled up and with his eyes closed. I picked him up straight away and started ringing the vets. By 2pm I had him at the vets for an emergency appointment.
He was so lethargic barely opening his eyes for more than a few seconds at a time and his comb was still a dark purplish colour. The vet said it wasnt due to parasites or respiratory, so the only other things it could be were organ failure or something wrong with his blood. She prescribed 3 medicines in total.
An hour later, he was still breathing but barely, and in his last moments he kept opening his eyes, and when he saw me and I stroked him he seemed to be contented. Then he rolled his head back and passed. I am so devastated. How can a perfectly healthy 19 month old rooster just die so suddenly? I keep wondering was it something I fed him? He had bacon rinds yesterday, which i give to them all about once a week. Could this have caused a blockage inside?
I dont know what I'm looking for really.. Has anyone else had a similar experience with their rooster becoming ill and dying in less than 24 hours?
I am just so devastated RiP RooRoo

me too, i had posed today.

 

[Ascholten]

Im sorry to hear this. Sometimes animals can have heart attacks and stuff like that too. Give how sudden it came on, short of being poisoned, heart attack / stroke come to mind. At least he was able to pass in the arms of his favorite person. Another thing to keep in mind, birds are really good at hiding their illness' so by the time something is blatantly obviously wrong with them, it's often well past the point where we can do much about it.

Keep an eye on the rest of the flock as well for a bit to make sure they are not stressing too and it was something they got into. He may have had a short life but at least he was well taken care of.

Aaron