My poor, wonderful rooster died yesterday. Amazing how attached you get to these critters. I have not idea what happened. Wednesday night he could not stand up, so I brought him in and caged him in the guestroom bathroom. I thought he would be dead by morning. But in the morning he was standing and eating. Thursday afternoon I took him back to the coop where he was greeted very happily by his ladies. That night he was curled in a corner of the house and was gone in the morning.
I do not know much about chickens. I take very good care of them, but maybe I missed something. He was only three years old, so it was not old age. My uphill neighbor suggested I deworm the flock, saying maybe that was the problem. Don't know.
This may be a really stupid question, but do you take chickens to the vet?
I have cleaned the coop and will get dewormer today at Tractor Supply.
Any foods I should be giving them this time of year for health. They get fruits and vegetables each day, along with their grain. They get oat meal on cold mornings. I do give yogurt at times.
First of all, I'm so sorry to hear about your roo.
Here's some questions for you off the top of my head...Did he appear to be very light in weight compared to normal when you picked him up? Did you notice any worms in his droppings when you had him in the bathroom? Did he have any discharge from his eyes, foul smelling crop or pale comb? Did you notice any wounds? Do any of your other chickens have the same symptoms as your roo right now?
Sometimes they really don't have many noticeable symptoms at all and the only way to find out what they died of is to have a necropsy done by your state vet. Some people to take their chickens to the vet, but most vets don't have the foggiest idea about how to treat a chicken.