Rooster Died - What about the flock?

[BBStacker]

My rooster was found very lethargic and unresponsive on Wednesday. I picked him up (never let's me near him otherwise) and placed him in a warm section of our coop (relatively warm outside anyways) with food and water next to him. I checked on him at note (same story) then in the morning (drooled from beak). Later in the morning (Thurs) I check on his progression and he was dead. My flock is only 8 months old and it's my first. I can't shake the feeling I could have saved his life somehow even without a vet (can't afford one unfortunately) if he choked on something or he may have been too sick to help. Any clues as to what may have happened? My hens are happy and healthy as far as I can tell.

How long should I wait before getting a new rooster that I can believe the flock is safe to add to again? Also, if he did choke, what could I have done to prevent a future death when I run into this again?

 

[Free Spirit]

It's hard to say what caused his death and I'm sorry for your loss. But you can learn from this experience and learn more about what to look for in the future. Since he went down so quickly I would not second guess yourself (woulda, coulda, shoulda).

But here is a link that you'll want to bookmark for reference should you see anything abnormal in the flock again:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1048620/how-to-provide-emergency-and-supportive-care
It will help you know what to do and what observations to make. From there you can give the forum more detail to be able to help you and answer your questions.

You may want to bookmark the BYC Learning Center page for Maintaining a Healthy Flock for quick reference to many helpful articles. There's a lot of great info in there.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/maintaining-a-healthy-flock

If you decide to get a new rooster then a must read is Adding to your Flock
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/adding-to-your-flock
Read through but at the bottom is info about getting a new rooster that will interest and help you.

 

[BBStacker]

Thanks Free Spirit. I'll definitely look into all those. My plan for now (til better educated) is to wait until January to get an adult rooster if my hens aren't dying from disease and the problem shows to be isolated to the rooster. Thanks for the materials.

BBS