Rooster just died

[Chicksnmind]

My first rooster just died this morning. He was two years old and for the past month or so he hasn’t been able to crow. I thought it was odd but he seemed to be healthy. When went to feed him this morning he ate some and then staggered around. He tried with his whole body to crow but and then flopped around and layed down like he was tired. Looked like he was sleeping for 5 seconds then got up and flapped and flailed around and then landed and just closed his eyes and died.

Did he choke? It’s so odd. I looked in his mouth but he didn’t have anything in there.


I do know a month or so ago my other rooster had fowl pox. Could he have pecked at it and got the wet version or would have there been other symptoms?

 

[azygous]

What you need is to take the rooster's body to an agricultural lab and get a necropsy on him to determine cause of death. We can only guess from a few words you wrote, and not even very well. A lab will take him apart, weigh organs, look for cancer and disease, and run lab tests on cells to determine if he had an infection or if he was poisoned.

These folks might be able to steer you in the direction of a lab to do it in your area.
Agricultural Environmental Services Director
(850) 617-7900
(850) 617-1701 Fax

 

[Building Bridges]

My first rooster just died this morning. He was two years old and for the past month or so he hasn’t been able to crow. I thought it was odd but he seemed to be healthy. When went to feed him this morning he ate some and then staggered around. He tried with his whole body to crow but and then flopped around and layed down like he was tired. Looked like he was sleeping for 5 seconds then got up and flapped and flailed around and then landed and just closed his eyes and died.

Did he choke? It’s so odd. I looked in his mouth but he didn’t have anything in there.


I do know a month or so ago my other rooster had fowl pox. Could he have pecked at it and got the wet version or would have there been other symptoms?

So sorry to hear of the loss of your rooster. I hope you find out what caused it and that you might come back and let us know.

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry for your loss. It can be fairly inexpensive to get a necropsy through your state poultry lab to find out the cause of his death. Especially, if you drive them to the lab on weekday mornings, but you may also call them to get a prepaid shipping label for overnight shipping through Fedex or UPS. Keep his body cold, but not frozen, and wrap in clean trash bags. Chickens can suffer from so many problems, and while sometimes we can do home necropsy to find something obvious, the state vet pathologists are very good.