Wi_Pida
Songster
My cockerel, Emeril, died suddenly today. I went outside before going to work at approximately 4:30 p.m. ,my husband went out about 5:30 to 5:45 p.m. to feed and found Emeril dead.
When I came home from work tonight I check over Emeril and there was no signs of injury, lice, mites or worms. He was absolutely healthy! At 4:30 when I checked him before going to work he was up on the new roost crowing away and jump down was doing his fancy dance for the girls. There was no sign of illness in him whatsoever (no weight loss, far from being lethargic, nice bright shiny feathers, nice red beautiful cone and wobble). Prior to Emeril's death he was not showing any signs of respiratory issues either. I don't know if he had a heart attack, I know that even at 7 months old that is always possible. My concern is the rest of the flock.
The fact that he was with is the flock I rescued three weeks ago this past Saturday is what concerns me. They were mite, lice and worm infected which I'm still treating for the worms. But the mites and lice are eradicated. I'm not really sure what type of worms they have but they are being treated organically with that. I had only put Emeril and two other cockerels into the pen with them 3 days ago. Before that, I had three other roosters with them. I was swapping out my roosters with these hens and none of the other boys have had problems. The flock size is 65 hens. I mainly put the cockerel in there to protect them the hens from the predatory birds and other animals we have in my neck of the woods. The original flock has 64 hens and are pasture ranged.
With Emeril dying suddenly I took my two other cockerels,Cheech and Chong, out of the rescue quarantine area as a precaution and put them in my other quarantine area. The other three cockrels that I had with them before switching out to Emeril, Cheech and Chong have showed no signs of illness. I checked them regularly.
Could there be possibly something I'm missing that caused Emeril's death. Is there anything that I should be looking for with both flocks and the two cockerels that I have in quarantine?
I truly hate not knowing what happened and wonder if my original flock is in danger.
When I came home from work tonight I check over Emeril and there was no signs of injury, lice, mites or worms. He was absolutely healthy! At 4:30 when I checked him before going to work he was up on the new roost crowing away and jump down was doing his fancy dance for the girls. There was no sign of illness in him whatsoever (no weight loss, far from being lethargic, nice bright shiny feathers, nice red beautiful cone and wobble). Prior to Emeril's death he was not showing any signs of respiratory issues either. I don't know if he had a heart attack, I know that even at 7 months old that is always possible. My concern is the rest of the flock.
The fact that he was with is the flock I rescued three weeks ago this past Saturday is what concerns me. They were mite, lice and worm infected which I'm still treating for the worms. But the mites and lice are eradicated. I'm not really sure what type of worms they have but they are being treated organically with that. I had only put Emeril and two other cockerels into the pen with them 3 days ago. Before that, I had three other roosters with them. I was swapping out my roosters with these hens and none of the other boys have had problems. The flock size is 65 hens. I mainly put the cockerel in there to protect them the hens from the predatory birds and other animals we have in my neck of the woods. The original flock has 64 hens and are pasture ranged.
With Emeril dying suddenly I took my two other cockerels,Cheech and Chong, out of the rescue quarantine area as a precaution and put them in my other quarantine area. The other three cockrels that I had with them before switching out to Emeril, Cheech and Chong have showed no signs of illness. I checked them regularly.
Could there be possibly something I'm missing that caused Emeril's death. Is there anything that I should be looking for with both flocks and the two cockerels that I have in quarantine?
I truly hate not knowing what happened and wonder if my original flock is in danger.
