Sudden death of year old rooster

[GlicksChicks]

I did not smell it.

The smell usually hits you without you smelling it. When I induce vomiting on my chickens with sour crop, I don't put my nose near it, I just breathe like normal and the smell gets to me.

But, is it possible that he died from sour crop? Do you still have his body, you might be able to feek his crop and see if it feels like a water balloon, even just a small one. Do your chickens have access to grit?

 

[Ecarroll]

The smell usually hits you without you smelling it. When I induce vomiting on my chickens with sour crop, I don't put my nose near it, I just breathe like normal and the smell gets to me.

But, is it possible that he died from sour crop? Do you still have his body, you might be able to feek his crop and see if it feels like a water balloon, even just a small one. Do your chickens have access to grit?

Chickens are free range and get there own grit, I only provide grit in the brooder to the chicks. It did not smell bad from afar. I do still have the body, I can check.

 

[GlicksChicks]

Chickens are free range and get there own grit, I only provide grit in the brooder to the chicks. It did not smell bad from afar. I do still have the body, I can check.

It is possible that he has not been finding grit like he needed too. Where I live, the ground is mostly crushed rocks, so grit everywhere. I still provide them with some grit in a container anyway.

I don't buy any grit, I just gather up a jar full of crushed rocks, about grit size, and put it in a dish in their run area.

 

[SourRoses]

I would guess that sudden death without showing symptoms in advance is usually only caused by a few things...

Excessive Heat
Heart attack
Broken Neck from impact of some kind
Choking (I see treats in the photo, not saying that's what it was, but it's possible)


Almost anything else is going to have some symptoms... Sour Crop for instance is rather slow progressing.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Is it possible that he could've died from sour crop? The liquid coming out of his mouth sounds like the liquid that comes out when you induce vomiting on a chicken.

Did the liquid have a smell? When it is sour crop, the liquid smells like soured chicken food.

Liquid can come out of the beak when a bird dies - this doesn't mean there was a crop problem.

The only way to really know why he died would be to have a necropsy.

If the OP still has the body, sending it in for analysis will give the best information.
Some do our own informal investigations, looking to see if we find anything obvious - that would be another option for the OP to consider.

 

[Barnette]

Liquid can come out of the beak when a bird dies - this doesn't mean there was a crop problem.

The only way to really know why he died would be to have a necropsy.

If the OP still has the body, sending it in for analysis will give the best information.
Some do our own informal investigations, looking to see if we find anything obvious - that would be another option for the OP to consider.

Yes, I have dissected critters before (science camp thingy) but not a chicken. I would do an unofficial necropsy (or post-mortem examination if you wanna be fancy) if I was in your situation.

 

[Susan Skylark]

To the list of causes of sudden death (great start!), I’d add stroke or burst aneurism. Unlikely to be genetic (sudden death would be a weird symptom at this age, save for something like an aneurism). Toxin or infectious cause is possible but it is strange there were no symptoms and your chicks aren’t sick. Some really nasty bugs can kill quickly with few symptoms, clostridium is infamous in cattle (overeating, blackleg, red water) for just finding one dead and the rest are fine. Keep an eye on things and if nobody else is droopy, off feed, goopy eyes, open mouth breathing, diarrhea or dead, it is likely fluke/accident whatever the cause, if others start exhibiting symptoms get a necropsy asap!

 

[Ecarroll]

I no longer have the body. All my of my other chickens seem fine today so I am hoping there is nothing more to worry about. Thanks for all of the guesses, tips and helpful information.