The Old Folks Home

[bruceha2000]

Congratulations on the clean bill of health on your visiting bat, Ron.

I'm a bit down tonight. Came home to find my prized Lavender O rooster on his back in the coop, quite dead. No symptoms to lead me to believe he was on death's doorstep other than a bad case of molt. I suspect a sudden death heart attack or heart failure. I was able to hatch one chick that was him in June. She is a doll. I hope it wasn't anything genetic. He was only 14 months old.

Sorry for your loss, I know it is hard when it is not expected. I lost a 21 month old hen in March 2014 and one at the same age as yours a couple of months ago.

I did an autopsy on the second one. Diagnosed by @Beekissed as fatty liver disease based on the pictures. What I thought was her liver was a massive blood clot

. She must have dropped like a rock, at least she didn't suffer. Both of mine were similar. Seemed fine, then dead, warm, no marks on them, no obvious physical damage. 3 hours from known to be 'fine' to dead for the first one, less than 30 minutes for the second.

 

[NotAFarm]

Quote:

Great news, Ron!

 

[getaclue]

micro, Sorry about your loss.

 

[microchick]

micro, Sorry about your loss.

Thanks getaclue and everyone else for condolences.

 

[ronott1]

Thanks getaclue and everyone else for condolences.

I am sorry too!


One thing to remember with sudden rooster death is that layer feed is not the best thing for them. Too much calcium can lead to kidney failure in them. It seems to be more of a problem with certain breeds and likely also related to how much they eat other than feed--like free ranging and etc.

It sounds like either organ failure, heart failure or the silly thing flying into wall.

 

[pennyJo1960]

@microchick I am very sorry for your loss there

 

[microchick]

Thanks ronotti1. Yes, I have to admit that I fed the flock layer until about the first part of the year when I began to read about the calcium's affect on roosters. I began buying game bird starter and then finisher for the flock depending on whether or not I had chicks/juvenile birds in with the adult birds. I mix sunflower seed and scratch grain with it for the main flock.

Could my ignorance of hurt him? Don't know. I don't think he flew into the wall given where I found him between the feed and the roost. He was on his back, legs stretched out straight. I do not think he had been dead long as his comb and wattles were still bright red with the edges starting to turn black from pooled blood.

I suspect heart failure or heart attack at this point.

 

[ronott1]

Thanks ronotti1. Yes, I have to admit that I fed the flock layer until about the first part of the year when I began to read about the calcium's affect on roosters. I began buying game bird starter and then finisher for the flock depending on whether or not I had chicks/juvenile birds in with the adult birds. I mix sunflower seed and scratch grain with it for the main flock.

Could my ignorance of hurt him? Don't know. I don't think he flew into the wall given where I found him between the feed and the roost. He was on his back, legs stretched out straight. I do not think he had been dead long as his comb and wattles were still bright red with the edges starting to turn black from pooled blood.

I suspect heart failure or heart attack at this point.

No, you did fine. It usually takes longer for calcium exposure to hurt them. It does sound like a heart attack. When I had a hen die of liver rupture, the comb and wattles were pale. Heart attack causes the opposite-- bright comb and wattles like you saw.

 

[perchie.girl]

Awesome ron! Vaccine or not, rabies is scary. This summer bat episode wasn't our first run in, 12 yrs ago our oldest who did not have to participate this time got the shots when she was little along with her uncle over a confirmed rabid gray fox, and the in-laws dogs put down that killed it.
Anyone ever watch the 1936 movie 'The story of Louis Pasteur' ?
Just watched it a couple yrs ago, very good movie. Back then Pasteur was ostracized from the medical community for believing in silly junk science of these things you can't see he called 'germs', Lol! What a idiot, even thought doctors should wash their hands and sanitize their equipment before performing surgery, what a laughing stock!
Amazing he hung in there and discovered great things advancing the medical profession, among them silly things called vaccines for anthrax and rabies (and brewing methods :-D).

Amazing person thanks for the bit of history. Madam Curie was another

the following is an excerpt from the Wikipedia Article https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pasteurization

""The US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) says improperly handled raw milk is responsible for nearly three times more hospitalizations than any other food-borne disease source, making it one of the world's most dangerous food products.[16][17] Diseases prevented by pasteurization can include tuberculosis, brucellosis, diphtheria, scarlet fever, and Q-fever; it also kills the harmful bacteria Salmonella, Listeria, Yersinia, Campylobacter, Staphylococcus aureus, and Escherichia coli O157:H7,[18][19] among others.""

Modern milk production is way less hazardous... because they keep up on the health of the Cows. Inspections and disease management go into it all before they are milked.

deb

 

[microchick]

Thanks @ronotti1. That makes me feel better. At least now I know that there wasn't anything I could have done to save him.