- Jul 19, 2016
- 14
- 4
- 67
Hi all, first post here, have been coming to this forum for years raising my flocks and always find the most helpful advice and info thank you. After finding my 7m/o Roo dead yesterday, this is the first time I’m just flat out perplexed and cannot get to the bottom of the problem. I hope you can help me. I’m almost 99% sure it was a disgruntled human who killed my bird. As I will explain below. It’s a bit of a mystery, but I I need to be sure it wasn’t disease/anything else for the sake of my other birds.
I was given him by mistake at 4wks old, a faverolle breeder misjudged his colouring. I wanted to keep him until he could breed a small clutch and then was going to rehome. He was just starting to get plucky with my ladies. We’re devastated. He absolutely ruled. Basically quiet, gentle, respectful guy.
So he sleeps in a secure coop, easily opened by humans but nigh impenetrable to cats (no other prey here…maybe a psycho possum…unlikely). He’s been wearing a no crow collar for little over 2 months, it’s on during the night with breaks during the day. I always check the tightness to make sure he can eat and drink and isn’t gagging. We hang out for 20mins before sunset to be sure. We live in the suburbs. He never crowed earlier than 7am, and only ever after the neighbour’s horrendous dogs started barking. Still, 7am is too early for many and my husband wasn’t into it, so I moved to plan b and got a small pet carrier to act as a rooster box. There was enough room for him to stand up and crow (because he did it once) but with a blanket on top he just stopped. I always made sure he had fresh bedding, and plenty of air was able to get in. I only ever clipped down 3 of the plastic latches just in case he ever NEEDED to get out, for whatever reason. Not that he could’ve lifted the lid by himself (tight clips, heavy wool blanket, tucked in), but I imagined at least he wasn’t locked in there.
Anyway, Yesterday I found my boy on his back, neck feathers extended, eyes closed, beak open, head to the side. Wings tucked in, one leg down, one leg up. At first I thought a cat got in, dragged him out by the head and left, it’s happened before, we have some persistent ones in the neighbourhood that took some of my youngest months ago, but haven’t had an attack in over 6 months. Chooks can die of shock I understand?
That’s one theory.
But, there was no wound on him, no lost feathers, no blood. The tiniest speck of red on his lower neck feather. But nothing else.
The pet carrier splits in half, bottom bit is where the animal sits, the kid lifts off completely. So the lid was off and was upturned resting inside the bottom half, it was facing the opposite way to how I put it in (will only close if the gate part is at the front). All 3 clips undone obviously and the blanket completely thrown off on the side. Along with “hearing” the chook shed’s corrugate gate in the night (which in a sleep stupor I thought was an animal on the roof) I think the pet carrier is the strongest indication a human had removed my rooster from his bed. Our yard is super easy to break into, it’s a rental with a low fence, wouldn’t be the first time.
I also found a little clear liquid on the inside of the carrier, with a bit of grain stuck to it, possibly vomit from my Roo’s crop? He had a bit of wetness under his beak when I found him but nothing unusual.
Days earlier he jumped too high for a branch in the yard and landed oddly, he expelled a little clear foam from his beak and shook it out. It didn’t smell at all, there were no other symptoms of sour crop or worms. I heard him gurgle once. I thought that might’ve been the collar. He seemed perfectly healthy and his usual self leading up to his death.
Anyway, to continue with the scene: His neck was stiff and straight, but still soft to touch at the front, I don’t know if that’s because it was broken and frozen stiff, or if his neck was crushed. Honestly it looked like he’d been dragged out, laid on the ground and stepped on or strangled until he stopped breathing.
My room is only 5-6m away from his coop so I would’ve heard him flapping or gagging (I usually do) but I only awoke to the corrugate iron shaking.
My other birds were and are all fine. No vomit, no change in behaviour, no issues. Oh they were sleeping right next to the pet carrier. I put it up on the shelf with the roost poles so the chooks could coo to each other at night.
I don’t think I can give any other info…sorry for the long-winded drama. It’s just one of those unsettling things I don’t want it to be true, that a neighbour would rather murder my chook than talk to me (I spoke to my closest immediate neighbours about the noise, no one was bothered). If he’d been affecting anyone I would’ve re-homed him sooner. If it was my fault he died or some ailment he contracted im not aware of, I also need to know so I can be aware for the rest of my chooks.
Looking for any advice you might have. Thanks everyone,
Unwilling detective putting 11 seasons of x-files to good use.
I was given him by mistake at 4wks old, a faverolle breeder misjudged his colouring. I wanted to keep him until he could breed a small clutch and then was going to rehome. He was just starting to get plucky with my ladies. We’re devastated. He absolutely ruled. Basically quiet, gentle, respectful guy.
So he sleeps in a secure coop, easily opened by humans but nigh impenetrable to cats (no other prey here…maybe a psycho possum…unlikely). He’s been wearing a no crow collar for little over 2 months, it’s on during the night with breaks during the day. I always check the tightness to make sure he can eat and drink and isn’t gagging. We hang out for 20mins before sunset to be sure. We live in the suburbs. He never crowed earlier than 7am, and only ever after the neighbour’s horrendous dogs started barking. Still, 7am is too early for many and my husband wasn’t into it, so I moved to plan b and got a small pet carrier to act as a rooster box. There was enough room for him to stand up and crow (because he did it once) but with a blanket on top he just stopped. I always made sure he had fresh bedding, and plenty of air was able to get in. I only ever clipped down 3 of the plastic latches just in case he ever NEEDED to get out, for whatever reason. Not that he could’ve lifted the lid by himself (tight clips, heavy wool blanket, tucked in), but I imagined at least he wasn’t locked in there.
Anyway, Yesterday I found my boy on his back, neck feathers extended, eyes closed, beak open, head to the side. Wings tucked in, one leg down, one leg up. At first I thought a cat got in, dragged him out by the head and left, it’s happened before, we have some persistent ones in the neighbourhood that took some of my youngest months ago, but haven’t had an attack in over 6 months. Chooks can die of shock I understand?
That’s one theory.
But, there was no wound on him, no lost feathers, no blood. The tiniest speck of red on his lower neck feather. But nothing else.
The pet carrier splits in half, bottom bit is where the animal sits, the kid lifts off completely. So the lid was off and was upturned resting inside the bottom half, it was facing the opposite way to how I put it in (will only close if the gate part is at the front). All 3 clips undone obviously and the blanket completely thrown off on the side. Along with “hearing” the chook shed’s corrugate gate in the night (which in a sleep stupor I thought was an animal on the roof) I think the pet carrier is the strongest indication a human had removed my rooster from his bed. Our yard is super easy to break into, it’s a rental with a low fence, wouldn’t be the first time.
I also found a little clear liquid on the inside of the carrier, with a bit of grain stuck to it, possibly vomit from my Roo’s crop? He had a bit of wetness under his beak when I found him but nothing unusual.
Days earlier he jumped too high for a branch in the yard and landed oddly, he expelled a little clear foam from his beak and shook it out. It didn’t smell at all, there were no other symptoms of sour crop or worms. I heard him gurgle once. I thought that might’ve been the collar. He seemed perfectly healthy and his usual self leading up to his death.
Anyway, to continue with the scene: His neck was stiff and straight, but still soft to touch at the front, I don’t know if that’s because it was broken and frozen stiff, or if his neck was crushed. Honestly it looked like he’d been dragged out, laid on the ground and stepped on or strangled until he stopped breathing.
My room is only 5-6m away from his coop so I would’ve heard him flapping or gagging (I usually do) but I only awoke to the corrugate iron shaking.
My other birds were and are all fine. No vomit, no change in behaviour, no issues. Oh they were sleeping right next to the pet carrier. I put it up on the shelf with the roost poles so the chooks could coo to each other at night.
I don’t think I can give any other info…sorry for the long-winded drama. It’s just one of those unsettling things I don’t want it to be true, that a neighbour would rather murder my chook than talk to me (I spoke to my closest immediate neighbours about the noise, no one was bothered). If he’d been affecting anyone I would’ve re-homed him sooner. If it was my fault he died or some ailment he contracted im not aware of, I also need to know so I can be aware for the rest of my chooks.
Looking for any advice you might have. Thanks everyone,
Unwilling detective putting 11 seasons of x-files to good use.
It sounds like someone might've killed him. It was probably the same neighbour who took your youngest.
