What Killed my Chicken

txchickies4

In the Brooder
Jun 24, 2024
10
6
16
Unfortunately yesterday I found our rooster dead in the coop. When I removed him, I did not notice any scratches, bites, or open wounds. However, the side of the body that was visible had several feathers plucked. It looked as if there was a scuffle inside because there were feathers everywhere. He was in a coop/run with our three hens. The hens looked unharmed, no missing feathers or wounds.

I’ve read that chickens will attack their own, but I’m not 100% sure if this would be true if the hens had no sign of harm. The coop/run had no sign of entry/damage that something got inside. There is a small slit where the bottom drawer of the coop goes, so maybe something like a mouse or snake got in that way?

Our chickens are about 4months old and haven’t started to lay eggs. What could have been the culprit to our roosters death? I want to avoid it happening to the hens.
 
It's hard to know. A weasel can get in a small space but there would have been more damage and also dead hens.
Could something have climbed up into a space to get in? Maybe he fought something off?

Also, if he had a seizure he would have been flopping around so maybe that could account for some feathers?

Really hard to tell without an injury.
 
It's hard to know. A weasel can get in a small space but there would have been more damage and also dead hens.
Could something have climbed up into a space to get in? Maybe he fought something off?

Also, if he had a seizure he would have been flopping around so maybe that could account for some feathers?

Really hard to tell without an injury.
I am starting to lean toward a potentially heat stroke and the hens just started plucking feathers
 

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