What the heck just happened? (Dead 16 week cockerel)

[julskinka]

My daughter and I were outside when we heard what sounded like a kerfuffle or tussle, and then one of the cockerels doing an eggsong.

I walked around the side of the house to see Breakfast, our largest, crowingest, most dominant 16-week cockerel standing over one of his brethren, who was face down on the gravel. Breakfast was making that weird eggsong.

Upon inspection of the dead cockerel, I found he was quite recently deceased, but with zero obvious injuries. No blood, no cuts, no bruises. Bones all seemingly intact.

So - what the hell happened? Did he lose a fight with Breakfast? How would a 16-week cock even kill another chicken? Or did Breakfast just announce Chauncey’s death, as he was witnessing it? Is that a thing roosters do? Is gloating over a kill a thing they do?

There’s been no fighting worse than some mild chest bumping between our cockerels to date.

 

[HuskerHens18]

In my experience cockerel fights get bloody, fast, if they're in an all out brawl and not just a practice fight.

Had Chauncey been acting any different at all? Any funny poops? Did he feel thin at all when you investigated?

 

[50-45-1]

May be heart attacki had a young rooster do this once.
One minute pecking and scratching around, romancing hens. The next thing i knew he was flopping around then laying still, dead.
He was healthy in every obvious way.

 

[HuskerHens18]

May be heart attacki had a young rooster do this once.
One minute pecking and scratching around, romancing hens. The next thing i knew he was flopping around then laying still, dead.
He was healthy in every obvious way.

I've had this happen too, I think it's fairly common. So sorry to hear

 

[Kessel23]

I don't think he was killed by breakfast but I have had a rooster accidently kill a hen with one kick, his spur hit her right on the back of the head and snapped her neck, she died faster than a chicken with it's head cut off. Speaking of cutting heads off, I had to cull one of my meat birds a month or so ago and I was trying to bring her away from the other birds but my cockerels and turkeys followed me, when I cut her head off she flailed around like chickens do but for some reason all the cockerels started mauling the flailing bird, I think they thought she was being attacked and they were trying to help her by spurring her like crazy...

 

[julskinka]

In my experience cockerel fights get bloody, fast, if they're in an all out brawl and not just a practice fight.

Had Chauncey been acting any different at all? Any funny poops? Did he feel thin at all when you investigated?

He seemed appropriately fleshed out. He’d had a limp since he was little, but it never slowed him down. He seemed normal otherwise, eating, socializing, drinking, pooping. We did have another chicken we lost to presumed coccidiosis a couple of weeks ago, but we promptly treated the whole flock, and he never seemed ill.

He was slightly aggressive to humans (nipped me), so for once, I can say I’m not actually that sorry. I’d have rather it be him than anyone else, I guess?

 

[julskinka]

I don't think he was killed by breakfast but I have had a rooster accidently kill a hen with one kick, his spur hit her right on the back of the head and snapped her neck, she died faster than a chicken with it's head cut off. Speaking of cutting heads off, I had to cull one of my meat birds a month or so ago and I was trying to bring her away from the other birds but my cockerels and turkeys followed me, when I cut her head off she flailed around like chickens do but for some reason all the cockerels started mauling the flailing bird, I think they thought she was being attacked and they were trying to help her by spurring her like crazy...

That is crazy bad luck!

 

[HuskerHens18]

He seemed appropriately fleshed out. He’d had a limp since he was little, but it never slowed him down. He seemed normal otherwise, eating, socializing, drinking, pooping. We did have another chicken we lost to presumed coccidiosis a couple of weeks ago, but we promptly treated the whole flock, and he never seemed ill.

He was slightly aggressive to humans (nipped me), so for once, I can say I’m not actually that sorry. I’d have rather it be him than anyone else, I guess?

You could always send his body to your state lab to do a necropsy. It can be pretty pricey, I know ours are here.
Really it could be just about anything. With random deaths I always spy on my flock for any little weird thing.
You can bring a load of fresh poop to a vet and ask if they'd preform a fecal float, that will rule out worms. Mine does it for free.

 

[Fishkeeper]

Keep a close eye on the others. If nothing else happens, it's a safe bet he had a defect of some sort.
I've seen feral roosters in Hawaii attacking another rooster that had been killed by a car. Trying to make sure it was dead, I guess. Those are descended from fighting stock, though, they're unusually fighty.

 

[julskinka]

Keep a close eye on the others. If nothing else happens, it's a safe bet he had a defect of some sort.
I've seen feral roosters in Hawaii attacking another rooster that had been killed by a car. Trying to make sure it was dead, I guess. Those are descended from fighting stock, though, they're unusually fighty.

Now that you say “defect,” in addition to his limp, he also had one weird short wattle, and black spots through his comb (and always had). That does indicate circulation issues, right?

I still wonder what Breakfast was “saying” with his crowing and posture though.

Thanks everyone for your input!