What would cause the death of my rooster?

[Farmergyrl23]

I went into the barn this morning and there laid my Charlie

He was our favorite rooster and it's been heartbreaking to loose him! He was in his coop and I didn't see any blood anywhere in the coop or on him, the weathers been cold but the barn's been staying around 40 degrees so I know it's not the cold weather. His one wing was spread out and he was perfectly fine last night when I did the barn, he was out running around, flying around, eating well. I'm completely baffled! Their coop is well secured with chicken wire and a wooden door with a lock on it and the barn is secured with 2 big doors that have locks on them as well. Does anyone have any ideas of what could of happened to him? I feel horrible!

 

[Lollipop]

Probably not what you want to hear, but sometimes they just die. Happens all the time with no reasonable explaination. Sorry........Pop

 

[chicmom]

Hello-

I am so sorry for your loss. I do believe that chickens (any birds really) sometimes have heart attacks, or strokes, even anyerisms just like people do, and they die suddenly.

Often times, this happens, and we truly never figure out what went wrong.

Sharon

 

[Farmergyrl23]

He was only 5 months old

 

[chicmom]

Quote:
Oh, so young......

Take comfort in knowing that he had a great life!

 

[Hunter0704]

So sorry for your loss!!!!! It could have been a coon...we arrived home just at dusk and found our best hen dead laying on her back in the run, which did not have a top on it at the time. We figured a coon had killed her and that we had arrived home just as she did it. There was no blood, nothing, except she was laying flat on her back as if something had rolled over her. I was so upset I ended up getting rid of the chickens, coop and kennel.

Now, two years later I have a new coop/run with a roof, all walls enclosed with hardware cloth (not chicken wire) and under it with hardware cloth to keep predators from digging in underneath. I learned my lesson from the first coop/run. My two attached kennels for extra run space also have hardware cloth up the sides three feet high, plus it's also across the whole top of the kennels to keep All predators from getting inside the kennels.

I suggest you check your chicken wire for a space where a raccoon could have gotten inside, and any other spaces they could have squeezed into. Raccoons are the sneakiest, nastinest, most horrible creatures that will do whatever they can to kill chickens!!!!