Dead rooster

[Cindlady2]

I feel for all the losses! I've had a few hard hits in the last few months myself. I lost a roo that I was "buttering up" to be tame and sire my girls for egg layers. He was a nice Australop cross I raised from egg. I put him in the part of the coop I store feed and planed on giving him a harem the next day. Even though there were plenty of places to roost, apparently he tried to get to the rafters and didn't make it. He broke his neck. I bring this up because watching the hens go to roost and watching tussles over position, it made me wonder if the times a found a hen dead under the roost, if they didn't miss and break their neck. This may have been what happen to yours.

 

[ORChick]

I feel for all the losses! I've had a few hard hits in the last few months myself. I lost a roo that I was "buttering up" to be tame and sire my girls for egg layers. He was a nice Australop cross I raised from egg. I put him in the part of the coop I store feed and planed on giving him a harem the next day. Even though there were plenty of places to roost, apparently he tried to get to the rafters and didn't make it. He broke his neck. I bring this up because watching the hens go to roost and watching tussles over position, it made me wonder if the times a found a hen dead under the roost, if they didn't miss and break their neck. This may have been what happen to yours.

How sad! I am so sorry.

That might have been what happened to the hen last year. She was in the coop when I found her; though the roosts aren't very high, and the litter deep. With the rooster I just can't imagine it could have been anything other than a wonky heart, or other physical issue. He was outside in the run, away from anything he could have tried to roost on. Just another mystery in the chicken coop, I guess.

 

[piglett]

over the winter i had one of my black imported english orpington hens fall over dead on me. (she was a $100 hen)
sorry to say but it happens. this is why i love to hatch out babies
you never know when a member of the flock will die
so better you have some little ones who can take their place.
& if not you end up with a few more chickens ....which is always a good thing


good luck
piglett

 

[ORChick]

over the winter i had one of my black imported english orpington hens fall over dead on me. (she was a $100 hen)
sorry to say but it happens. this is why i love to hatch out babies
you never know when a member of the flock will die
so better you have some little ones who can take their place.
& if not you end up with a few more chickens ....which is always a good thing


good luck
piglett

Oh my! $100!? That must have hurt. My fellow was hatched by a broody last June, from an egg that was given me by a friend - she had a rooster, but not many hens, so she traded me several of her fertile eggs to hatch, and I gave her eating eggs in return. The broody pushed most of the eggs out of the nest, so the cockerel and 2 pullets were all I got out of that :/.