Our rooster just died!

[arpyhh]

Our speckled Sussex rooster 1 yr old, just suddenly died. No reason that we could tell.
We noticed this morning that he had dried blood on his comb.
We have never seen him fight with our other rooster, so I can't think of what could cause this. Over the winter he lost most of his comb from frostbite, but other than that, he seemed healthy.
He had one leg with bad scaly leg, some of his underneath feathers looked like they had been broken off around his neck area, I only noticed is when I was searching for signs of injury. I found none.

Any thoughts??

 

[Stiggy]

when you say that he lost most of his comb to frostbite, did it fall off/ have to be removed? if it was still winter I would have said septicemia . did he have good weight? and what did he look like when you found him? ( as in was he under the pearch or did he litrally just drop dead ) its possible that he had a heart attack or a brain ambolism ( rare I know but they do happen)

 

[arpyhh]

Yes, his comb fell off, as seen in the photo, it healed after I treated it with antibiotic ointment, and it's been a couple of months at least.
His weight seemed ok, and he seemed normal about an hour before we found him lying in the coop run.his comb, fave and wattle turned a dark purple after death.... That was really freaky looking!
My other rooster has dried blood on his comb also.... I'm worried.

 

[Eggcessive]

It's not uncommon for chickens to suddenly die at this age--many times it's a heart inflammation, or other internal disease , liver or kidney. Many people will lose a hen at the point of first laying also. If you have somewhere that you could get a necropsy done on a refrigerated, but not frozen body, it might help you find the cause. It is possible that your living rooster or another chicken pecked him as he was dying, and the blood got spattered. If you find any more blood in the coop, or hear any respiratory problems, you should do some research on ILT, which can cause bloody mucus from the beak. Sorry for your loss.

 

[arpyhh]

Thanks so much.
I will look into that.

 

[kpertz]

Chickens can be healthy one day and drop dead the next...no reason..sorry

 

[Michael Apple]

I know many people claim to do it, but keeping mature cockerels in the same pen is always a risk. It sounds as if there was a peck fight. Perhaps one rooster had a weak heart, or suffered brain damage that killed him. I have seen geese go at it and one dies from a head injury from being hit by the radial carpal bone on the wing of another. Enough kicks from a rooster to another could do the same. I strongly suggest that roosters be kept separate. One rooster for a flock of hens.

 

[Stiggy]

Agree with the above. some just die suddenly ( we had meat birds that would do that all the time) the new genetically engineered chickens often are bred to lay and lay and then they just drop dead. weve never had problems with multiple roosters in the same pen ( as long as they get on and don't fight) however our runs are huge and there is plenty of space and hens for both . but if space isn't that big then one rooster to your hens is plenty. chickens are very susseptiable to death via a head injury ( that's why in the old days a bonk to the head was used to cull them)

 

[meadowlake23]

Our speckled Sussex one year old roo just died last week. I've had terrible luck with speckled Sussex breed. he was the last remaining of the 5 chicks I ordered last spring. Mind telling me where you bought yours?

 

[Eggcessive]

I have had good luck with my 2 year olds from Meyer Hatchery in Ohio. There are 4 of them.