Oddball, our free ‘exotic’ rooster…
Oddball died today, from rather unknown causes. He had no blood on him, but was breathing hard like something had chased him, and was wobbly on his feet. Levi and I found him under the henhouse just laying there. So we fished him out to see what was wrong with him.
He had his eyes closed, and only opened them a few times. He would stand up for a second and then sink back on the ground. I could not figure out what happened to him, because if one of the little roosters had attacked him there would have certainly been some blood somewhere on him.
I found him dead a little while ago, just a foot or two from where we had put him. It looked like he had tried to get up and walk, and fell down dead.
I think that the guinea male chased him last night or early this morning, because I don’t ever remember him coming out today when I let the hens out. (The guineas are currently being housed at night with the hens) I don’t think the little rooster (Danny, to be exact) could have ran him that much. Other than that, I wouldn’t have a clue what happened to him, and that’s just my thoughts on what could have happened.
I kind of knew he wasn’t going to last long when I saw him with his eyes closed and breathing heavy. Slanty and the Unnamed Rooster were in the exact same condition when we found them, and died later that day. I didn’t want to say anything to Levi though, because he was hoping he’d pull through. Oddball was Levi’s rooster, and always a great favorite.
Goodbye, Oddy! 
The “Trick Rooster”
Filed under: Animals | Tagged: breed, chicken, dead, death, exotic, guinea, Oddball, polish, rooster
So very sad, poor Odball! May he rest in peace.
Aww, I’m sorry… I know how you feel. I’m quite fond of roosters, and one of our roosters (one that I liked) got hit by a car last summer.
Blessings!
MJ
Anna ~ Thank you.
Miss Jocelyn ~ Ouch. Hit by a car? We’ve had some of our roosters die in various ways: freezing, beheaded by a dog, etc, but this is mysterious! I just can’t see a guinea running the rooster so much that he’d die, unless he had a heat stroke or a heart attack or something.
I’m more fond of the roosters than I am of the hens. I guess they’re more challenging.
~ Lacy
I’m sorry about Odball.
Thank you, V.R.B.
LOL! Yeah, hit by a car. We live on a country road so people think “no traffic” and zoom by. Grr… we’ve actually had several chickens hit too. I think this has been our only source of death for the chickens!
I like the roosters better too. If I were to decorate a kitchen, it’d be country roosters and tractors.
Could he (or the other rooster) have somehow fallen and had internal injuries? I’m sorry to hear about them. We had a rooster inside that used to crow when we were talking on the phone. That made for some odd reactions
I don’t think so. He was in a pen, and there wasn’t anything he could have tripped on, unless it was his own feet. I don’t know that a fall would have caused that bad of an internal injury.
You kept a rooster inside??
Yes. We were living inside a science greenhouse for the winter and had crops and chickens. The growing area was about 24×30 and the living area was a cozy 7×16 with a 7X10 loft.
So sorry about your rooster. I had something like that happen to one of my roosters. I had two of them but I do not believe they were fighting because as you wrote, there was no blood or marks. He just died.
If you are in search I hope you find a good replacement.
Carole ~ Do you have any idea what caused him to die?? Was it just all the running?
I think, for now, Danny and Jacob will take his place splendidly. Danny is already more interested in the older hens and I think has claimed them for his own.. While Jacob will not let him interfere with ‘his’ flock of hens!!
Thank you for commenting!!
I know what killed him!!! A mold infection!! Here’s the original article:
Aspergillosis (Brooder Pneumonia)
Aspergillosis has been observed in almost all birds and animals, including man. The disease is observed in one of two forms; acute outbreaks with high morbidity and high mortality in young birds, and a chronic condition affecting adult birds. It is more of a problem in turkeys than in chickens.
The condition is caused by Aspergillus fumigatus, a mold or fungus-type organism. Occasionally other types of molds are involved. These organisms are present in the environment of all poultry. They grow readily on many substances such as litter, feed, rotten wood and other similar materials.
The bird comes in contact with the organisms through contaminated feed, litter or premises. The disease is not contagious and does not spread from one bird to another. Most healthy birds can withstand repeated exposure to these organisms. Inhalation of large amounts of the infectious form of the mold or reduced resistance of the bird apparently results in infection. In adult turkeys, the disease more often affects the male.
In the acute form in young birds, main symptoms are gasping, sleepiness, loss of appetite and sometimes convulsions and death. Occasionally the organism invades the brain, causing paralysis or other forms of nervous symptoms. The more chronic form in older birds usually results in loss of appetite, gasping or coughing and a rapid loss of body weight. Mortality is usually low and only a few birds are affected at one time.
The disease produces hard nodular areas in the lungs and an infection of the air sacs. Sometimes the air sac lesions are similar to those produced by infectious sinusitis or CRD. In some birds, colonies of mold growth can be seen on the air sac membranes.
Diagnosis is usually made from history, symptoms and lesions. It may be necessary to base diagnosis on microscopic lesions.
The disease can usually be prevented by avoiding moldy litter, feed or premises. There is no treatment for the affected flock. Cleaning and disinfecting the equipment is often helpful.
But he wasn’t gasping, sleepy, or losing his appetite…
He was just ran out of breath so bad, I’d say his heart failed or internal injuries.
I was just geussing, I really have no clue how he died, but I do know one of our hens died like that.
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~ Lacy