[bills_m]

Hi, only had chickens for 6 months and lost my first one on sunday which was a light sussex rooster, he wasnt a fully grown, prob about 7-8 months. anyway he was always getting picked on by the hens and in the last couple of days wasnt eating properly either and had lost a bit of weight. his poops were green and not very solid at all. he fell on his side on saturday, which for some reason made the hens start pecking at him (maybe cause they sensed he was ill or something). had to put him separately and he died in the night sometime, not sure whether it was the cold or anything. cos im new to this, any ideas what it could be?

thx in advance for any help

[hillfooter]

The weight loss suggests there was a longer term problem the symptoms of which you may have missed.  But if indeed there were no other symptoms such as sneezing, runny nose etc and it really was a sudden death then green runny droppings can be a sign of a toxin.  Mouldy feed, particularly corn, can produce these symptoms.  Has the feed become damp at all or does it smell musty.  If so replace it with fresh immediately.  Any chance he's eaten something he shouldn't or even found some rat poison.  Has he had access to a compost heap for example or is there any stale feed lying around.  Make sure you have a good clean up for such things.  Check the hens for any similar signs of illness , depression, listlessness, runny droppings, lack of appetite.

It's unlikely cold alone would cause the death.

Best of luck.
HF

[Aunt Sally]

... also worm your hens with flubenvet as green poo can be a sign of advanced gut worm infestation.

[bills_m]

The weight loss suggests there was a longer term problem the symptoms of which you may have missed.  But if indeed there were no other symptoms such as sneezing, runny nose etc and it really was a sudden death then green runny droppings can be a sign of a toxin.  Mouldy feed, particularly corn, can produce these symptoms.  Has the feed become damp at all or does it smell musty.  If so replace it with fresh immediately.  Any chance he's eaten something he shouldn't or even found some rat poison.  Has he had access to a compost heap for example or is there any stale feed lying around.  Make sure you have a good clean up for such things.  Check the hens for any similar signs of illness , depression, listlessness, runny droppings, lack of appetite.

It's unlikely cold alone would cause the death.

Best of luck.
HF

u could be right as it has been raining, and as it may have not been allowed to eat fresh with the other hens my have resorted to eat food lying about. all the others seem to be in good health thou.