Our Duck Died. what caused it?

[akashia26]

We only had 2 ducks. a peking hen and a WH drake. last night we heard a commission. when we checked we found the hen in distress in her pen. we took her inside and tried to revive her. she coughed up about a cup of water and her belly was wet but not her back. she died shortly after. the only water around was the duck pool which is about 6 inches deep. she could stand up in it. we think she drowned but can't figure out how. it was about 40 degrees last night. couldn't find evidence of a predator and the drake and chickens were calm.

any ideas on what might have happened or is there something else that could have caused her to cough up that much water?

 

[Orca5094]

Was the drake possibly breeding her in the pool and held her under a little too long?

 

[veronicasmom]

I would be surprised if it was a case of the drake drowning her. Pekins are pretty sturdy ducks and I have always seen the hens able to pick their heads up enough so that they can breathe fine. The sized of those two ducks make me think it was something else.
Maybe a seizure? That might have caused her to collapse into the water and swallow some.
I am sorry for your loss and am sure your drake is lonely without her. I hope someone on here can shed some light on what might have happened.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I am thinking maybe seizure or some other medical problem, 6" of water would not be deep enough for a drake to drown a duck unless she was very sick.

So sorry for your loss.

 

[akashia26]

Just reading over the comments and I don't think he would have been trying to breed her since it was late at night. So far the drake is doing ok. Walked around here for about a week quacking for her. I am currently looking for another hen that someone will let me have, that does not live too far from here. I live in southwest Alabama. Got to get our drake some company.