3 year old duck suddenly not acting right. Please help!

[Miss Lydia]

I am so sorry about Popcorn. It’s so hard to know what caused this since they hide things so well until too late so often. I commend you on being able to try and find the cause,I’m sure it was hard.

 

[shawluvsbirds]

My pretty girl died this morning. Yesterday she was more quiet but with the group. She even ate a couple of little earthworms. This morning she was clearly dying. I teach Biology so I opened her up, after she died, before I buried her. It was as if her gut leaked all over her inside. Very smelly and full of brown liquid. I could not find any sign of eggs or anything hard (metal or plastic). Because she went from happily running catching bugs to hiding in the bushes so quickly, I am thinking she ate something. Blocked intestine maybe or poisoned insects. I did not look very hard, it was too difficult. Any ideas? Popcorn will be missed.

Dam. I'm sorry to hear that!

 

[LRWARREN]

My pretty girl died this morning. Yesterday she was more quiet but with the group. She even ate a couple of little earthworms. This morning she was clearly dying. I teach Biology so I opened her up, after she died, before I buried her. It was as if her gut leaked all over her inside. Very smelly and full of brown liquid. I could not find any sign of eggs or anything hard (metal or plastic). Because she went from happily running catching bugs to hiding in the bushes so quickly, I am thinking she ate something. Blocked intestine maybe or poisoned insects. I did not look very hard, it was too difficult. Any ideas? Popcorn will be missed.

Sorry for your loss! The description you gave of her internals definitely sounds like a form of rat poison. I sure you went back to when she began acting different & trace and find where she was in hopes your other animals do not get into the same stuff.