Lost a sweet ducky today (after a successful surgery)

[acet400]

One of our ducks, mainly my 10yo daughter's ducks, just passed away today. She was an 11-month-old Rouen hen who had a stubborn case of bumblefoot for several weeks. We were doing all things we normally do (soaking, Vetericyn, pulled out infected plug and kept clean/wrapped after until scabbed again, poultices, etc.) but it recently swelled up even more, so we went to the vet and put her on antibiotics. But the swelling got worse so we went back to the vet, had an x-ray and the infection has already eaten bone in one of her toes. The vet suggested surgery to amputate the toe or euthanasia. We weighed all the pros and cons and this hen is sweet, sensitive, so attached to my daughter, and definitely a fighter. She had still acted completely happy and normal (and even now still mostly normal other than obviously the pain in her poor foot!) Since my daughter is so hands on with her ducks we decided if the hen (Ginger) gets through the surgery and they get all the infection out, we could help adjust to make sure she can still live a happy ducky life. She has that will to live, and we didn't want to take that away from her unless there isn't another option for her other than suffering.

Brought her in to vet for surgery this morning—they love ducks at this vet office and everyone was taking turns cuddling her before surgery. The surgery was successful and the vet got all the infection out (some had moved to ankle) and said the eaten bone came out easily and it was all quick. Her heart rate was normal the whole time, and they checked it every minute post-surgery—but after 10 minutes her heart suddenly stopped. They tried to revive her, but it was unsuccessful. The vet looked devastated telling us—you could tell what a letdown it was after a successful surgery for a difficult case. He said it could be some underlying issue none of us knew about—of course many of you know the anesthesia part, especially going under and coming out of it, is risky in and of itself

It's so devastating, especially because my daughter lost one of her other ducks (we got 5 ducklings spring 2021) in September 2021 to severe egg binding (and we lost some other animals to age last year). Obviously it's a thing with birds, but it's still rough when they're so attached. The duckies think of my daughter as their mama duck—the vet and techs and everyone in the office could tell she has a special bond with them (which I think made them more sad it didn't work out).

I'm also so over the bumblefoot issues. I can't believe how much bumblefoot we keep dealing with with all the ducks—they live on grass and straw primarily so I can't figure out why some of them keep getting it (while others we have don't get it at all or rarely and only mild). There must be other factors at play.

Anyway, I know many of you understand and have lost precious duckies, too. It's so sad.

 

[WIchickMama]

So sorry for your family's loss

 

[acet400]

So sorry for your family's loss

Thank you

 

[HeatherKellyB]

Oh my gosh. My heart is seriously breaking for you right now. I also have a 10 year old daughter that loves her chickens and ducks. We have a duck that had quite the tough time with bumblefoot and she also experienced some bone erosion. We took her to the vet and they only suggested euthanasia. They didn't want to amputate because that would cause her to limp and end up with bumblefoot on the other foot. I went a different route with our duck, but I shared all of that to show you that my heart goes out to y'all. Our girls are at such a tender age so I can only imagine how she's feeling. Birds don't do so well on anesthesia. This is something that happens all too often but since it's your daughter's duck, that makes it even worse. I hope you can find the words to comfort your daughter as that's a tough thing for me personally, whenever we lose a bird, to answer all of her questions and know what to say. Please know that you and your daughter are in my thoughts and
My daughter won't call any of our animals a "favorite" anymore. It always seems like the worst happens to the favorites. Of course this doesn't stop the normal cycle from happening, but it's something that helps her maybe, I'm not really sure.

 

[acet400]

@HeatherKellyB Thank you! It's comforting to know others understand, and yes, especially for our girls! It's devastating as a parent to feel helpless at protecting your child from it, on top of your own grief, on top of helping them process theirs and multiple times. Thank you for encouragement with helping to comfort her and help her process. The worst (on top of your child being in such pain and grief) is all the little reminders they are gone—one of her call drakes was in love with Ginger and has been calling for her all day. It's heartbreaking to hear him, but especially for my daughter. They really are her ducky babies. Thank you so much for your thoughts and prayers. It means a lot. And it's so sweet your girl loves her birds, too!

I know with our hen too much bone had already been eaten to avoid amputation in the toe, but I'm very curious what you ended up doing for your hen with the severe bumblefoot? (I may have misinterpreted but it sounded like you had found an alternate solution.)

 

[KaleIAm]

I'm so sorry for your loss. I understand how hard this is, and my thoughts are with you and your daughter.

 

[acet400]

I'm so sorry for your loss. I understand how hard this is, and my thoughts are with you and your daughter.

Thank you, and for your thoughts. It is so hard. It's a comfort to know there are people (like you) who understand. Thank you.