Mallard Drake Sudden Death

[restelle]

Hi,
My Mallard of 9 years, 8 months of age suddenly passed away this past December the 9th.

I incubated him and he's always been an indoor pet. About a week before he passed away, I noticed that he pretty much stopped following me on the way to the daily tub, but other than that all seemed normal.

The evening before he passed away, he had an excellent appetite, was energetic, his poop looked normal, no nasal discharge, no eye issues, no abnormal breathing, etc.

He just got really weak, too weak to stand and he lied down on his tummy with his legs out behind him, he held his head up like normal, but was panting. Within 20 minutes later, he went into a fit and passed away.

We always provided RO water, filtered with UV, he ate Mazuri Maintenance, and had organic spring mix for treats. He was never injured during his life and he looked the same on his passing as he did when he was only one year old.

I'm having a REAL bad time emotionally dealing with this and was wondering if anyone here could provide some insight as to why he died. His mate is perfectly healthy, so there was nothing contagious.

We buried him in a cotton blanket within an hour of his passing, so we couldn't have an autopsy.

Could it be just his age that caused him to die?

Here are a couple photos of him...

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,
Renee

 

[WhatTheDuckingDuck]

I’m so sorry about your little buddy. 9 years is a long life for a duck, my guess is he passed from old age.

 

[Henrietta 65]

I’m sorry so sorry for your lost I’m not much help about why he died he was old for a duck @Isaac 0 and @KaleIAm can you suggest anything

 

[nuthatched]

9 is like 80 in duck years, he had a good long life.

 

[HappyDuckie]

I’m so, so sorry for your loss. He lived a long life. I also would assume it could be from old age.

 

[restelle]

I’m so sorry about your little buddy. 9 years is a long life for a duck, my guess is he passed from old age.

Thank you for responding. I have a pair of two other Mallards that I raised from hatching and they are 10 and a half years old and still going strong.

 

[restelle]

9 is like 80 in duck years, he had a good long life.

The 9 years went by so fast. It seems that he was just hatched. I miss him so much that there are no words to describe the depression and grief I feel.

 

[restelle]

I’m so sorry about your little buddy. 9 years is a long life for a duck, my guess is he passed from old age.

Thank you for letting me know that that's a long life. I thought they could live 20+ years.

 

[Allthefloofs]

I'm so sorry for your loss. Your love and care is really obvious in the pictures. In reading the symptoms it's possible it was a heart attack, I assume many animals as they grow older have a greater chance of heart attack (just like us humans), but the panting and sudden onset of weakness, as well as him not following you for a normal activity the week previous could point to a cardiac issue.
That being said, I'm really sorry you lost your beloved companion. 9 years means your lives were deeply interwoven and it's very natural to feel deep grief.

 

[restelle]

I'm so sorry for your loss. Your love and care is really obvious in the pictures. In reading the symptoms it's possible it was a heart attack, I assume many animals as they grow older have a greater chance of heart attack (just like us humans), but the panting and sudden onset of weakness, as well as him not following you for a normal activity the week previous could point to a cardiac issue.
That being said, I'm really sorry you lost your beloved companion. 9 years means your lives were deeply interwoven and it's very natural to feel deep grief.

Thank you. I suppose that a heart attack seems likely. Just two weeks before he passed away, I had 5 pulmonary Embolisms and luckily survived. I'm in my early 50's.