Please help if you can with duck's cause of death - necropsy photos included

[JadeComputerGal]

I can get them if I click quote where you posted they come up for me there. and beleive me they are not grafic enough for a mod to take them off.
Oh good they came up.

Maybe I made a mistake in putting all the returns in the post. I did that so people who might not want to see them didn't have the pics pop right up in their face when they opened the post, so they'd have to intentionally scroll to see them.

 

[Amiga]

Doing further research on plants used for cordage - those would most likely have very sturdy fibers.

from http://www.primitiveways.com/cordage_in_North_America.html

The stem sections of many different plants hold useful cordage fibers. Plants such as nettle, dogbane, velvet leaf, milkweed, prairie flax, thistle, and fireweed are valued for their quality fibers. I have processed many hundreds of feet of stinging nettle, dogbane, and milkweed cordage.

 

[JadeComputerGal]

Doing further research on plants used for cordage - those would most likely have very sturdy fibers.

from http://www.primitiveways.com/cordage_in_North_America.html

The stem sections of many different plants hold useful cordage fibers. Plants such as nettle, dogbane, velvet leaf, milkweed, prairie flax, thistle, and fireweed are valued for their quality fibers. I have processed many hundreds of feet of stinging nettle, dogbane, and milkweed cordage.

Thanks so much, Amiga, and all. I'm losing my mind over this. The state vet says she can't let us come look at the sample in person. I thought that might tell us more than the pictures. I called my regular avian vet and asked him if he can have the material shipped to him so we can look at it. I'm sure they just destroy all this stuff anyway if they don't find signs of infectious disease. Like I told Dr. Bob, I can understand why the state vet can't let us come into the lab, but I don't understand why she can't just bag the sample, which is probably already done, and bring it into the lobby for us to look at it.

I'm scared to death this is going to affect some of the other ducks.

 

[Reurra]

I could be wrong, but are those feathers mixed in? Look just like down feathers that come out of my son's jacket.

 

[Amiga]

I think there is some wisdom to your concern - at the same time, I am balancing that thought in my own mind with the fact that duck behaviors are different. David Holderread lost a duckling because it filled its tummy up with grit and did not eat. But that was unusual.

 

[jtn42248]

Crazy thing is that the pictures remind me of something and I can't place it. I know things like lemon grass have fibers in them almost like bamboo. With this much in the gizzard there would probably have not been enough room for any grit to grind things down.

 

[needlessjunk]

Hmmm... I think they look like feathers too, but I'm sure the vet would of known if that was it. Quite puzzling...

 

[Miss Lydia]

Did you ever figure out what that material is?

 

[JadeComputerGal]

Did you ever figure out what that material is?

Yes, yesterday afternoon I got what's still considered an interim report back from the facility. The material matched the nesting pad sample we took in. I missed the doctor's call because I was on a conference call, but I'm thinking it's considered interim because a couple of the toxicology results still aren't back from the lab. They typically wouldn't declare a cause of death until all results are back even if they're 99% sure what the cause was.

I feel so guilty over this. I was the one who researched nest pads and bought these. I'm terribly upset over it. Once I can get my thoughts sorted out, I'm going to search back through my BYC posts to find the ones where I've said what a huge fan of nesting pads I was. I need to put a caution in those about what happened to us. I also have no idea what we're going to use for nesting material next year. I'm afraid of pine chips for the same reason, don't like using pellets in nest boxes, and all I can think of is straw, which I also don't favor. We'll probably go with straw even though it's not very absorbent and degrades quickly when it gets wet. I'm hoping that won't be a problem since ducks normally don't use the bathroom in nests, and at least straw pieces are too big for them ingest a lot of it.

 

[Amiga]

Some of the best ideas do not work for all ducks. Many here use puppy pads. My ducklings were excellent at tearing them open and trying to eat the absorbent material. Mine ate shavings. I used old towels. But many people do well with puppy pads or shavings for ducklings.

Like Holderread's duck that filled its belly with grit and did not eat, there are ducks that make those fatal mistakes. I think you are kind to share your experience with us, though, so that we can be aware of yet another risk.

I wonder if chopped straw might do the trick if you put sawdust pellets underneath to absorb moisture - perhaps with some Sweet PDZ under all that?