Sudden Death in Khaki Campbell

[laurarosie]

Hey everyone! This is my first post on the forum even though I've been stalking threads here for a few months!

Sadly, one of my female Khaki Campbell ducks passed away suddenly today and I am trying to figure out why.

The ducks are almost 5 months old, and they all seem to behave normally. Until recently they were eating a grower feed, mixed with oats and brewer's yeast. They also get treats every now and then and often have free roam of my backyard. I live in a rural area surrounded by hay fields. They have two water sources: a kiddie pool which gets changed every morning and a pond which is cleaned once a week. They like to play in puddles and dig in mud. I change their coop bedding once a week as well.

This morning I noticed the strange behavior: my girl Pip was hesitant to leave our coop. She spent most of the day in the coop, sitting down low to the ground with her eyes closed. I did not see any other signs of disease or discomfort. Because I'm new to duck raising, I assumed she might just be getting ready to lay for the first time. Unfortunately I came home tonight and found her lying dead on her side in the coop. I'm heartbroken and shocked because I don't know what went wrong.

Has anyone else ever experienced this? I'm going to clean out all of the ducks' things in the morning and hope it doesn't spread to the rest of them. Any responses are appreciated.

 

[laurarosie]

》》 also I started added 2 cups of a layer feed to their food mix each morning. This started about a week ago. No one else has showed these symptoms!

 

[K.Riggs]

I have no idea but just wanted to say sorry for the loss

 

[laurarosie]

Thank you.

The more reading I'm doing, I'm wondering if she was just egg bound and I didn't recognize the symptoms. She was the smallest of my females. :/

 

[K.Riggs]

Thank you.

The more reading I'm doing, I'm wondering if she was just egg bound and I didn't recognize the symptoms. She was the smallest of my females. :/

That did cross my mind. I hope someone has some ideas.

 

[CayugaJana]

I had a black swedish duck do the same thing a few weeks back. I didn't get home from work in time to do anything about it. She was normal that morning and dead that evening. I believe she ate a mushroom (since it has rained quite a bit lately) or some lilies in the yard and it poisoned her. I'm pretty new to raising ducks too so I didn't know what was wrong or how to help her. She would just sit there with her eyes closed and was really still. But I know now how to flush them of toxins if found soon enough. And yes it is heartbreaking!

 

[laurarosie]

I appreciate your posts! All my other ducks are doing just fine so I don't think it was a toxin or disease. Hopefully in the future my posts will be a little more positive.

 

[luvmyduck]

I had a black swedish duck do the same thing a few weeks back. I didn't get home from work in time to do anything about it. She was normal that morning and dead that evening. I believe she ate a mushroom (since it has rained quite a bit lately) or some lilies in the yard and it poisoned her. I'm pretty new to raising ducks too so I didn't know what was wrong or how to help her. She would just sit there with her eyes closed and was really still. But I know now how to flush them of toxins if found soon enough. And yes it is heartbreaking!

Hello, my crested duck is 3 yrs old. She lives in the house with us and I adore her. This morning she started acting strange. Lethargic and weak. I've been on websites all day trying to figure out what's wrong with her, shes just laying down right now but if I get up she gets up and slowly chases me then lays or stands falling asleep waiting for me to lay back down with her. Shes so precious to me, I can't loose her. I'm currently looking for a vet to take her to but might not be able to do that till tomorrow. Please any advice would help. Something was said about flushing them for toxins?

 

[CayugaJana]

Yes you can look here.....

https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...-chicks-becoming-worse-need-help-asap.358625/

Try to get them to drink as much as possible to flush the toxins if that's what's making her sick.

@Miss Lydia you have any advice for anything else?

 

[luvmyduck]

Thank u for your reply. I held off on trying anything for awhile so I wouldn't stress her even more. Sounds bad but I'm not sure what she could have gotten cause she seems to like to pick up anything sometimes ( although she won't just eat anything for me, shes rather picky). She seemed to start to feel better the more she tested although it late when I noticed more of a difference. She ate a bowl of her food. Today she seems OK although not all together herself, I hope more rest will help
I was wondering I should still "flush" her? Thanks for your help. I searched the internet for answers, I'm not good with internet lol, and this is the most helpful site?