2 sudden Deaths

[GoBlue86]

Our cayuga (Dorothy) and Indian runner (Topanga) both passed away suddenly. Dorothy died three days ago and we had a necropsy done. The pathologist said there was nothing obviously wrong with her and by all accounts she was a healthy duck. Her ovaries were slightly red, that was the only abnormality. She hadn't laid an egg in about a week before she died (she's a great layer but likes to hide and hoard her eggs, she was very broody and maternal, so we just figured they were hidden somewhere like usual). The pathologist said best guess is a possible bacterial infection. This morning we found Topanga dead, exact same circumstances, hadn't laid in a week and died in the pond.

Any ideas what could have happened? If bacterial, what type? What caused it? Really would like some answers to help us grieve and prevent this from happening to the others. Thanks so much!

 

[KaleIAm]

I'm so sorry to hear about Dorothy and Topanga.

Are you going to get another necropsy? Did you have any tissues sent off? One time a visual necropsy of my duck revealed some abnormal findings, but the tissue samples revealed a lot more. It's a lot more expensive, but might be worth it.

Another thing to think of might be having a duck taken into your avian veterinarian for bloodwork. They should be able to tell if there is an infection.

 

[Duckiiess]

How old were they? Do they free range? Could've gotten into a bad batch of mushrooms maybe? Sorry to hear