Daphne’s “push through ‘til winter” thread

[Daphne_loves_mealworms]

3 weeks in. How many more until she’s made it through? 3 years ago, she still had issues in mid-October. However she was a young duck of only 2 years at the time. Last year, she stopped in very early September. I’m hoping that we are more than halfway through.

Rough evening yesterday. Calcium administered. Unshelled egg overnight. Back to her normal lively and happy self this AM!

It sounds rough, I admit it. If she had this issue year-round and didn’t respond to treatment, I would consider euthanasia. However, she spends most of her time as the liveliest and most outgoing duck I’ve known. If we can make it just a bit longer, she can have a nice winter to rest full of cuddles with her sisters!

She’s just been tucked in to the duckio. I didn’t have to work this AM, and the weather is perfect, so everyone had a nice long foraging walk!

 

[Daphne_loves_mealworms]

Fine yesterday AM. DH reported that Daphne needed calcium when I got home from work last night after dark. Woke her up to medicate her. Unshelled passed overnight. Fine now. On we go!

 

[Miss Lydia]

Your wonderful to stay with her through this time. Hopefully soon she'll be done for this year.

 

[Daphne_loves_mealworms]

Well, she made it an extra day this time! Looked great first thing yesterday, but needed Calcium in the early afternoon. She was back to normal in the PM and looked good this AM. I was in a rush this AM, so I haven’t yet been able to check if she passed anything overnight.

 

[Daphne_loves_mealworms]

And still we continue! Calcium needed last night. An egg that fell somewhere on the spectrum between “just covered by a membrane” and soft-shelled passed overnight. Back to normal now.

Daphne says “wake me up when September ends”!

 

[Miss Lydia]

Bless her heart. Hopefully less daylight will get her system slowed for winter.

 

[KaleIAm]

My ducks have stopped laying for the year. They are a bit older than Daphne, but I hope she can get her break soon, too.

 

[Daphne_loves_mealworms]

My ducks have stopped laying for the year. They are a bit older than Daphne, but I hope she can get her break soon, too.

Thank you! She’s now gone 4 nights without needing “emergency” Calcium, which is encouraging! She has passed 2 unshelled eggs in that time frame, but without struggle, apparently. I think we are getting close, at least for Daphne.

Her younger sisters haven’t shown any signs of slowing down, although the Muscovies have always just stopped suddenly in past years. They are still speaking in their summer language, the chirpChirp! of the broody, or “peri-broody” Muscovy. Matilda still produces her sweet little green egg daily as well.

3 years ago, Daphne was still laying in mid-October. However, she was 2 and 1/2, rather than 5 and 1/2. Last year, she stopped laying on September 3rd. The year before that, she went slightly longer.

So, we must be close!

How old are your girls? Have you made any changes to diet or overall care as they’ve aged? Have you noticed any physical changes? Have any gone through “henopause”? It’s hard to find information regarding the care of older mallard-derived ducks! It’s even hard to find accurate lifespan info. For large breed mallard-derived ducks, I’ve read anything from 5 to 12 years. I can’t imagine that Daphne will make it 12 years, but I’d like to do the best for her as she approaches her “senior citizen” stage of life!

 

[KaleIAm]

Thank you! She’s now gone 4 nights without needing “emergency” Calcium, which is encouraging! She has passed 2 unshelled eggs in that time frame, but without struggle, apparently. I think we are getting close, at least for Daphne.

Her younger sisters haven’t shown any signs of slowing down, although the Muscovies have always just stopped suddenly in past years. They are still speaking in their summer language, the chirpChirp! of the broody, or “peri-broody” Muscovy. Matilda still produces her sweet little green egg daily as well.

3 years ago, Daphne was still laying in mid-October. However, she was 2 and 1/2, rather than 5 and 1/2. Last year, she stopped laying on September 3rd. The year before that, she went slightly longer.

So, we must be close!

How old are your girls? Have you made any changes to diet or overall care as they’ve aged? Have you noticed any physical changes? Have any gone through “henopause”? It’s hard to find information regarding the care of older mallard-derived ducks! It’s even hard to find accurate lifespan info. For large breed mallard-derived ducks, I’ve read anything from 5 to 12 years. I can’t imagine that Daphne will make it 12 years, but I’d like to do the best for her as she approaches her “senior citizen” stage of life!

Hehehe, I really appreciate the word, "peri-broody," being in the peri stage of life myself. Thank you for that. :-D

This is my first time with older ducks, so I'm learning as I go with help from my avian veterinarian. I only have 2 ducks now.

Nettle, 7.5 years. She looks like a dark khaki campbell, but she could be a mix because she was a pond rescue. Her age is also unknown so she could be older or possibly a little younger. I guess that she was a year when I got her because it was spring and she was already laying, going broody, ect. Nettle is interesting. At first she laid an egg every day all year around. After a couple of years she laid every day, but in the winter every other day. For the last couple years she took the winter off. And this summer there is no logic. She will lay for 3 weeks every day, and then nothing for a month. Then she'll lay a a couple eggs a week, then back to daily, then back to nothing, and repeat. Now she has laid nothing for the last 5 weeks, with the exception of one super thin shelled egg. I hope this means she's going to stop laying eggs completely and my days of egg production worry will be over soon! Her eggs are HUGE lopsided and she has a history of laying paper thin shelled eggs that sometimes break while partially inside her. She has never been egg bound, but I'm paranoid.

Pigweed is 6.5. She is a welsh harlequin. I got her as a day old duckling, so I actually know! Pigweed was laying daily until just a week ago when she started molting. I assume she won't start back up again until spring since that is what happened the last few years. When she was younger she would still give me a few eggs over the winter, but she is a lot less committed now. Pigweed is my only duck who has not had reproductive issues!!! She did get egg bound one time, but it was the same evening that she flew into the barn and broke her pelvis. I blame the pelvis not the reproductive system. As soon as they gave her pain medication she passed the egg.

I've spoken to you before about Thimbleberry and her reproductive issues - but it was a year or two ago. She passed away in the spring time. She was 7 when we lost her, but she was from the same pond rescue so I am just guessing on her exact age based on the same conditions as Nettle. Thimble was a crested pekin. Thimble started having reproductive issues around 1.5 years old and had surgery to remove weird egg material masses that got stuck to her oviduct. She had issues with egg binding when she was younger. When she was older she would accumulate eggs inside her abdomen and not lay them. The vets could see dozens of follicles in various stages of development. She didn't lay any eggs for about the last two years of life, she just dumped them into her abdomen. We were able to mostly control her issues with strict environmental protocols. Food restriction, daylight schedules, and pretend hurricanes. She was able to have a good quality of life, usually keeping up with her sisters and going on happy foraging walks everyday. In the end the salpingitis and reproductive cancer got too much, and I had her euthanized at the vet. She had stopped eating and there wasn't any treatment for her aside from narcotic pain relief.

I've had three other ducks. Two of them also passed away from reproductive issues. One at age 2.5 (cayuga) from reproductive cancer. One at age 4.5 (khaki campbell, guessing, pond rescue) from EYP. I have had necropsies on all my ducks so there has been diagnostic proof, not guesses. My other duck (welsh harlequin) who passed away at age 2 from aspergillosis had chronic egg binding which we were able to manage with the birth control implant.

So, no henopause yet, but I'm really hoping. Both my ducks have slowed down, but really only this last year has been significant aside from taking the winters off.

I agree that finding information about older ducks can be difficult. The lifespan thing is challenging, too. I've taken my ducks to the vet and done everything recommended for them, and I'm very dedicated. I have a 24/7 emergency avian vet. They have saved my ducks' lives, more than once. My ducks just feel so medically fragile, and I've had so many losses despite veterinary care that I can't imagine them living to 12. Though, I have seen members here saying goodbye to their ducks of that age, it does seem to be uncommon.

My vet made sure that I was feeding them Mazuri as they got older. We did see an improvement in their yearly bloodwork when I switched over. She said that nutrition is more important as they age. I don't really know anything about avian nutrition, I only do what my vet tells me. For Thimbleberry we were supposed to not feed her layer pellets - just maintenance. The other ducks we are supposed to feed them layer pellets.

The other thing I'm noticing is that my ducks seem to be getting injured more. It could be a coincidence. They rarely seemed to get injured when they were younger. So I'm removing obstacles that they can climb on, for example I used to keep a bale of straw inside their barn room and now I've got it in the hay room that they don't go into. And I'm trimming their wing feathers so they can't, "fly," into the walls when they are excited to see me and break their pelvis bones. *grumble grumble* Before Thimble passed away she had arthritis in her feet, and so soft surfaces as they age can become extra important for pain prevention/relief. Thimble was also very cold and shivering in her last winter/spring, so I bought her a sweeter heater. Nettle seems to love it, so I'll put it up for her this year.

For physical changes, I really haven't noticed any significant ones aside from what I mentioned above. They seem to be less obsessed with water than when they were little. Instead of playing in the pool for 2 hours they'll get in for 15 minutes. I don't think it is because they are tired because they'll go for a 2 hour walk with me. *shrug* They seem more comfortable getting farther away from each other. Pigweed will go back inside the barn by herself sometimes if she wants something, and that would have never happened 2 years ago. Pigweed and Nettle love to go on walks, forage, and loudly demand that I come to the barn and serve mealworms. They are very important.

Unless there is a medical issue I haven't noticed changes. If one of my ducks starts to slow down I think it can be dangerous to the duck to assign that symptom to, "old age." It could arthritis, and pain relievers and environmental changes could help. Or it could be a major medical condition like Thimbleberry had. The first sign was that she was slower and had less energy. So, personally, I always take my ducks to the vet for changes like that.

Hopefully that helps. <3

 

[Daphne_loves_mealworms]

Hehehe, I really appreciate the word, "peri-broody," being in the peri stage of life myself. Thank you for that. :-D

This is my first time with older ducks, so I'm learning as I go with help from my avian veterinarian. I only have 2 ducks now.

Nettle, 7.5 years. She looks like a dark khaki campbell, but she could be a mix because she was a pond rescue. Her age is also unknown so she could be older or possibly a little younger. I guess that she was a year when I got her because it was spring and she was already laying, going broody, ect. Nettle is interesting. At first she laid an egg every day all year around. After a couple of years she laid every day, but in the winter every other day. For the last couple years she took the winter off. And this summer there is no logic. She will lay for 3 weeks every day, and then nothing for a month. Then she'll lay a a couple eggs a week, then back to daily, then back to nothing, and repeat. Now she has laid nothing for the last 5 weeks, with the exception of one super thin shelled egg. I hope this means she's going to stop laying eggs completely and my days of egg production worry will be over soon! Her eggs are HUGE lopsided and she has a history of laying paper thin shelled eggs that sometimes break while partially inside her. She has never been egg bound, but I'm paranoid.

Pigweed is 6.5. She is a welsh harlequin. I got her as a day old duckling, so I actually know! Pigweed was laying daily until just a week ago when she started molting. I assume she won't start back up again until spring since that is what happened the last few years. When she was younger she would still give me a few eggs over the winter, but she is a lot less committed now. Pigweed is my only duck who has not had reproductive issues!!! She did get egg bound one time, but it was the same evening that she flew into the barn and broke her pelvis. I blame the pelvis not the reproductive system. As soon as they gave her pain medication she passed the egg.

I've spoken to you before about Thimbleberry and her reproductive issues - but it was a year or two ago. She passed away in the spring time. She was 7 when we lost her, but she was from the same pond rescue so I am just guessing on her exact age based on the same conditions as Nettle. Thimble was a crested pekin. Thimble started having reproductive issues around 1.5 years old and had surgery to remove weird egg material masses that got stuck to her oviduct. She had issues with egg binding when she was younger. When she was older she would accumulate eggs inside her abdomen and not lay them. The vets could see dozens of follicles in various stages of development. She didn't lay any eggs for about the last two years of life, she just dumped them into her abdomen. We were able to mostly control her issues with strict environmental protocols. Food restriction, daylight schedules, and pretend hurricanes. She was able to have a good quality of life, usually keeping up with her sisters and going on happy foraging walks everyday. In the end the salpingitis and reproductive cancer got too much, and I had her euthanized at the vet. She had stopped eating and there wasn't any treatment for her aside from narcotic pain relief.

I've had three other ducks. Two of them also passed away from reproductive issues. One at age 2.5 (cayuga) from reproductive cancer. One at age 4.5 (khaki campbell, guessing, pond rescue) from EYP. I have had necropsies on all my ducks so there has been diagnostic proof, not guesses. My other duck (welsh harlequin) who passed away at age 2 from aspergillosis had chronic egg binding which we were able to manage with the birth control implant.

So, no henopause yet, but I'm really hoping. Both my ducks have slowed down, but really only this last year has been significant aside from taking the winters off.

I agree that finding information about older ducks can be difficult. The lifespan thing is challenging, too. I've taken my ducks to the vet and done everything recommended for them, and I'm very dedicated. I have a 24/7 emergency avian vet. They have saved my ducks' lives, more than once. My ducks just feel so medically fragile, and I've had so many losses despite veterinary care that I can't imagine them living to 12. Though, I have seen members here saying goodbye to their ducks of that age, it does seem to be uncommon.

My vet made sure that I was feeding them Mazuri as they got older. We did see an improvement in their yearly bloodwork when I switched over. She said that nutrition is more important as they age. I don't really know anything about avian nutrition, I only do what my vet tells me. For Thimbleberry we were supposed to not feed her layer pellets - just maintenance. The other ducks we are supposed to feed them layer pellets.

The other thing I'm noticing is that my ducks seem to be getting injured more. It could be a coincidence. They rarely seemed to get injured when they were younger. So I'm removing obstacles that they can climb on, for example I used to keep a bale of straw inside their barn room and now I've got it in the hay room that they don't go into. And I'm trimming their wing feathers so they can't, "fly," into the walls when they are excited to see me and break their pelvis bones. *grumble grumble* Before Thimble passed away she had arthritis in her feet, and so soft surfaces as they age can become extra important for pain prevention/relief. Thimble was also very cold and shivering in her last winter/spring, so I bought her a sweeter heater. Nettle seems to love it, so I'll put it up for her this year.

For physical changes, I really haven't noticed any significant ones aside from what I mentioned above. They seem to be less obsessed with water than when they were little. Instead of playing in the pool for 2 hours they'll get in for 15 minutes. I don't think it is because they are tired because they'll go for a 2 hour walk with me. *shrug* They seem more comfortable getting farther away from each other. Pigweed will go back inside the barn by herself sometimes if she wants something, and that would have never happened 2 years ago. Pigweed and Nettle love to go on walks, forage, and loudly demand that I come to the barn and serve mealworms. They are very important.

Unless there is a medical issue I haven't noticed changes. If one of my ducks starts to slow down I think it can be dangerous to the duck to assign that symptom to, "old age." It could arthritis, and pain relievers and environmental changes could help. Or it could be a major medical condition like Thimbleberry had. The first sign was that she was slower and had less energy. So, personally, I always take my ducks to the vet for changes like that.

Hopefully that helps. <3

Yes, this was very helpful! Thank you so very much for taking the time to write such a thoughtful and detailed reply!