This is to start a thread where we can discuss duck autopsies (also called necropsies). This is a place to discuss any that we do ourselves, to explain what we find... and to learn, so that we can, sometimes, help protect other ducks.
Duck Autopsy Thread
- Thread starter Duck Hill
- Start date
thank you! Excellent idea!
Great idea, thanks for starting this thread. I just did one on a chicken. It shows what can happen if you ignore chronic soft shell laying. 
Last edited:
- Thread starter
- #4
My duck Ficelle died. She was listless for a few days and would not eat. Finally, she took a turn for the worse. When I got home from work she was dirty, cold (in spite of a warm room) and I could tell she wouldn't make it. I cleaned her up, warmed her, held her. Then, she died. She died so quietly I almost didn't know she was dead. She fluttered a tiny bit but was still looking at me and she seemed peaceful. I set her down gently and she breathed several more times, then stopped. I picked her up and petted her and she breathed a couple of times more. Then she simply didn't breathe again.
WARNING: GRAPHIC READING BELOW
Ficelle was three years old. I'm a vegetarian and not used to cutting into animals, but finally I talked myself into doing an autopsy. This was only my third ... It's hard to cut open a friend. But I was concerned - what if she died of hardware disease? Or maybe a clump of grass had blocked her gizzard? I had been feeding my ducks a lot of weeds - they love them!
Checking on her cause of death could help me save another duck.
I used a knife to cut through the skin, and then to peel away the skin from the stomach side of her. Then I opened the body cavity, cutting through the ribs and removing the front part with tin snips. The first thing that was obvious was that there were huge issues with her heart. The heart is supposed to have a right lobe that is 1/3 the thickness of the left lobe, and the entire organ is supposed to be triangular shaped (I was following a chicken autopsy guide I found online). Her right lobe was paper thin and much enlarged - I am surprised it hadn't burst. It looked like a balloon on the side of the heart, about half as big as the rest of the heart. (Both my previous duck autopsies revealed a single strong organ, not one with a balloon on the side.) A small pass of the knife opened this balloon instantly (it was filled with congealed blood - but I had waited overnight to do the autopsy and she had been in the refrigerator.) The other part of her heart, on the other hand, was harder to cut and so thick I could almost not perceive a chamber in it.
The entire outside of the heart had little black and blue places on the outside, broken blood vessels. Yet this may not be significant. Yes, at the very end, I think she died of a heart attack, but at that point she was already almost gone. I think she really died of long term heart failure.
I then noticed she had a very enlarged liver. Some reading suggests that this can be a consequence of heart failure. The liver was a healthy color and texture, but extended down to cover not only the chest area, but all the way down the body cavity to the very bottom end. I was looking for her gizzard and guts and wondered why they weren't there. Finally I had to cut away and lift the liver to finally see them.
The trachea and proventriculum were empty and looked normal. I opened the gizzard. There was no hardware disease. She had even digested the food I had given her a half hour before her death. Her gizzard was filled with quite a bit of sand, but it appeared quite normal.
Ficelle, when she was born, was helped from the egg and had absolutely no energy. For 10 days I gave her food with an eye-dropper and she did not move nor gain one gram of weight. On the tenth day she rallied and began acting like a normal newborn duckling, walking, eating, running around. For the next three years I completely forgot about her difficult start; she was one of my strongest and healthiest duck - I thought. She only had a stomach ache once (I think that's what it was) - but she quickly recovered from that. I had no idea she had a bad heart.
She was an extremely good layer, and a few times I tried to get her to stop laying and take a rest, but nothing I did seemed to slow her down much. I tried cutting back on protein, I don't use lights in winter, I tried changing her from one pen to another... Nothing slowed her down. She even laid eggs while she was molting. She laid eggs up until a week before she died.
She will be missed.
I am sharing this account to say that even without medical training, sometimes just looking inside a duck can help us figure out the cause of death. It is a hard thing to do, but it can give us information that can enable us to understand more and maybe help us help other ducks. Even though I don't have any medical training, I was able to understand some of what I saw. I know I can feed my ducks more weeds, knowing this is not what caused her demise. I know my hardware prevention program is successful, because that isn't what got her either. Knowing that alone makes the effort of doing an autopsy worth it.
WARNING: GRAPHIC READING BELOW
Ficelle was three years old. I'm a vegetarian and not used to cutting into animals, but finally I talked myself into doing an autopsy. This was only my third ... It's hard to cut open a friend. But I was concerned - what if she died of hardware disease? Or maybe a clump of grass had blocked her gizzard? I had been feeding my ducks a lot of weeds - they love them!
Checking on her cause of death could help me save another duck.
I used a knife to cut through the skin, and then to peel away the skin from the stomach side of her. Then I opened the body cavity, cutting through the ribs and removing the front part with tin snips. The first thing that was obvious was that there were huge issues with her heart. The heart is supposed to have a right lobe that is 1/3 the thickness of the left lobe, and the entire organ is supposed to be triangular shaped (I was following a chicken autopsy guide I found online). Her right lobe was paper thin and much enlarged - I am surprised it hadn't burst. It looked like a balloon on the side of the heart, about half as big as the rest of the heart. (Both my previous duck autopsies revealed a single strong organ, not one with a balloon on the side.) A small pass of the knife opened this balloon instantly (it was filled with congealed blood - but I had waited overnight to do the autopsy and she had been in the refrigerator.) The other part of her heart, on the other hand, was harder to cut and so thick I could almost not perceive a chamber in it.
The entire outside of the heart had little black and blue places on the outside, broken blood vessels. Yet this may not be significant. Yes, at the very end, I think she died of a heart attack, but at that point she was already almost gone. I think she really died of long term heart failure.
I then noticed she had a very enlarged liver. Some reading suggests that this can be a consequence of heart failure. The liver was a healthy color and texture, but extended down to cover not only the chest area, but all the way down the body cavity to the very bottom end. I was looking for her gizzard and guts and wondered why they weren't there. Finally I had to cut away and lift the liver to finally see them.
The trachea and proventriculum were empty and looked normal. I opened the gizzard. There was no hardware disease. She had even digested the food I had given her a half hour before her death. Her gizzard was filled with quite a bit of sand, but it appeared quite normal.
Ficelle, when she was born, was helped from the egg and had absolutely no energy. For 10 days I gave her food with an eye-dropper and she did not move nor gain one gram of weight. On the tenth day she rallied and began acting like a normal newborn duckling, walking, eating, running around. For the next three years I completely forgot about her difficult start; she was one of my strongest and healthiest duck - I thought. She only had a stomach ache once (I think that's what it was) - but she quickly recovered from that. I had no idea she had a bad heart.
She was an extremely good layer, and a few times I tried to get her to stop laying and take a rest, but nothing I did seemed to slow her down much. I tried cutting back on protein, I don't use lights in winter, I tried changing her from one pen to another... Nothing slowed her down. She even laid eggs while she was molting. She laid eggs up until a week before she died.
She will be missed.
I am sharing this account to say that even without medical training, sometimes just looking inside a duck can help us figure out the cause of death. It is a hard thing to do, but it can give us information that can enable us to understand more and maybe help us help other ducks. Even though I don't have any medical training, I was able to understand some of what I saw. I know I can feed my ducks more weeds, knowing this is not what caused her demise. I know my hardware prevention program is successful, because that isn't what got her either. Knowing that alone makes the effort of doing an autopsy worth it.
Iam a very strong beleiver in self educating. Even though my spelling is terrible.
You can never learn enough and being unintelligent is in style
Keep up the awesome
You can never learn enough and being unintelligent is in style
Keep up the awesome
- Thread starter
- #6
Great idea, thanks for starting this thread. I just do one on a chicken. It shows what can happen if you ignore chronic soft shell laying.
Yaiks! Yes, soft shells are a definite danger sign.
Ficelle did lay soft shelled eggs twice. Each time I promptly fed her extra oystershell (against her will, down her gullet). Each time she recovered quickly, I was happy to note.
I feed Mazuri Waterfowl Breeder. This is supposed to have enough calcium, but I am guessing that it has enough calcium for zoo type waterfowl, who typically lay a reasonable number of eggs each spring. Ficelle, on the other hand... I could never get her to stop laying - even though I tried many things to get her to take a rest - nor could I ever get her to eat oystershell on the side. She even laid right through her molt (she thought she took a "rest" by laying every other day during this period
). I now feed a bit of extra calcium to my girls who lay non-stop, knowing that the regular food is probably just a bit short. If I notice they aren't touching the free-feed oystershell, I sometimes simply sprinkle a bit on the food (of the heavy layers), maybe once a week. I haven't had any soft shells in a while, so it seems to be working.
I don't think low calcium was involved in Ficelle's death, but each time she laid a soft egg, she also had a hard time walking, so I know it was serious.
mine wouldnt touch oyster shell for anything in the world, I get oyster shell for parrots now its so small i can sprinkle it on feed and theyd never know
I think the smaller particals probably pass through them faster but i hope it helps
I think the smaller particals probably pass through them faster but i hope it helps
@Duck Hill, my condolences on Ficelle's passing. 
It sounds like her time here, while short, left a lasting impression.
And thanks for sharing your findings. For science-oriented readers, it's educational and a good reminder of why - even though it may be painful to contemplate - a necropsy can provide very valuable information.
It sounds like her time here, while short, left a lasting impression.And thanks for sharing your findings. For science-oriented readers, it's educational and a good reminder of why - even though it may be painful to contemplate - a necropsy can provide very valuable information.
Do you have a Walmart? If so get calcium citrate for people. It's with the vitamins. I got the pills which are 600mg each. I ground them up and sprinkled on top of any treats I gave them and they tore it up! After 1 week they were all good to go!
Awesome i will get that forsure
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