duck died in her sleep? helpppp

[quaasi]

dunno if this is the right place to post this but we’re just really confused and want to figure this out
so all of our pekins were happy and healthy yesterday and equally as peppy when they went into their duck house last night, but this morning when we let them out one of them was just.... dead, and we can’t figure out why
the other two ducks are doing great but the third one looks like she died in her sleep, she looks downright comfy
they’re pinned in there wasn’t anything bad she could have gotten her little hands on and she didn’t seem sick at all yesterday
do ducks just sometimes peace out? is that a thing?

 

[HeyHeyWW]

How old was your duck? If it was old then it most likely died of old age.

I don't have much experience with ducks. But something similar happened to one of my chickens. She was a young pullet, and one day I go to check on my chickens to see her dead. I still don't know what happened to her, but I think that she could've eaten something poisonous because she was fine the day before.

Could it be that your duck ate something poisonous? If you let them out to roam free, they could've eaten some insect that could've killed her.

I'm sorry about your duck.

 

[Miss Lydia]

They can actually be really sick and because they are preyed on can hide their sickness until just about dead or dead. Or heart attack or infections we can't see. Egg bound, a necropsy would give you closure and in sure none of the others are sick.

How old and was she laying?
Very sorry for your loss.

 

[johntfs]

Like I told Jemima Duck, a poster who'd lost a set of hatchlings, if you really want to find out (because you're concerned about it repeating), you should take the duck to a vet and have her necropsied (animal autopsy) to determine her cause of death. It will probably cost you some, but that's less than you'll pay if there's something environmental/infectious that could kill your whole flock.

BTW, your state might be different and this article might be out of date, but you might be able to get your duck necropsied by the state for free: https://www.recordnet.com/article/20131207/A_BIZ/312070320

 

[quaasi]

thanks for all your suggestions guys! i’d really like to be able to get a necropsy but the nearest bird vet is like an hour away, or does it have to be a vet or....?
they’re pinned in for the winter and there’s nothing poisonous growing in there, they all have access to food and water and they don’t get picked on by the chickens plus they have their own insulated area for sleeping at night, we were thinking maybe she somehow got a tiny piece of glass because the folks who owned the land before us decided to make their own dump on the property but we cleaned that up years ago and anyway idk how she’d be able to find it buried in the snow..
she was only a few months away from being a year old and as far as we know she’d never laid an egg, which now that i think about and am actually looking it up it sounds.... odd, i guess we assumed she’d start up next spring since she came into age in the fall

but yeah i dunno, it’s sad
having a drink tonight for chungus

 

[johntfs]

thanks for all your suggestions guys! i’d really like to be able to get a necropsy but the nearest bird vet is like an hour away, or does it have to be a vet or....?
they’re pinned in for the winter and there’s nothing poisonous growing in there, they all have access to food and water and they don’t get picked on by the chickens plus they have their own insulated area for sleeping at night, we were thinking maybe she somehow got a tiny piece of glass because the folks who owned the land before us decided to make their own dump on the property but we cleaned that up years ago and anyway idk how she’d be able to find it buried in the snow..
she was only a few months away from being a year old and as far as we know she’d never laid an egg, which now that i think about and am actually looking it up it sounds.... odd, i guess we assumed she’d start up next spring since she came into age in the fall

but yeah i dunno, it’s sad
having a drink tonight for chungus

A private vet is likely to be costly. First, try calling your state's Department of Agriculture. You're apparently in New York. You can call them at (518) 457-3502 or email them at [email protected] to ask them about getting a state-provided necropsy.

 

[Ratchnick]

Did you have a heat lamp in the coop?

 

[natem1270]

I'm sorry for your loss... glad to hear the rest of the flock seems to be doing well.

 

[DuckyDonna]

thanks for all your suggestions guys! i’d really like to be able to get a necropsy but the nearest bird vet is like an hour away, or does it have to be a vet or....?
they’re pinned in for the winter and there’s nothing poisonous growing in there, they all have access to food and water and they don’t get picked on by the chickens plus they have their own insulated area for sleeping at night, we were thinking maybe she somehow got a tiny piece of glass because the folks who owned the land before us decided to make their own dump on the property but we cleaned that up years ago and anyway idk how she’d be able to find it buried in the snow..
she was only a few months away from being a year old and as far as we know she’d never laid an egg, which now that i think about and am actually looking it up it sounds.... odd, i guess we assumed she’d start up next spring since she came into age in the fall

but yeah i dunno, it’s sad
having a drink tonight for chungus

You might be right about glass or trash being the cause. I'm really nervous about that in my run too because the more they poke around in the dirt the more they are uncovering all sorts of crap like nails, screws, staples, etc. It's all old stuff too from previous owners of the property. It makes me nervous and I check with one of those magnet pole things everyday but still. Very easy to miss!

 

[Suedan]

I am so sorry for your loss.