Duck died

[ega005]

Hey, I have five ducks and haven’t had any issues with them, really. They are about a year and held old. A few months ago one became egg bound and it took a few hours and she was fine after laying. Then the other day I had another one become egg bound and she was fine within an hour. I just went outside to put the ducks up for the night and in the laying house I found one of my ducks dead. She was just sprawled out, no blood, no sign of injury. I have no clue how she could of died. Maybe egg bound? But I didn’t feel any egg on the bottom of her. Any idea what could randomly kill her?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Welcome To BYC

I'm sorry to hear about your Duck. Unfortunately, often we don't know what caused one to die unless a necropsy is performed.

If you lose another in a short period of time, sending the body to your state lab can give you information or if you are up to it, sometimes doing your own informal investigation can reveal what has happened.

I don't know a lot about Duck care, but if you are finding that your girls are having problems with laying eggs, it may be time to evaluate what you are feeding/providing them to see if any changes or supplements are necessary.

Tell us what you feed and provide for your girls and hopefully those that raise Ducks can offer some suggestions or changes if necessary.

@Miss Lydia @shawluvsbirds

 

[Everose]

Hey, I have five ducks and haven’t had any issues with them, really. They are about a year and held old. A few months ago one became egg bound and it took a few hours and she was fine after laying. Then the other day I had another one become egg bound and she was fine within an hour. I just went outside to put the ducks up for the night and in the laying house I found one of my ducks dead. She was just sprawled out, no blood, no sign of injury. I have no clue how she could of died. Maybe egg bound? But I didn’t feel any egg on the bottom of her. Any idea what could randomly kill her?

I had a duck with no prior symptoms die in the nest kinda sprawled out. When I opened her up I found what looked like broken egg parts sloshing around in her, the smell was quite foul even though she hadn't decomposed yet. I suspect the egg was stuck and broke, she had been trying to pass it which is why she was in the nest. Sometimes trauma or trouble passing an egg can kill them, if the egg broke inside of her it would be hard to feel it like in my case, and the infection can kill pretty quickly.
I would recommend opening her body cavity and neck to see if there's a broken egg, fat deposits on her organs, cancerous growth, or bit of food she choked on.
Do you keep oyster shell around for them?