Duck postmortem, filled with grit? GRAPHIC PHOTOS

[M-machine]

We had a duck in my workplace flock that went downhill very quickly over the last week and died. I did my first amateur postmortem on her to find that her gizzard was very large and totally stuffed with gravel and almost nothing else. In hindsight I did see her out by herself in the field meticulously eating something, which I now assume to be copious amount of gravel? I’m wondering if this was a behavioral issue or if there’s a reason she ate so much grit? The only other thing I noticed was that she had almost no body fat which I attributed to nutrients being hard to process when you’re full of rocks. I work under a vet tech who is also bamboozled, and I am by no means a professional when it comes to medical exams so I’m wondering if anyone else has any experience with this?

I took necropsy photos of her which are *VERY GRAPHIC*

Thanks in advance!

 

[Debbie292d]

Ducks, chickens, etc., know when they need grit. They will excrete the excess.

Are they provided duck feed or are they just free-range? If just free range, she would be very lean as there isn't much fat in grass and bugs.

She perhaps had some type of digestive issue, though and maybe things weren't moving along in there.

Kudos on your first necropsy!

 

[M-machine]

Ducks, chickens, etc., know when they need grit. They will excrete the excess.

Are they provided duck feed or are they just free-range? If just free range, she would be very lean as there isn't much fat in grass and bugs.

She perhaps had some type of digestive issue, though and maybe things weren't moving along in there.

Kudos on your first necropsy!

Thanks! They do free range but we also provide all flock crumbles and free choice calcium grit. We did notice in the last week she was starting to self isolate and would stand out in the field meticulously eating something. I didn’t see much food material inside her so I wasn’t sure if she was just out there eating lots of grit in an attempt to self medicate. I treated her with warm epsom salt soaks and finally meloxicam when she started to show signs of acute distress but she was too far gone by that point. Her flock mates seem totally fine, just a weird situation

 

[Debbie292d]

Thanks! They do free range but we also provide all flock crumbles and free choice calcium grit. We did notice in the last week she was starting to self isolate and would stand out in the field meticulously eating something. I didn’t see much food material inside her so I wasn’t sure if she was just out there eating lots of grit in an attempt to self medicate. I treated her with warm epsom salt soaks and finally meloxicam when she started to show signs of acute distress but she was too far gone by that point. Her flock mates seem totally fine, just a weird situation

Awe, you were trying! She must've just had something wrong. It was good you looked as I'd have wondered if she'd maybe have eaten a nail or something odd like that which would cause distress. Otherwise, sometimes we just never know. Glad the others are fine though!