My 11.5 year-old pet Maya Drake died last month,I am heartbroken and I have so many questions.

[Ducktify]

I am from Beijing,China and I am a middle-aged woman.My 11.5 year old pet duck:a Maya Drake(also called Chinese Brown Duck who had green head and looked quite like Mallard) died last month and I am truly heartbroken and I have the feeling that I cannot move on.It's like part of my heart and my zeal for life had been taken away from me forever.

I might share his story as my pet and as my precious family member some day, but now I have some questions I want to ask about, though my pet duck already died but I really want to know more about some of the questions I have had for some time but when he was alive I did not make efforts to find answers.And since he had always been a hardy and happy fellow I was confident that I was doing things right like feeding and housing etc. But after he died I can not sleep so I searched many English resources about raising ducks then I come to know I had done many wrong.

If I could only have searched all those valuable information earlier or at least when he entered his mature years (for the past 2 years),I always said I wanted him to live long and healthy life and to be with me as long as possible but I did not make efforts to learn all the scientifically proved things about raising ducks and I really hate myself.

To be continued

 

[RoyalChick]

Don’t be too hard on yourself. I don’t know anything about ducks but it sounds like he had a good long life.
We all learn from our mistakes and you have found the right place to ask questions.
Welcome to BYC, I am sure we would all love to see pictures as a tribute to your friend.

 

[Jenbirdee]

i’m so sorry for your loss. waiting to hear the rest of your story.

 

[Ducktify]

Thank You to RoyalChick and Jenbirdee.I didn't expect such prompt comments.And when I read your comments I cannot hold my tears back.I cannot stop blaming myself and I cannot stop missing my pet Duck Yaya.My mom is also really really sad about his death so I restrain myself from talking about this at home. And I am reluctant to talk about how I feel to my friends.Here,I know I have come to the right place.

Yes,we all learn from our mistakes.But my mistake is a matter of life or death for my pet duck and my mistake resulted in his death.

Here is a photo of me and Yaya taken by my mom last year when Yaya was approaching his tenth birthday.

 

[Callender Girl]

Your duck was truly beautiful, and I know you are heartbroken that he's gone. I've cried endless tears over pets I've loved and lost. I also know what it feels like to blame yourself for a "mistake" that ended your bird's life. It doesn't help you or Yaya to blame yourself for something you didn't know.

None of us can know everything, not even veterinarians. I lost a young hen once when a veterinarian gave her a medicine that I later learned was not appropriate for the illness she was suffering.

You gave your Yaya a longer life that any of my ducks -- who are well cared for with good food, strong shelter, medical care when it's needed -- has ever lived. I've read that the average life span for a domestic duck is about 10 years, and your boy easily passed that.

Life ends for us all, and your duck lived a great life. The sad truth is, we usually live longer than they do. At least that means they are cherished and cared until their lives end. Maybe it's silly of me, but I believe animals, including birds, can feel when someone loves them. Yaya lived to be a well-loved old man.

It's hard to imagine now, but someday, your heart will begin to heal.

Post on BYC whenever you need to. People here understand.

Take care.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I am so sorry for your loss, Yaya was very handsome and lived a long loved life. Cherish the memories.

 

[Ducktify]

Your duck was truly beautiful, and I know you are heartbroken that he's gone. I've cried endless tears over pets I've loved and lost. I also know what it feels like to blame yourself for a "mistake" that ended your bird's life. It doesn't help you or Yaya to blame yourself for something you didn't know.

None of us can know everything, not even veterinarians. I lost a young hen once when a veterinarian gave her a medicine that I later learned was not appropriate for the illness she was suffering.

You gave your Yaya a longer life that any of my ducks -- who are well cared for with good food, strong shelter, medical care when it's needed -- has ever lived. I've read that the average life span for a domestic duck is about 10 years, and your boy easily passed that.

Life ends for us all, and your duck lived a great life. The sad truth is, we usually live longer than they do. At least that means they are cherished and cared until their lives end. Maybe it's silly of me, but I believe animals, including birds, can feel when someone loves them. Yaya lived to be a well-loved old man.

It's hard to imagine now, but someday, your heart will begin to heal.

Post on BYC whenever you need to. People here understand.

Take care.

Thank you so much.I really appreciate all that you said from the bottom of my heart.I will pull myself together but I am also ready to live with tremendous pain and guilt.I will continue to post to ask those questions in my head.Yaya was so unique and he was really hardy genetically.He was always low maintenance.And I truly believe he had the potential to live for 20 years but somehow I was the hindrance.The reason why he passed 10 years was not my caring and keeping but it's him as a hardy and sweet boy.

 

[Ducktify]

QUESTION No.1 Yaya accidentally swallowed a pit of longan last year and I do not know what really happened afterwards.

I would like to ask Question No.1 about my passed away pet duck Yaya.

I had always known that some kitchen scrap and household litter could be dangerous for Pet Duck to swallow and I had found that Yaya would love to go through dustbin so I always put the kitchen dustbin on a shelf which Yaya could not reach.And the dustbin in living room was much bigger and it was not likely that Yaya could reach the stuff inside.

Last summer(when Yaya was 10 years old),I bought a bag of Thailand longan and while I was dumping one pit into the dustbin in the living room(the dustbin was very deep and at that particular time it was empty so I was expecting the pit would drop to the bottom),Yaya was near me and he quickly jumped to swallow the quite big pit of longan from the air.

I searched a longan picture but the actual pit Yaya swallowed was even bigger than those in the picture.

I was frightened because that pit was definitely too big for duck
esophagus. I was in fear that Yaya would choke.

And I thought the pit was too big for Yaya to throw it up.(Yaya used to throw up unprocessed peanuts in 2021 which was the only year I fed him unsalted roasted organic peanuts in half and he was crazy about eating them and it was my fault to feed him too much at a time because I did not know the risk of feeding too many nuts to duck back then.)

Yaya seemed frightened too and I could see discomfort and confusion in his eyes.Then he run back to where he always slept and I followed him and watched him.

I watched the horrifying pit bulge slowly moving down his neck and Yaya moved his neck back and forth a little and then the pit went down to his chest area so it was not a bulge anymore.

Yaya was standing still for like less than half a minute then he dipped into his water bowl and drank some water.

Then Yaya walked about in his normal way but also in a state of sort of shock.

Then after a while he seemed fine and active.

I was hoping the pit of longan was not poisonous like cherry pit and it would not stuck or tear anywhere inside the digestive system and I hoped I could see the whole pit in his poop for the next days but I did not see it or anything like smashed pit.

I wondered is it Ok for a duck to swallow that big pit? and since I did not see anything in any form like that pit in his poop,could that mean he had digested it fully or could the pit be stuck/left in his stomach or anywhere ever since?

Thanks in advance for any knowledge or thoughts about this.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Was Yaya able to be outside at all? where he could find grit naturally? or did you give him grit?

here is all I could find and it is related to dogs but if Yaya ate a seed when he was 10 and lived 1 and a half years more I doubt the seed had anything to do with his death.

Longan seeds contain saponin, which can cause irritation in the dog's stomach, leading to diarrhea, vomiting, and nausea.2 Longan flowers and seeds are rich in polyphenols and proanthocyanidins, which have been researched for supporting heart and immune health.4 Longan is native to Southeast Asia and widely cultivated in Thailand, Vietnam, Taiwan, and China. Longan can be processed to obtain essential oil or extracts, and it plays a salient role in traditional Chinese medicine.3 Longan shells are a choking hazard and can lead to intestinal obstruction in dogs if swallowed.0 Longan is not recommended for dogs as it contains saponin.2 Longan is often used in Asian soups, snacks, desserts, and sweet-and-sour foods.1

 

[New duck mommy 2021]

I’m so sorry for your loss
These birds attach to our hearts like no other pet
I don’t think he could live another 1.5 years after eating the pit if it was going to be what killed him
But I’m not an expert
Having a duck live over 10 years is Amazing
Be proud of yourself for giving him such a loving and long life
I can only hope I get that long with mine