My baby Molly is 13 1/2 years old and She's going BALD.

[restelle]

My Mallard hen named Molly has been going BALD for a few months and the vet ( a Cornell University Avian specialist ) says that we are in "uncharted territory" due to Molly's age. After a thousand dollars in vet bills, NOTHING has changed.

Molly is my baby. I never had children, but she's the closest to having children that I can imagine.

If she dies, so will I.

She IS my LIFE.

She is COMPLETELY normal other than the feather loss.

I don't know what to do. I have used Ivermectin, etc, She lives only indoors and has lots of sunlight through her bay window.

She has always had R.O. water, Organic romaine, and Mazuri feed.

What am I missing?

Is she just in the phase of dying of old age or what? I don't want to **** this up and have her death be my fault.

 

[nuthatched]

I'm sorry to hear that.
13 years old is pretty dang old, her body just might be redirecting resources to more essential things.
I'd just make sure she stays warm and happy.

 

[Jenbirdee]

awwww you have taken such good care of her to live this long already.
what is RO water?

 

[restelle]

awwww you have taken such good care of her to live this long already.
what is RO water?

R.O. water is water that's been purified via Reverse Osmosis.

 

[restelle]

I'm sorry to hear that.
13 years old is pretty dang old, her body just might be redirecting resources to more essential things.
I'd just make sure she stays warm and happy.

Thank you so much. Your explanation is the best I have sever heard. Too bad the vets don't know half of what you do!

I do keep her warm. She has two heating pads and we keep her area at 78 degrees.

She gets a bath every other day and then I wrap her in a towel to dry her off so she doesn't get chills.

She acts and seems as happy as ever. Here's her latest photo....

 

[nuthatched]

Thank you so much. Your explanation is the best I have sever heard. Too bad the vets don't know half of what you do!

I do keep her warm. She has two heating pads and we keep her area at 78 degrees.

She gets a bath every other day and then I wrap her in a towel to dry her off so she doesn't get chills.

She acts and seems as happy as ever. Here's her latest photo....

I'm just guessing, it happens with a lot of elderly things, so why not ducks?
If she's acting normal, I wouldn't worry.
Loosing an elderly pet is never enjoyable, but you have given her a great life and maybe there's some rescue ducks in your area that also need some tlc, when she passes, which doesn't sound soon.

 

[restelle]

I'm just guessing, it happens with a lot of elderly things, so why not ducks?
If she's acting normal, I wouldn't worry.
Loosing an elderly pet is never enjoyable, but you have given her a great life and maybe there's some rescue ducks in your area that also need some tlc, when she passes, which doesn't sound soon.

I did adopt a female Rouen about 10 years ago from the Humane Society and she's very healthy and has all her feathers.

I can't adopt after my babies are passed. I'm too old and my health is not good, so I can't make a long term commitment and be able to provide a good life for others.

13 years ago seems like yesterday.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

After a thousand dollars in vet bills, NOTHING has changed.

That's not true.. You've done everything in your power to help your beloved friend including seeking the advice of well respected professionals. Knowing this when her time comes will comfort you SOME and is priceless in my eyes/heart/experience.

Yes a part of me died with Daisy May and those were especially dark times (3 years DEEP).. now a part of her lives on inside of me and still lights up my life! Our memories and LOVE are not gone, I see her everywhere I look (was painful at first but now enlightening).

Sorry you both are facing this. I do have kids, but pets are no less than that.. True love doesn't see race, religion, species, etc.

 

[restelle]

That's not true.. You've done everything in your power to help your beloved friend including seeking the advice of well respected professionals. Knowing this when her time comes will comfort you SOME and is priceless in my eyes/heart/experience.

Yes a part of me died with Daisy May and those were especially dark times (3 years DEEP).. now a part of her lives on inside of me and still lights up my life! Our memories and LOVE are not gone, I see her everywhere I look (was painful at first but now enlightening).

Sorry you both are facing this. I do have kids, but pets are no less than that.. True love doesn't see race, religion, species, etc.

I'm really sorry about your loss. I never had any children, but I consider Molly to be my child.

 

[Fawkes]

I'm sorry she has feather loss but at least she seems OK within herself. What kinds of treatments/tests did the vet try? For $1k, I would assume she had some tests that would tell you how she's doing from old age at least? E.g. a blood test that indicates organ function. If so, then at least you got something out of it that way.

My pets are precious members of the family and it's really hard when one isn't in good health or is getting old.

I have quite a few ducks that are 8+. The oldest, one is 10 1/2, two others will be turning 10 soon, another will be 12 in early June. All muscovies. So I often wonder how long ducks live...you hear 10-20 years typically but that's quite the age gap and not really an average. It's tricky to tell because a lot of people's ducks die from predators or from infections that went unnoticed as birds can hide their illness so well.

Whereas we tend to have a better idea of how long a dog breed will live based on other people's experience since dogs aren't quite as vulnerable/fragile and they're easier to find a good vet for.

My 10 1/2 year old has some kind of respiratory infection and I feel the same way about him as you do your Molly