My duck just died - no idea why - what should I do? Have 3 others

[Mashie]

Hello - I'm fairly new to ducks and would appreciate some help. One of my 4 ducks has suddenly died. What should I do?

She is one of 3 white Campbells; I also have a Cayuga - they are rescue ducks and I don't know their age, had them a couple of months.

For a few days she hasn't been playing with her sisters - just eating, swimming and sitting separately. I thought they were giving her the cold shoulder, but she seemed ok. Yesterday she didn't arrive for breakfast (she was out foraging on our half acre pond) but more unusually she didn't come for supper and lockup. Usually they are really eager for food. I fetched her in, picked her up and couldn't find anything wrong. Her breathing was fine, no bird flu symptoms. No obvious injury. Thought her crop might be a little swollen to look at but that does happen sometimes and it was barely noticeable.

She wasn't interested in food or water once she was in her pen with the other ducks.

This morning she made it onto the pond but was drifting sleepily in the shallows, not dabbling. She was the same this afternoon but when I came back an hour later she was dead in the water.

I am not sure if she was laying or not -- from 3 white ducks we get 2 eggs a day, but I don't know which wasn't laying or even if it was the same ducks laying every day.

We'll bury her, but what else should I do? The other ducks seem fine. Should I disinfect their coop (we're days away from putting them into a new one).

Really sad - was close to getting the vet, but she really just seemed lacklustre and sleepy.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I am very sorry for your loss. As for what may have caused her death it's just no way of knowing without a necropsy. She could have been egg-bound that is a pretty common reason for losing a female.

 

[Mashie]

thanks... Being egg bound seems likely, from the symptoms.

Is there anything I could have done?

Their coop is quite warm (we have had a sudden cold, wet spell which I read can cause it). I very rarely touch them, they are quite shy (were being kept pretty much in a box when I acquired them, they adore having a big pond and follow me round the garden because I'm the food provider.

They have layers pellets so should have the right minerals.

I wish I had tried to ease it out, if it was an egg. :-(

 

[BelovedBirds]

thanks... Being egg bound seems likely, from the symptoms.

Is there anything I could have done?

Their coop is quite warm (we have had a sudden cold, wet spell which I read can cause it). I very rarely touch them, they are quite shy (were being kept pretty much in a box when I acquired them, they adore having a big pond and follow me round the garden because I'm the food provider.

They have layers pellets so should have the right minerals.

I wish I had tried to ease it out, if it was an egg. :-(

I'm sorry for your loss
Do they have access to crushed oyster shells?
Layer pellets are okay but don't have the levels of calcium they need to lay, so it should be supplemented in a separate dish so they can take what they need.
In the case of an egg bound hen, there are a couple of things you can do, to give them a calcium boost and to help the egg out. But even if that was why she passed, don't beat yourself up too much- we're all still learning about these things!
Are you certain the other three are girls? No drakes?
Again, I'm really sorry for your loss!

 

[Miss Lydia]

It could have been other things to even related to egg issues EYP for one. Just really hard to know. There are things to try and help them lay an egg if they are having trouble. Calcium Gluconate is a good stand by and anyone with female poultry should have some it is a liquid and is given orally 1ml by mouth or over a treat. Usually, only one dose is needed but sometimes it takes many as @Aunt Angus found out recently. Some have used calcium citrate and tums if nothing else is available but since this is what a vet used to help a member's duck pass her egg the calcium gluconate to me is the best. Also having them soak in a warm tub can help them relax enough to lay. Sometimes you can see the vent pulsing and their tail will pump they will lay on the nest for hours with nothing happening.
I bet they are very happy with their freedom, It's always so nice to hear stories of rescues and how they blossom after getting into a wonderful enviroment.

 

[Mashie]

I'm sorry for your loss
Do they have access to crushed oyster shells?
Layer pellets are okay but don't have the levels of calcium they need to lay, so it should be supplemented in a separate dish so they can take what they need.
In the case of an egg bound hen, there are a couple of things you can do, to give them a calcium boost and to help the egg out. But even if that was why she passed, don't beat yourself up too much- we're all still learning about these things!
Are you certain the other three are girls? No drakes?
Again, I'm really sorry for your loss!

thanks -- I thought layers had extra calcium, will get them some shells.

I was told they were all girls. The Cayuga has paired up with a local semi-wild mallard (an orphan we hand-reared a couple of years ago). I put her eggs into the nest with the duck I thought was broody. The mallard isn't at all interested in the campbells, he just shoos them away and watches his girl, who is 3 times his size. He pinches their food too, but we usef to feed him anyway.

When they follow me round the garden, the Cayuga marches along in front, then the campbells, then the mallard.

 

[Mashie]

It could have been other things to even related to egg issues EYP for one. Just really hard to know. There are things to try and help them lay an egg if they are having trouble. Calcium Gluconate is a good stand by and anyone with female poultry should have some it is a liquid and is given orally 1ml by mouth or over a treat. Usually, only one dose is needed but sometimes it takes many as @Aunt Angus found out recently. Some have used calcium citrate and tums if nothing else is available but since this is what a vet used to help a member's duck pass her egg the calcium gluconate to me is the best. Also having them soak in a warm tub can help them relax enough to lay. Sometimes you can see the vent pulsing and their tail will pump they will lay on the nest for hours with nothing happening.
I bet they are very happy with their freedom, It's always so nice to hear stories of rescues and how they blossom after getting into a wonderful enviroment.

thanks again - I'm feeling much less guilty thanks to the kind comments.

EYP sounds possible. One of the ducks has a badly formed egg about every 10 days (no proper shell, or a small egg pushed out with a tube-like tail. As they roam a lot I don't know if this is always the same duck or if it is the one who never lays.

I'll get the calcium gluconate. Trying to learn as much as I can.

See my other note about their mallard friend. The ducks are adorable enjoying their new landscape and freedom. You should have seen their first encounter with a real pond (I had to fish one out with a fishing landing net -- their feathers were in such poor condition they barely floated). But they quickly became at home, and they do somersaults underwater now.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Aw poor thing having to be fished out with a net. I am sure they are loving their pond and home.
I saw that about the Mallard made me laugh about his girlfriend being so much bigger. made me think of my tiny OEGB rooster who loves the LF hens here he can't mate them since he is so tiny and they are so big so he just stands on their back. They sure make life enjoyable don't they?

 

[Chicken poppy]

Sorry for your loss