Mysterious Death

[olijo123]

Hi all! I had a Muscovy duck that suddenly passed away yesterday. She was only 2 years old and was a small duck. I was hoping to get some guesses on her death. Yesterday morning we were feeding everyone when I noticed she was sitting by the coop breathing heavily and flapping her wings. We walked over to her and picked her up, she then stopped flapping her wings and the heavy breathing went on. She started to close her eyes and around ten seconds later she was dead. We were shocked about this because the day before she was fine. My guess is a heart attack?? If anyone has a guess to what this could be let me know! Thank you

 

[Judy]

I'm sorry. That's probably as good a guess as any, though there are certainly other possibilities.

You might want to contact your state vet or ag college for information about having a necropsy done, for future reference. They usually have specific requirements about the condition of the body, and fees are usually small or it may even be free, as in California. Some people also do their own necropsy; even an amateur can see several things. Especially if other members of the flock ever seem ill, this can be valuable information to have handy.

 

[olijo123]

Thanks! I will have to look into it!

 

[casportpony]

Sorry for your loss... The wing flapping and breathing were most likely just death throes, not symptoms, FYI.

If you're going to have a necropsy don, refrigerate, do not freeze.

Some labs listed by State:
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/nahln/downloads/all_nahln_lab_list.pdf

-Kathy