Our duck Marley died today. She was almost a year old. I feed her floating pond food by Mazuri along with our other two ducks 1 male, 1 female. I also give them a large head of romaine lettuce each day and they are free to roam on my small piece of property for bugs. Marley from time to time would lay a soft shell egg. I should have seen the signs that there was a problem but I missed them as she was active and healthy and eating like a little pig. Two days ago I did not get an egg from her. Yesterday I saw a no shell egg by the pond. I was not sure which of my females was not laying as I was getting one egg. I thought okay keep an eye out for two hard eggs tomorrow. Each night as the sun is going down I call the ducks and they go into their safe houses for the night. Last night when I called only two ducks came. Marley was laying down by the side of the house. I thought that was strange but after we went to her and she went to her house for the night. This morning when I woke up and went to let them out only two ducks came out of their houses. I looked in and she had this bigger than a golf ball piece of her insides hanging out of her rectum. I honestly in a million years never expected to see that. I brought her in and put her in a warm bath and tried to make sure the area was clean and sanitary. I read the putting honey on it would help shrink it. I got a spray bottle and some powdered calcium and kept her hydrated while she was in there forcing her to drink by spraying it in her mouth. They say you can push this thing back in, Hers had a tube and then a golf ball hanging from it. I turned her upside down to see if there was a way to push it back in but it would never have gone in like it was. I was in touch with a vet waiting for them to get back to me. I don't even know if surgery would have saved her. She died in my arms about 2:30 this afternoon. I feel so sad, what if.... If only. I wish I had seen the signs. If I would have taken a minute to really look her over last night maybe I could have seen this thing coming out before it got so big. But yesterday she was out in the yard playing and with her other duck friends, eating, happy. I really didn't see this coming. What a horrible way to die.
