Stanley passed Away....

[amanda_rimo]

Our one duck Stanley, just passed away last night. Stanley wasn't able to walk, so we knew she eventually wouldn't make it unless we were able to get her walking. we were just about to finish her wheelchair this weekend, but this week has been rough. she started to not eat as much and she was really slowing down. yesterday was a normal day, we let her swim before bed, and rewrapped her legs and wings. we put her down to let her eat and drink and get her medicine and her head started to do this weird thing going back and forth. we knew something was wrong. I picked her up and she usually flaps her wings, but nothing happened. She just kept moving her head. i sat down with her on my lap and just loved her and tried to calm her down and tell her its okay. it seemed as though she was going like in and out. at one point, her head went like all the way back. My girlfriend tried to give her some water because we had no idea what was happening. her head dove at the water and she freaked out, every part of her body was flapping and moving. so my girlfriend took her and just held her and walk to the front of the yard. She slowly stopped breathing and she was gone... we don't know if she had a seizure, or a heart attack, or something else. We are convinced she had something wrong internally, because at first we thought it was niacin deficiency, but we upped the niacin and saw no improvements. so the only thing we can think of is that something was going on inside that we couldn't see. It all happened so fast, it was 5 minutes...

now we have 1 duck left, Dewey. Now that we are looking at the situation and how everything happened, we think he knew she was dying. Usually when we wrap her legs, he is pecking at the chair and quacking a lot, but this time was different. He was just standing with us trying to get as close to Stanley as he can. we weren't really sure if he should see her after she passed away, but he seemed to have already known it was coming. We are trying to do our best to keep him company for now, we just bought him a stuffed animal, and we are going to add a mirror to the coop. If anyone has any other suggestions on what to do for Dewey, since he is alone now, anything is appreciated. Thank you everyone again for all the input you have given us to help Stanley as we are new to having ducks as well!

 

[Miss Lydia]

I'm so sorry to hear Stanley passed away. Was Stanley female or drake?
And is Dewy drake or female. If at all possible I'd try and find Dewy a friend. The mirror will help some but there just isn't anything like one of their own with them. You could go on your state forum and ask about anyone having a spare duck and explain what happened.

 

[Canadian Wind]

I'm so sorry. You did all you could and gave Stanley love and care beyond what most would do. It does sound like some sort of seizure.

Hopefully you can find Dewey a friend. Ducks really need others of their kind. This time of year, a lot of people are trying to rehome drakes, sometimes for free. Maybe you can find him a friend that way.

 

[CoriM]

I'm sorry for your loss. How old is Dewey? You probably need to rehome him with other ducks or get him some friends. Maybe check the forums that are state specific to find help from someone in your local!

 

[ruthhope]

Our one duck Stanley, just passed away last night. Stanley wasn't able to walk, so we knew she eventually wouldn't make it unless we were able to get her walking. we were just about to finish her wheelchair this weekend, but this week has been rough. she started to not eat as much and she was really slowing down. yesterday was a normal day, we let her swim before bed, and rewrapped her legs and wings. we put her down to let her eat and drink and get her medicine and her head started to do this weird thing going back and forth. we knew something was wrong. I picked her up and she usually flaps her wings, but nothing happened. She just kept moving her head. i sat down with her on my lap and just loved her and tried to calm her down and tell her its okay. it seemed as though she was going like in and out. at one point, her head went like all the way back. My girlfriend tried to give her some water because we had no idea what was happening. her head dove at the water and she freaked out, every part of her body was flapping and moving. so my girlfriend took her and just held her and walk to the front of the yard. She slowly stopped breathing and she was gone... we don't know if she had a seizure, or a heart attack, or something else. We are convinced she had something wrong internally, because at first we thought it was niacin deficiency, but we upped the niacin and saw no improvements. so the only thing we can think of is that something was going on inside that we couldn't see. It all happened so fast, it was 5 minutes...

now we have 1 duck left, Dewey. Now that we are looking at the situation and how everything happened, we think he knew she was dying. Usually when we wrap her legs, he is pecking at the chair and quacking a lot, but this time was different. He was just standing with us trying to get as close to Stanley as he can. we weren't really sure if he should see her after she passed away, but he seemed to have already known it was coming. We are trying to do our best to keep him company for now, we just bought him a stuffed animal, and we are going to add a mirror to the coop. If anyone has any other suggestions on what to do for Dewey, since he is alone now, anything is appreciated. Thank you everyone again for all the input you have given us to help Stanley as we are new to having ducks as well!

@amanda_rimo, I am sad for you and Stanley -- the more so as I have a duck that stopped walking 6 weeks ago.

I read back through your posts, and find that Stanley was a lot younger than my pekin drake, Ping. But Ping and I have the same issues you and Stanley faced. Unknown cause, initially thinking it was niacin deficiency -- as it may well have been -- but an acute condition becoming chronic. I understand exactly why Stanley had wet feather underneath -- so does Ping. I understand your frustration at not knowing why or how to cure the problem. I have not gone down the wheelchair option as my Ping is content to sit around all day and doesn't show any sign of wanting to walk again. i bought Ping an inflatable plastic day bed and he sits in that, on a puppy pad, up against and facing the screen in the rear porch. Ping summons the other drakes and holds forth through the screen. He has a devoted best friend forever, a muscovy drake, Pato, who spends any time he is not foraging up by Ping's side. Yesterday, Ping didn't eat or drink all day -- he remained on the same puppy pad as he wasn't pooping. I thought perhaps his end was coming [as perhaps it is] but he ate, drank and pooped overnight.

I know you did everything you could for Stanley and I feel your pain on losing him. What I have learnt is that stopping walking is actually a common ducky response to many ducky illneses and conditions. In Stanley, her inability to walk may have been from a congenital abnormality; in Pingy it may be a neurological problem as he is crested. But we can't know and can only offer the best loving care during their short lives.

Dewey definitely needs a friend -- two females if you can accommodate two, so that the three never get left alone by the passing of one. I think Dewey did need to see Stanley after she passed. Pingy's friend Pato will certainly need to see Pingy. Pato is already very angry with me all the time; I think he blames me for Ping's condition.

After the pain of losing Stanley decreases, think back on the good times she had with you. She will live on in your memories.

 

[amanda_rimo]

@amanda_rimo, I am sad for you and Stanley -- the more so as I have a duck that stopped walking 6 weeks ago.

I read back through your posts, and find that Stanley was a lot younger than my pekin drake, Ping. But Ping and I have the same issues you and Stanley faced. Unknown cause, initially thinking it was niacin deficiency -- as it may well have been -- but an acute condition becoming chronic. I understand exactly why Stanley had wet feather underneath -- so does Ping. I understand your frustration at not knowing why or how to cure the problem. I have not gone down the wheelchair option as my Ping is content to sit around all day and doesn't show any sign of wanting to walk again. i bought Ping an inflatable plastic day bed and he sits in that, on a puppy pad, up against and facing the screen in the rear porch. Ping summons the other drakes and holds forth through the screen. He has a devoted best friend forever, a muscovy drake, Pato, who spends any time he is not foraging up by Ping's side. Yesterday, Ping didn't eat or drink all day -- he remained on the same puppy pad as he wasn't pooping. I thought perhaps his end was coming [as perhaps it is] but he ate, drank and pooped overnight.

I know you did everything you could for Stanley and I feel your pain on losing him. What I have learnt is that stopping walking is actually a common ducky response to many ducky illneses and conditions. In Stanley, her inability to walk may have been from a congenital abnormality; in Pingy it may be a neurological problem as he is crested. But we can't know and can only offer the best loving care during their short lives.

Dewey definitely needs a friend -- two females if you can accommodate two, so that the three never get left alone by the passing of one. I think Dewey did need to see Stanley after she passed. Pingy's friend Pato will certainly need to see Pingy. Pato is already very angry with me all the time; I think he blames me for Ping's condition.

After the pain of losing Stanley dereases, think back on the good times she had with you. She will live on in your memories.

thank you so much for sharing your story with me! as i read it, it really resembles some of stanley's life. we only got them from tractor supply in april, so they are about 5 months old. since we got stanley, we noticed she might have had something wrong with her hips. when she was running around as a duckling, her shoulders were sticking out, but she was still getting around just like Dewey, but as time went on, she moved less and less and less. we thought it was a niacin deficiency, so we pumped and pumped her with extra niacin. we did everything we could to make sure she had the best life while she could. we has splints on her to correct her feet, to straighten them, and they seemed to work. we were just about to put her in the wheelchair this weekend coming up, but it was just too late... she enjoyed sitting in the very corner of the run and just looking around and watching, that was her favorite thing to do. she loved sitting on our laps and snuggling and she was a nose hider! when she was shy or nervous she would hide her nose... so cute. she loved neck scratches and just watching everyone and everything. she pretty much stopped preening herself at all, so we would help her get clean when she was in the pool, and we would also help her dry herself off.

we were building a wheelchair for her, because she was still trying to move around, even though she was unable to lift up her chest. She wanted to explore, the most she could, using her wings to get around. and when she used her wings, she was breaking them or damaging them. she loved when we would hold her to stand like a duck with her feet underneath her. she would get mad when we put her down from standing. She really was such a sweet girl, and we really enjoyed our time with her, no matter how frustrated we got when she would knock over the water or food. we loved her with everything in us, and we just knew we got her for a reason. We were able to give her a good life while she was alive, and that's all that matters at the end of the day. We really feel lucky to have been able to take care of her, and she didnt go to someone that wouldnt have helped her at all.

 

[amanda_rimo]

Has anyone had the experience of just buying one duck from tractor? Would they make the exception since we already have 1, but need 1 more for a friend? I know the rule is you must always 2, but would they allow it?

 

[Miss Lydia]

If that's their rule then probably not why not get 2 anyway so they can grow up together, you can't put tiny ducklings right in with an adult duck anyway.

 

[Canadian Wind]

Trios are always best, in case something happens to one of them.

 

[ruthhope]

Has anyone had the experience of just buying one duck from tractor? Would they make the exception since we already have 1, but need 1 more for a friend? I know the rule is you must always 2, but would they allow it?

Getting one little fluffie would be a very bad idea as it needs duck company as it is growing. You cannot introduce a duckling to an adult duck until it is fully feathered.