Sudden Pekin Death, Heartbroken

[CloneFly]

I'm so sorry that Rosemary has passed. The pain and sadness from watching any of our animals, wild or domesticated, can be extremely traumatizing and long lasting. Unlike others, I really can't see botulism as the cause, but always better to be safe than sorry. I have just turned my chickens into a larger part of my yard that is not mowed and not beaten to bare dirt from the chickens yet, and I am worried they will eat some of the poison hemlock which abounds here everywhere, and it's impossible to get rid of. Some risks are just part of life but we do what we can to mitigate them.

Something I would always have on hand and use often is colloidal silver. It's gotten pretty expensive and I bought my own generator almost 20 yrs ago and it paid for itself in a very short time. I use it nearly daily and I add it to my chickens waterers, (plastic not metal) a few times a week and if I see any behaviors that hint of any illness or problems I bump it up for a while and if necessary dose an individual hen ( or any other animal I have that needs it). It takes the place of so many other drugs and medicines. Also, remember that Vitamin C is an anti-toxin and with silver (or without) will neutralize food poisonings, venoms, and other poisons. The key is in the dosing. Silver will take care of food poisoning and infections, fungus, etc.

One thing my granddaughter, who was 5 at the time,said to me when we had some kittens die that was out of our control, "Grandma, sometimes things just decide they don't want to be here any longer". Wise words.

Your granddaughter is very wise...

I second on the Colloidal Silver. While not a miracle medicine, it has saved many animal's lives. We administer it directly whenever we get a new rescue and give it as a supplemental for the rest of our babies. It's worked great in cutting down recovery time for cocci (along with an antibiotic), respiratory issues, eye infections, open wounds, sores, weak animals and so on. The generator is a great idea honestly- I'll have to look into that myself.

Again, I'm very sorry for your loss... we get so close to them in the short time they are with us, and whenever one goes, a piece of our heart goes with them. Your duckies are so lucky to have a loving momma like you though

 

[countrybumpkin5]

The generator is a great idea honestly- I'll have to look into that myself.

Just an FYI on generators. I personally chose the SilverGen Auto 6 over Steve Barwicks one, which I temporarily have forgotten what his is called, for one main reason. While Steve is great, has great information, is incredibly helpful, and is kind and responsive, his generator has a timer and is not a constant current machine. The SilverGen is constant current, and will take varying times to reach whatever concentration you have your dial set to depending on starting water temperature and other conditions. It also will immediately stop if you put in distilled water that is not totally pure. I've found many off or store brands of distilled water do not work, but a few do. Here I am limited to what brands I can find and lately it's been difficult to find any for some odd reason. Another tip and that is to buy extra silver electrodes because, while they last an incredibly long time, I'm only on my 3rd one I believe since 2009 and make many gallons a week, for a while they were hard to get as the powers that be are trying to get rid of these things just like they've been trying for a long time to have Vitamin C be prescription only.

 

[freckledfairy]

Right towards the end her head and neck jarred all the way back. I really really don’t know what it could be. It’s just come on so quick and so sudden, gapeworm? I just really don’t

I’m so so sorry about your girls. It is so awful. Something very similar happened to us about 2 weeks ago. We had just recently gotten some ducklings. They were 3 weeks old and one morning my husband noticed one of the girls had a hard time lifting her head up. We spent the day trying to encourage her to move about and get in to see a avian vet. We were able to get to a farm vet and they thought it might be pneumonia and prescribed antibiotics. That night she started gasping for air, just like your Rosemary did. I stayed up all night with her and it seemed like she was doing a little bit better. Then suddenly she started panting heavily, and had a few convulsions before passing away. I considered necropsy but ultimately decided not to. Now I wish I had. I’m convinced it was botulism or aspergillosis.

 

[Flutterbudget]

Hi all,

Just needed a few days to reflect over everything and my other five ducks are fine thankfully which is such a big relief. The only thing is that Jeffrey is with his two females and then the two boys are lonesome by themselves which makes me feel rather guilty I’m just thankful that they’ve not had any issues. We’re getting a skip on Saturday to get rid of everything in the garden which is not needed and really make sure it’s perfect before I let them back out again, not wanting to take any risks. Apart from waking up fearful every morning there’s nothing else to update on. Will my two males be okay just being each others company? I’m planning on making a little memorial garden for Rosemary and Goldie, and also maybe scattering Iris’ ashes over to be with them two. (not sure if anyone followed my previous thread last year but I lost my special needs duck to a broken leg). I just want to say thanks for all the information, advice and support, if I have any issue I’m straight on here because you’re all experts of lived experience and I couldn’t ask for anything more, give yourselves a pat on the back because you’re all remarkable

 

[Flutterbudget]

I’m so so sorry about your girls. It is so awful. Something very similar happened to us about 2 weeks ago. We had just recently gotten some ducklings. They were 3 weeks old and one morning my husband noticed one of the girls had a hard time lifting her head up. We spent the day trying to encourage her to move about and get in to see an avian vet. We were able to get to a farm vet and they thought it might be pneumonia and prescribed antibiotics. That night she started gasping for air, just like your Rosemary did. I stayed up all night with her and it seemed like she was doing a little bit better. Then suddenly she started panting heavily, and had a few convulsions before passing away. I considered necropsy but ultimately decided not to. Now I wish I had. I’m convinced it was botulism or aspergillosis.

I’m so sorry for your loss it’s heartbreaking isn’t it. Same happened with rosemary, she just laid down then convulsions like you said and her neck jarring back, she looked like a little teddy as she passed away in my arms. Something I think with a necropsy, it doesn’t change the outcome and I wanted my girls together.

 

[Flutterbudget]

I'm so sorry that Rosemary has passed. The pain and sadness from watching any of our animals, wild or domesticated, can be extremely traumatizing and long lasting. Unlike others, I really can't see botulism as the cause, but always better to be safe than sorry. I have just turned my chickens into a larger part of my yard that is not mowed and not beaten to bare dirt from the chickens yet, and I am worried they will eat some of the poison hemlock which abounds here everywhere, and it's impossible to get rid of. Some risks are just part of life but we do what we can to mitigate them.

Something I would always have on hand and use often is colloidal silver. It's gotten pretty expensive and I bought my own generator almost 20 yrs ago and it paid for itself in a very short time. I use it nearly daily and I add it to my chickens waterers, (plastic not metal) a few times a week and if I see any behaviors that hint of any illness or problems I bump it up for a while and if necessary dose an individual hen ( or any other animal I have that needs it). It takes the place of so many other drugs and medicines. Also, remember that Vitamin C is an anti-toxin and with silver (or without) will neutralize food poisonings, venoms, and other poisons. The key is in the dosing. Silver will take care of food poisoning and infections, fungus, etc.

One thing my granddaughter, who was 5 at the time,said to me when we had some kittens die that was out of our control, "Grandma, sometimes things just decide they don't want to be here any longer". Wise words.

It’s definitely something isolated or something the both of them could’ve got into, surely it would have effected my other ducks if it was something contagious? Exactly, though I feel my attempts sometimes aren’t enough for my precious babies perhaps I’m too hard on myself and I’m such a sucker for animals of any kind, I’m currently nursing a bumblebee I found in their food bowl earlier today.

In regards to colloidal silver would you recommend the liquid then? I have a dog with a slight bit of lip fold pyoderma and was wondering if you think colloidal silver spray would be beneficial for it but I will absolutely get some for my ducks. Is there any particular brand or strength that I should be looking for? I have seen your generator advice and I have to admit it seems far too complex for me!

Finally, your granddaughter seems wise beyond her years, I’ll try and take a leaf out of her book and try to relax a little knowing I can only do so much. Thank you

 

[countrybumpkin5]

It’s definitely something isolated or something the both of them could’ve got into, surely it would have effected my other ducks if it was something contagious? Exactly, though I feel my attempts sometimes aren’t enough for my precious babies perhaps I’m too hard on myself and I’m such a sucker for animals of any kind, I’m currently nursing a bumblebee I found in their food bowl earlier today.

In regards to colloidal silver would you recommend the liquid then? I have a dog with a slight bit of lip fold pyoderma and was wondering if you think colloidal silver spray would be beneficial for it but I will absolutely get some for my ducks. Is there any particular brand or strength that I should be looking for? I have seen your generator advice and I have to admit it seems far too complex for me!

Finally, your granddaughter seems wise beyond her years, I’ll try and take a leaf out of her book and try to relax a little knowing I can only do so much. Thank you

Don't be intimidated by the silver generator, it's a simple as pouring distilled water in a jar, putting the top on and plugging it in. Really. The electrodes on mine just slip into a screw in cap and stay there till one is finally so thin from being dissolved that you can barely see it which is many, many, many gallons later. It does everything itself. Soverign Silver is one of the better brands, but with as many animals as you have and will continue to come across that need help, you'll be far ahead to get a generator as soon as you can. Yes, you cannot go wrong using silver on your dog.
Contagion is a whole other interesting subject and not at all what we've been led to believe for a couple hundred years now, intentionally so. Toxins are abundant and some species are certainly more susceptible to various ones than others, and don't forget the role that EMF's play on every living thing, again, not across the board with the exact same symptoms and degree of symptoms.

Lovers of animals and people are always hard on themselves, it's just what we do and who we are. Remembering some results are not ours to bring about. Everything has it's own choices to make, even the tiniest insect. Much love and peace to you!

 

[countrybumpkin5]

I’m so sorry for your loss it’s heartbreaking isn’t it. Same happened with rosemary, she just laid down then convulsions like you said and her neck jarring back, she looked like a little teddy as she passed away in my arms. Something I think with a necropsy, it doesn’t change the outcome and I wanted my girls together.

Not to be too gross and detailed, but the neck jarring back may not have anything to do with Rosemary's specific situation. I've seen innumerable animals of all species die in front of me and in my arms, and a large number have had that same action. Goats, kittens/cats, chickens. I believe it often has to do with the muscles and oxygen deprivation and nerve transmissions. The process of dying is far more complicated on a physical level than we often realize, a lot of organs and systems involved. That said, I do believe that the wonderful spirits of animals and people usually leave the body before it expires. Just my opinion based on experience and research.

 

[Flutterbudget]

Apologies to uproot an old thread but I thought I would provide a little update. After toiling away in the garden we’ve essentially cleared anything we believed could have been a risk. It took nearly a couple of months and a lot of convincing on my side to let them out as I didn’t want a repeat of last time not knowing what was wrong. Thus far everything has been fine until today I’ve noted that one of my females is not grazing with the others and just laid off to one side semi spaced out. I’ve given her 20ml of activated charcoal (1tsp diluted in around 250mls of water). As when I went to give them some tomato and pepper the other two ran to it where as she didn’t seem interested at all. I’ve had her in the bath and she seems more alert now, no head drooping or anything but perhaps a little sensitivity in the abdomen but nothing hard that I can feel unless it’s up rather high. She hasn’t laid in around 3 days. I don’t see any issues with breathing thus far just a lack of appetite which seems to have picked up as she’s had some live bugs and she’s also had a little peas that were floating about. Any advice? Do you think it’s the same thing striking twice or am I being over dramatic and panicking too much? Is there anything else I can do? Can she go back with the other two? As always, thank you for your unwavering knowledge and support

 

[CoriM]

It's probaby not the same issue. How old is she? Is she a pekin as well? I think it's fine to let her out with the others if that's where she's most comfortable.