Welsh Harlequin Just Died For No Reason?!

[Vyctoria]

Hello, I'm sorry if this is a bit vague, but I'm trying to find reasons on why I found my Welsh Harlequin dead tonight in her run. I have(or had) four ducks, all currently 6 1/2 weeks old. I have a small closed coop for them with a fenced run. I keep food and water in the coop at all times(currently on Nutrena Chick Grower Non-Med, plan to switch to less protein at 7-8 weeks) and a kiddie pool out in their run. For the kiddie pool I have a big rock inside to give them a step up and all around the outside we have built up wood chips(really big chunks) to allow them to walk into the pool. I change the water every few days, but can they get toxic from drinking the water if it's not clear? The only treats they get are handfuls of red kale and blueberries(only a couple times a week).

I'll admit, I took a nap and woke up late, after dark. When I went to put them in for the night, the other 3 were already in their coop drinking and she was dead out in the run by the pool. She was laying stretched out on her stomach with no visable signs of any wounds. No blood, no discharge anywhere. Eyes and vent area looked clear. Nothing looked broken. I had just checked on them 4-5 hours earlier and she acted completely normal.

My father posed the suggestion that maybe she choked on something and now I'm paranoid that maybe she attempted to eat a smaller wood chip and got impacted? I do work at a vets office and I'm considering asking if they'd be willing to cut her open and see. I hate to have to do that, but I'd like to know what is going on for the sake of my other ducks. I'm so new to this and I feel so stressed out. This could have been my fault. I plan on raking up all of he wood chips tomorrow just in case, but I need to figure out a method for them to get in and out of the pool safely. Any suggestions?

 

[neetabeamie]

That is so sad. I'm sorry that happened.
I would find out if you could with An autopsy to see the cause of death like you said " for the other ducks"
You could use paver stones or make a ramp our of wood with shelf liner attached to it so they have grip.
Again so sorry

 

[Vyctoria]

Well, I brought her to work and they did an exploratory on her. The vet said everything looked really healthy and there was no signs of impactions. Pretty dumb-founded as to the cause.

 

[neetabeamie]

I was just reading up on bee sings because another person on here had a duck that may have been stung and I found that ducks can be Allergic to bee stings. She May have been allergic, gotten stung by a bee and died.

 

[Vyctoria]

Wow, that's incredible. I never knew.

 

[Quackalackin]

That's awful, I'm sorry. I've only had adult ducks so I haven't paid much attention to the duckling related threads, but I've seen other incidents of ducklings dying without noticeable cause. Human babies sometimes, horribly, suffer from SIDS, so maybe something similar is happening in the duck world?

 

[klemele]

So today my male Muscovy duck died today, I am pretty dumbfounded as to why this happened. There was no discharge and no symptoms to diseases. There was no blood or cuts that could lead to that. If I could have some answers as to why this happened that would be great. I took my other duck out imediatly and disinfected the food and water dishes just for a precaution. Any answers would be great!!

 

[Amiga]

I responded over on the Emergencies Forum.

Sometimes ducks can have heart problems, sometimes they eat something poisonous, get bitten by venomous snakes . . . . hard to know exactly without a necropsy.

 

[klemele]

Okay, now I am worried that his mate isnt taking this lightly, she has a female buddy right now and am buying another male asap. Do you think she could die from sadness and grieve?

 

[Amiga]

She is probably grieving. I thought Romy was going to die just a couple days after her bff passed away. Give her some vitamins in her water, make sure she has really good food, some of her favorite treats, and talk to her about it. Seriously. I would sit with her and tell her how you feel, and offer her some words of comfort. I cannot say ducks understand every word, but some of them seem to understand tone of voice and body language.