What else besides poison would make a duck vomit

Ninjadawn

Chirping
Oct 25, 2022
21
36
51
My 2 year old pet duck ChoonChu just passed away and I do not why.
When I let ChoonChu and her chicken buddy out in the morning she did not run for her breakfast like normal & she didn't want to walk her eyes were not as wide open as normal so I thought she may of had an egg stuck as it has happened before and a warm bath usually helps, it did not this time. (more on eggs later) I kept her inside all day and she was lethargic and didn't really want me to touch her then her poop became all white but she did have a big one that was super hard (brown green white) I put her in another warm bath that evening and let her float for some time her breathing seemed labored in the tub. Still hasn't passed any eggs. A little before 4 am she vomited some white and clear stuff and by 4:30 am she died. I am so heartbroken I tried to get her into the vet but they said all they would do is put her down because of bird flue. She did stumble 3 times on the way to the house that morning but think it was because of the ice.
What would make her vomit? She didn't eat anything all day just drank water. She did not get into any kind of poison so I don't know what caused her to throw up does anyone have any ideas? I have a Barred Rock hen I do not want to lose and they shared a house.
She did walk a little like a penguin so I really thought it was a stuck egg if one or more broke inside her would it make her throw up? And does infection set in and kill them in a single day?
I am just so upset and don't know what else I could of done to help her. She loved to be petted and would lay down flat and let me pet as long as I wanted to I loved that duck.
I need to know what happened to her it was so sudden like less than 24 hours as she seemed fine when I put her to bed. Any help figuring this out will be greatly appreciated. The chicken seems just fine still.
 
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My 2 year old pet duck ChoonChu just passed away and I do not why.
When I let ChoonChu and her chicken buddy out in the morning she did not run for her breakfast like normal & she didn't want to walk her eyes were not as wide open as normal so I thought she may of had an egg stuck as it has happened before and a warm bath usually helps, it did not this time. (more on eggs later) I kept her inside all day and she was lethargic and didn't really want me to touch her then her poop became all white but she did have a big one that was super hard (brown green white) I put her in another warm bath that evening and let her float for some time her breathing seemed labored in the tub. Still hasn't passed any eggs. A little before 4 am she vomited some white and clear stuff and by 4:30 am she died. I am so heartbroken I tried to get her into the vet but they said all they would do is put her down because of bird flue. She did stumble 3 times on the way to the house that morning but think it was because of the ice.
What would make her vomit? She didn't eat anything all day just drank water. She did not get into any kind of poison so I don't know what caused her to throw up does anyone have any ideas? I have a Barred Rock hen I do not want to lose and they shared a house.
She did walk a little like a penguin so I really thought it was a stuck egg if one or more broke inside her would it make her throw up? And does infection set in and kill them in a single day?
I am just so upset and don't know what else I could of done to help her. She loved to be petted and would lay down flat and let me pet as long as I wanted to I loved that duck.
I need to know what happened to her it was so sudden like less than 24 hours as she seemed fine when I put her to bed. Any help figuring this out will be greatly appreciated. The chicken seems just fine still.
Firstly I am so sorry for your loss, that must've been so heartbreaking.
Your vet is extremely out of order, I can't believe they said they would put her down. Especially without even testing for bird flu!! Unbelievable, I would furious.

In this situation it could have been a number of things, if you see those symptoms again in any of your flock, I would give activated charcoal to them ASAP in case they ate something toxic. It could be a plant they ate, or chemicals used on plants, chemicals leaked into the ground etc.

With egg problems, if that is suspected, its best to give them a good dose of calcium gluconate, either the duvet liquid version (1ml over a treat), or a supplemental powder version (1tsp over treat).
Calcium gluconate works wonders at getting an egg moving.

The other big thing here would be getting to a vet, which I am so sorry you were unable to do. It might be a good idea to look for another vet (avian or exotics vet), if you have any close enough, as personally I wouldn't be happy with your current vet.

So, guessing what killed her is pretty difficult, and it's impossible to say either way without a necropsy. But we might be able to narrow down the possibilities and try to ensure your remaining bird's safety.

So a couple questions, and forgive me if I missed any information in your post:

What feed was she on? Did she have access to oyster shells?
Was she just with a chicken? No other flock members?
Is the chicken eating normally, and active as usual?
Your chicken will now be lonely, would you consider adopting another chicken as a friend for her?
 
I am very sorry you lost your beloved duck .
I agree with @BelovedBirds it's very hard for us to say what might have killed her, they hide their sickness so well that most of the time they are very sick before we even know.

I hope you'll consider getting another chicken or duck for your hen that is left alone now, she will be very lonely.
 
My 2 year old pet duck ChoonChu just passed away and I do not why.
When I let ChoonChu and her chicken buddy out in the morning she did not run for her breakfast like normal & she didn't want to walk her eyes were not as wide open as normal so I thought she may of had an egg stuck as it has happened before and a warm bath usually helps, it did not this time. (more on eggs later) I kept her inside all day and she was lethargic and didn't really want me to touch her then her poop became all white but she did have a big one that was super hard (brown green white) I put her in another warm bath that evening and let her float for some time her breathing seemed labored in the tub. Still hasn't passed any eggs. A little before 4 am she vomited some white and clear stuff and by 4:30 am she died. I am so heartbroken I tried to get her into the vet but they said all they would do is put her down because of bird flue. She did stumble 3 times on the way to the house that morning but think it was because of the ice.
What would make her vomit? She didn't eat anything all day just drank water. She did not get into any kind of poison so I don't know what caused her to throw up does anyone have any ideas? I have a Barred Rock hen I do not want to lose and they shared a house.
She did walk a little like a penguin so I really thought it was a stuck egg if one or more broke inside her would it make her throw up? And does infection set in and kill them in a single day?
I am just so upset and don't know what else I could of done to help her. She loved to be petted and would lay down flat and let me pet as long as I wanted to I loved that duck.
I need to know what happened to her it was so sudden like less than 24 hours as she seemed fine when I put her to bed. Any help figuring this out will be greatly appreciated. The chicken seems just fine still.
Welcome to BYC! I’m so sorry about your hen. :(
 
I am very sorry you lost your beloved duck .
I agree with @BelovedBirds it's very hard for us to say what might have killed her, they hide their sickness so well that most of the time they are very sick before we even know.

I hope you'll consider getting another chicken or duck for your hen that is left alone now, she will be very lonely.
Thank you I actually loved her she was fun to have. I found her in a big box with a ton of other babies but she stood up the tallest quacked the loudest and looked me right in the eye the whole time so I picked her up and said you are the one I want.
Yes I will get another buddy for my chicken as soon as I can. She is sleeping in the house tonight again.
The duck loved my big cat too and would nibble on him while chattering away and the cat would love up on the duck. It was cute to watch.
 
Firstly I am so sorry for your loss, that must've been so heartbreaking.
Your vet is extremely out of order, I can't believe they said they would put her down. Especially without even testing for bird flu!! Unbelievable, I would furious.

In this situation it could have been a number of things, if you see those symptoms again in any of your flock, I would give activated charcoal to them ASAP in case they ate something toxic. It could be a plant they ate, or chemicals used on plants, chemicals leaked into the ground etc.

With egg problems, if that is suspected, its best to give them a good dose of calcium gluconate, either the duvet liquid version (1ml over a treat), or a supplemental powder version (1tsp over treat).
Calcium gluconate works wonders at getting an egg moving.

The other big thing here would be getting to a vet, which I am so sorry you were unable to do. It might be a good idea to look for another vet (avian or exotics vet), if you have any close enough, as personally I wouldn't be happy with your current vet.

So, guessing what killed her is pretty difficult, and it's impossible to say either way without a necropsy. But we might be able to narrow down the possibilities and try to ensure your remaining bird's safety.

So a couple questions, and forgive me if I missed any information in your post:

What feed was she on? Did she have access to oyster shells?
Was she just with a chicken? No other flock members?
Is the chicken eating normally, and active as usual?
Your chicken will now be lonely, would you consider adopting another chicken as a friend for her?
Thank you so much! She was on the Purina duck food there was a bowl of oyster shells inside the duck house and outside by the food dish I always kept it full but she hasn't eaten any in a long time would not eat egg shells anymore either. She had her favorite thing in the world every morning...peas and they would get snacks during the day and just about every night when I put them to bed she did enjoy a little hard cat food sometimes also loved canned cat food but the snacks were mostly romaine lettuce and occasionally green leaf lettuce grape tomatoes and some kind of fruit I tried to keep her water clean. She had eaten the green leaf lettuce the night before this happened and some tomatoes. Could it be the green leaf or tomatoes? The chicken ate some too but not nearly as much. I have given brewers yeast vitamins and extra calcium but those never made a difference on her eggs. At first they were beautiful sometimes with double yokes but then she started to have no shells on the eggs and I would find a collapsed shell in a different spot she did lay a parakeet sized egg with a shell once. I have not found any eggs in several months. I don't understand how she could be malnourished with all the fruits and vegies she ate. Could the peas every morning cause a build up of something? Everything I could find to read said peas were ok to feed her.
I was super shocked when the vets office told me they would only put her down, I did not realize till after the conversation over a million chickens in the town across the river either died already or were positive for the bird flue. Not certain of that situation. I am 99 percent sure she did not have that.
Yes it was just the duck and chicken no other birds just the 2 cats she only cuddled up to the cat that is allowed outside.
Unless my neighbor fed her some kind of poison she did not get into anything in our yard or inside the house... ( I did let them in, they would watch ducks on you tube sometimes or just take naps near me)
The yard has been covered in snow. I am at a complete loss unless the lettuce or tomatoes are contaminated. I don't want to give the chicken any till I know. Do you know where or how to get them tested? Health department?
I will get another friend for Lil Rooster soon as soon as I can I just hope it will be as friendly with me as ChoonChu was.
I hope you can help me figure this out. And the chicken does not seem sick at all. If I missed any of your questions please let me know.
Thank You!
 
Fresh fruit and veggies should be washed really good before we feed them to ourselves or our critters, Most have pesticides on them, not saying this is what killed her but we just don't know.
Again I am very sorry for your loss:hugs
That's so sweet to have your hen inside so she won't be lonely.
 

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