Woke up to a dead duck

[Fireflylane]

Any one with any information about ducks please help. I have 2 pekin and 2 sweedish/khaki mix ducks all about 3 months old and healthy as can be. They have 2 pools full of water which i change every other day .a coop with pine shaving bedding qhich is also changed every other day. They get fed twice a day 1.5 cups of chicken pellets which i was told is good for them . and so far i Havent had any troubles but i woke up this morning and went to lwt all my babys out and when i opened the door my one pekin was laying dead .it broke my heart. There are no wounds on her and just a little spot of blood on her bill which looks like she wipped it on her feathers. From the seems of it she was ok yesterday even playing with the water hose when i was cleaning their pools. All poop seems normal. Im just at a loss right now and these are my first ducks. Im scared because a friend told me it could be a disease and that they may all die but if thats the case wouldnt i have seen some warning signs? I know they didnt eat dinner last night or much of it but the other 3 are eating breakfast now. Please help i dont want to lose more babys

 

[HelplessHomeSteader]

I'm not a vet, nor am I experience as these guys. I had a similar incedent a few months ago. If there was no signs of stress or Illness I guess I would ask do they free range? Was there a chance he swallowed something metal, drank chems from around property. I'm pretty sure mine drank some gas off the top of a mower I had under my porch. Ducks love to eat shinny things, many mysterious death are related to this.

 

[HelplessHomeSteader]

Also you can find much before nutritional advise just by reading a few good post here this site rocks for info.

 

[townchicks]

Sorry to hear about your duck. It is always shocking to find one dead. Your best bet is to send the duck to your state lab for a necropsy. Wrap her in a plastic bag ag put her in the refrigerator or a cooler with ice, not in the freezer, while you contact them. They can advise you on the best way to ship her.

 

[chickens really]

Possibly a weasel or was drowned or injured during breeding?..Explain more details.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Very sorry for your loss getting a necropsy is the only way to know for sure unless you see wounds under her feathers.

 

[casportpony]

So sorry for your loss. As others have already said, a necropsy is the only way to know. Contact this place and see if you can make arrangements for a necropsy. Refrigerate the body until you are ready to ship it.
http://www.ncagr.gov/vet/ncvdl/

 

[TSOWOATNKC]

If you have the stomach for it, you can do your own unofficial necropsy. Some causes of death are more obvious from an observation of the inside.

 

[Fishkeeper]

Definitely check if there's anything they could have gotten into, and a necropsy is a good idea. However, if the bird just died with no prior signs, it could be something like an aneurism or other defect that had nothing to do with anything else.

 

[Flockandfowl46]

It may be hardware disease
https://www.fresheggsdaily.com/2015/07/preventing-hardware-disease-heavy-metal.html?m=1
Sorry for your loss hun