Duck Autopsy (link with photos). What could have caused this?

[Roova]

My blue muscovy hatched her first five babies yesterday morning.  When I got home from work everything was fine, the had fluffed nicely and Mum was standing up over them (as well as 8 unhatched eggs).  I refreshed her food and water which was right beside her.

This morning when I checked them at 6am she was sitting six feet from the babies who were clustered together with the eggs.  I've put them in a box inside with a lamp, food and water but Mum didn't make a move or sound while I took them.

I've put food near her and left water with some vitamin & mineral supplement in it (and part of a berocca).  She's had a few drinks but is just sitting there looking quite sorry for herself.  Her poo is minimal, is pale and watery from what I could see.  I've left her where she is as I figured it would cause more stress to move her and she is in an out of the way spot.

I have absolutely no idea what to do at this point.  The babies are no problem to look after, but I'm worried about Mum.  (I'm extra worried because she's part of a trio I have sold to someone else, we're just waiting for the transport company to get organised for a collection).  Any suggestions would be most welcome (I'm also going to post this in BYP in case no-one checked this until tonight).  Thanks very much - Rachel

EDITED: to add.  When I got home from work the duck had unfortunately died.  A new friend offered to do a duck autopsy, of which the link to pictures etc is in the bottom post. 

[rollyard]

It could be a matter of wait & see Rachel.  If the blue duck is unwell then I think you have taken the right course of action by removing the ducklings for now.  Does the duck appear to have any injury?  Could something have got at her last night?  Would you be comfortable with inspecting her a little closer - see if she can move around, check for any obvious sign of injury etc which may help with diagnosis?  You may find that she picks up over the next day or two, & then may accept her ducklings back & get on with mothering them.  Or you may have to continue to raise them yourself which isn't an issue with mussies as they respond well to people, don't easily fret etc.

If she was to remain unwell, may have to contact the trios future owners to inform.  Hopefully they will be understanding & you can work out some other arrangement.

Hope all goes well.

[Roova]

Unfortunately she died over the course of the day :(  I couldn't find a tick but I do think it must be something which got into the shed somehow.

The lady who collected the ducklings from me tonight has also taken the duck and her and her husband are going to do an autopsy on her tomorrow.  Even if I could bring myself to do it, I wouldn't know what I was looking at.  Her husband is a spider expert and a biologist and I think he was rubbing his hands together with anticipation.

She had some pretty great photos on BYP showing an autopsy they did recently on a duck which ended up having a burst artery coming from its heart (I think it was) and fungus which I believe was Aspergillosis.  I'm not sure whether I'm looking forward to seeing photos or not though.  Would there be any interest if I posted them here?

Hopefully something shows what happened to the poor girl. 

[Spanky]

yes, great interest, please post them. if you feel you can't but want them up, please forward them to someone here and we'll take care of it.

i'm sorry she died, but at least now you know it wasn't because she didn't love her babies. i'm very sorry for your loss

[Roova]

If you're interested in viewing the autopsy (and I would love to hear comments on what you think I did wrong) I wrote a large post on BYP so here is a link to it:  http://forum.backyardpoultry.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=7987490

If you would prefer the photos on this post / forum please let me know and I'll copy and upload them or email them to someone :)

thanks
Rachel

[Saxascovy]

interesting photos i will have a good thorough read later though and then comment better

thanks for the effort and details

Regards David

[Spanky]

It is preferable that the post and pics are put on this forum and not linked to on BYP, if you need help just pm me and I can do it for you

[Roova]

OK, here they are.  The general concensus seems to be Aspergillosis.

To quote straight from the thread on BYP (which I hope is ok):
Aspergillus is an important part of the breakdown of materials into humus. Its abundant everywhere. Its what we call a normal flora. Even we breathe it in and out on a daily base. ....Just occasionally one of these organisms can get a foot hold and an infection takes hold. Its whats known as an opportunistic infection. In a lot of ways its the luck of the draw. It just may be that the duck had some sort of undetected problem somewhere else. The immune system was at a low point. It may have been related to the broodiness or it may not.

If anyone has any different ideas after seeing the photos I'd love to hear them or if more information is required no problem.

LEFT GOOD LUNG:

RIGHT BAD LUNG:

RIGHT BAD LUNG:

[macl27]

My first thought was a embolism due to the fact that it only affected one lung.Aspergillus I would have thought would have infected or been effident in both lungs.
An embolism may have occurred due to her broody tendancies she may also have had an undelying condition that predisposed her to this.Embolism can take two courses one the result of blood clot or one the result of fat embolism.
I have had aspergillus ,well I thought it was in a duckling and it was never this quick it lingered for quiet awhile.
I believe it is a one off something that occured on this occusion and you may not see again for a long time.

Thank the people for the photos they did a great job and thank you for sharing them with us.