Wash ducks or ducklings?

They get smelly....

and if you show them can't you give them a bath? These are young though, and I would like to ensure they stay healthy. They are about 25 days old, and CUTE!

I know you can gently wash a show chicken, but no clue what kind of soap to use. Ducks need to have the little oil gland working, so I am afraid of messing that up so I will avoid this.

would baby shampoo be ok to use? I use that for the dogs and cats faces....tearless and all. and then I use the real stuff for the rest of them.

This is normal bath time...and they are HARD to get a clear picture now! Oh, and that is a goldfish that I was SURE was too big and suitable for chasing. They sucked them down in no time flat!. now I get Minnows. I figure that is more healthy, and I put then in the deep pool, so they have to dive to get them.


This shows all three babies that came from our ducks.

They are cute. Look at them slurp up the fish!

Are they getting a little smelly because they are still inside? The one possible problem is that you want them to have their natural oils in their feathers so they stay warm enough when they are in the water and after they get out of the water. The compromise may be to use just a little baby shampoo on their bellies, backsides and legs, but to be sure not to strip the protective oils from the rest of the duck.

Dawn dishwashing liquid is safe to use on birds. Just a little dab will do... (Sorry, Brylcreem!)

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Just wondering if those are Khaki Cambell ducks?
Thanks,
T.

I never use anything in the water I wash my ducks in. I wash them before a show - and scrub their legs but other than that- they have the pools to swim in each day. If a bird is unfortunate enough to get could in an oil slick- then yes- detergent would be needed- but in general just plain water is enough. I dont want to upset their natural oil. If they have access to water often enough- they will clean themselves and not smell. When showing I do put a little moisturizer on their legs...but that is the only product I use on mine.

Interesting, lotion. My daughter was complaining about how funky their legs look while they shed.

Baby shampoo is probably what I will use, cuz I know Dawn is detergent and will strip oil out of car paint....causing oxidation....so always use car wash....that was a blast from my past!

I will focus on the underside, they tend to lay in poop. I have them inside, yes, and that is so they become "house ducks' rather than the skittish ducks I have outside. The minute we are home, we let them out and the follow us around the house and yard and take a shower with us, they love that! They take a daily treck to a baby pool and sometimes they get to swim in the big duck pool.

One looks like a Blue Swedish, one looks like a Cayuga and one is turning out to look like a Khaki Campbell, but we have none! So I think a rouen got a GH-300. She is beautiful, her feathers are dark. I will post more shots later.

I have been very busy tending to the ELEVEN that just hatched last night!

I really appreciate all the tips, those help a lot.I got bigger bins for them because they can hop out now, and the babies need a home. Anyone want a duckling? LOL

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Taking showers with you? Just make sure they dont take a bite outta that "snake" LOL

just let them swim everyday (NO SOAP) and they will NOT stink and they will be clean.. just Plain water..NO SHAMPOO.. unless there was something specificly wrong dont use anything --- they are ducks...

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No "snakes" lol...Yes, they sit at the far end and I am careful to not get shampoo on them. I did use a small amount of baby shampoo, and they smell SO much better, just on their chests and they absolutely loved the petting and the rinsing part. The fanny part, not so much!

They get a clean "box" every other day, with a new layer of shavings on the off days....and most days they swim for as long as they like. Today, it was cold, raining and plain miserable. So they got shower spray but it's not the same. Since I had to move them each to the bigger box, and put the babies in the smaller boxes (two are alone and the rest together) so I did a thorough cleaning and put towels in the baby boxes. I keep towels for them so they don't eat the shavings and so they don't slip and get bad legs.

When the babies swim, they get dry via the warm gentle blow dryer.

The teenagers mostly dry themselves but today I used a towel on their tummies. Tomorrow night I will post pictures, teenagers AND babies!

Give them some warm bathwater to play in. Not deep enough to drown them. (Yes, baby ducks can drown.) And not to hot or too cold.

While they are playing, wash out their home.

It worked before I moved mine outside.