Smelly Duck!

[Ducklingmum]

Hi all,

So i have a drake that has a bad leg and spends most of his time led down. As such his chest feathers have suffered and got really dirty, despite bathing.

We gave him a warm bath last night and he is inside. But he smells!

We have checked for any infected wounds but there are none.

What can i use to wash him? i am in uk so stuff available here would be great.

Thanks,

Helen

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Ducks do smell! There is nothing you can do about! They have an oil gland at their rump that produces an oil that they distribute all over their body to make them waterproof. And unfortunately that oil has a distinctive smell and drakes smell more than ducks.
Please do not use any kind of detergent to wash this oil out your drake's feathers! He can easily become waterlogged, hypothermic and he can drown in just a foot of water then.
Focus on making his leg better, additional vitamins, especially Niacin (B3) may help.
I don't know what is available in the U.K.

 

[johntfs]

Hi all,

So i have a drake that has a bad leg and spends most of his time led down. As such his chest feathers have suffered and got really dirty, despite bathing.

We gave him a warm bath last night and he is inside. But he smells!

We have checked for any infected wounds but there are none.

What can i use to wash him? i am in uk so stuff available here would be great.

Thanks,

Helen

You know how you have to provide supplemental heat to duckings or they'll die of hypothermia? At least part of that is because their oil gland hasn't matured to be functional yet. If you wash the oil off your drake and put him in any kind of cool/cold environment, he'll likely die.

 

[Jpat]

Ducks do smell! There is nothing you can do about! They have an oil gland at their rump that produces an oil that they distribute all over their body to make them waterproof. And unfortunately that oil has a distinctive smell and drakes smell more than ducks.
Please do not use any kind of detergent to wash this oil out your drake's feathers! He can easily become waterlogged, hypothermic and he can drown in just a foot of water then.
Focus on making his leg better, additional vitamins, especially Niacin (B3) may help.
I don't know what is available in the U.K.

Do all your ducks smell? ive never had a duck smell bad


To the OP, what are you feeding? what happened to his leg

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Do all your ducks smell? ive never had a duck smell bad


To the OP, what are you feeding? what happened to his leg

You know how you have to provide supplemental heat to duckings or they'll die of hypothermia? At least part of that is because their oil gland hasn't matured to be functional yet. If you wash the oil off your drake and put him in any kind of cool/cold environment, he'll likely die.

I don't think the OP is talking about a duckling. (?) My assumption was a grown up drake.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Do all your ducks smell? ive never had a duck smell bad


To the OP, what are you feeding? what happened to his leg

Yes, all my ducks have a distinct smell, even when they just came out of their pool and have cleaned and preened thoroughly they have that distinct duck-smell. And the drakes have a musky undertone in their smell.
I don't say they smell bad (well sometimes they do, i.e. after raiding the compost!) but they have a smell. A bit like a wet dog… Some people may find that disgusting or bad, but it is natural for ducks.

 

[Ducklingmum]

Hi all,

Just to clarify, he is a 2 and half year old drake. His bad leg has been an issue from birth and is managed with anti inflamatories when it flares up.

this smell is a more recent thing and is very pungent, not the usuall musky oil smell that the other drakes have.

He is currently in our house (right now sat watching tv with us and his sister for company), so keeping warm after last nights warm bath.

the duck safe soap i was hoping to be recomended would be a one off as i am perfectly aware of washing oil out of feathers. He would not be back in the deeper pond untill he has fully oiled again a few days later.

 

[casportpony]

What can i use to wash him? i am in uk so stuff available here would be great.

Can you get Dawn dish detergent in the UK?

 

[Ducklingmum]

Can you get Dawn dish detergent in the UK?

no i have never seen it in the shops. would any dish soap work, its really only for his chest?

 

[johntfs]

I don't think the OP is talking about a duckling. (?) My assumption was a grown up drake.

I knew it wasn't a duckling. My take was that you give ducklings supplemental heat because their bodies can't easily retain it. Part of the reason they can't easily retain heat is that their oil gland hasn't developed so they can't "insulate" themselves from water or the cold. So, if you wash the oil off of a grown duck and expose it to wet/cold before it can reapply the oil, there's a good chance that "unoiled" duck will die from hypothermia.