Wet belly feathers

addctd2plnts said:

If it stays looking wet, I'd bathe it in Dawn Dishwashing soap in warm water and blow it dry with a hair dryer. Then keep it dry for a few days before letting it swim again, so it can re-waterproof its feathers. Keep the brooder very clean and dry and you should be fine.

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ruthhope said:

With my pekin that has a deformed bill and cannot clean itself properly, I have never needed to use dawn dish soap. Dawn will remove natural oils the duckling has already preened onto its feathers. Not bathing for a few days will reduce the amount of preening and stimulation of the preen gland. Just by sitting in water, and splashing around, this duckling will wash out any poop that it has sat in, as my pekin has to do to keep himself reasonably clean [although his standards of cleanliness are not up to mine, and I make him bath more often than he would otherwise choose.]

The OP made it clear in a subsequent comment that the brown color is a result of food dye on the bedding -- its not feces from sitting in a dirty brooder. Plus the OP says it has improved already with increased bathing in water.

I am firmly against using dawn to bath a duck or duckling.

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addctd2plnts said:

My recommendation was based on the wet feather appearance. I understand about the food coloring. The well known treatment for wet feather is indeed Dawn Dishwashing soap bath in warm water. Ducks quickly re-waterproof their feathers in a few days, which is why it is always suggested to give them a few days of time to re-waterproof their feathers. My show ducks are routinely washed in Dawn Dishwashing Soap before poultry shows with no ill affects. In fact, shows are often several weekends in a row, and they are bathed a few days before ALL shows with no ill effects whatsoever!

I agree this wasn't the typical presentation of wet feather, however the poster ask for options and this is clearly an option that does no harm, and would help to remove any staining. As a human doctor, I felt it was a valid option, along with encouraging daily, or twice daily daily, cleaning of the brooder.

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ruthhope said:

With my pekin that has a deformed bill and cannot clean itself properly, I have never needed to use dawn dish soap. Dawn will remove natural oils the duckling has already preened onto its feathers. Not bathing for a few days will reduce the amount of preening and stimulation of the preen gland. Just by sitting in water, and splashing around, this duckling will wash out any poop that it has sat in, as my pekin has to do to keep himself reasonably clean [although his standards of cleanliness are not up to mine, and I make him bath more often than he would otherwise choose.]

The OP made it clear in a subsequent comment that the brown color is a result of food dye on the bedding -- its not feces from sitting in a dirty brooder. Plus the OP says it has improved already with increased bathing in water.

I am firmly against using dawn to bath a duck or duckling.

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BelovedBirds said:

100%! Well said. As far as I'm aware, dawn dish soap should only be used to remove harmful oils, which is very rare- perhaps when waterfowl come into contact with some kind of oil spillage?- I haven't even seen a situation personally where this is app

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BelovedBirds said:

Dawn dish soap will not help wet feather, wet feather is caused by ducks being unable to spread their natural oils- using dish soap will strip them of their oils, and make them less waterproof. That doesn't help.
The reason for wet feather has to be adressed, why is the duck inable to make itself waterproof? In this case, this is a duckling, and needs time, a regular bath times in plain warm water will stimulate the oil gland and encourage them to preen- and have a clean dry brooder to come back to. With time they will successively waterproof.

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