Don't Wash Your Duck with Dawn (Even If She's Named Dawn)

Mistakes were made. Lessons were learned. So here's a little tip from the homestead-ish trenches: unless your duck has been caught in an actual industrial oil spill, do NOT wash it with Dawn dish soap. Trust me on this one.

It all started when my youngest came upstairs holding one of her ducklings, wrapped up in a towel like a soggy little burrito. She didn’t say anything at first, but I could tell something was off. Duckling energy usually comes in two modes: “energetically chirping” or “cuddled up asleep.” This one looked like a drowned cat—damp, droopy, and suspiciously soap-scented.

After some gentle questioning (and one raised eyebrow), she admitted she'd let the ducklings go for a swim in the garage sink. No problem there! But then… she’d given the duckling named Dawn a full-on bath. With Dawn dish soap.

Why? Apparently, poor Dawn-the-duckling had been pooped on. But also… let’s be real. It probably just sounded fun, and kids are gonna kid.

It wasn’t until she noticed Dawn paddling like mad and struggling to stay afloat that she realized something was wrong. That’s when the lightbulb flicked on for me: Dawn (the soap) is a degreaser. It stripped away all of Dawn (the duckling)'s natural oils—the stuff that makes duck feathers waterproof and floaty. Without it, she was basically just a sponge with legs.

I'm so grateful my daughter came to me instead of doing the classic "well… that’s probably fine" and plopping her back in the brooder like nothing happened. We were able to warm her up with some gentle blow-drying, lots of snuggles, and a little whispered encouragement that no worries, she would indeed be waterproof again one day.

According to my frantic Googling, it’ll take some time for her to regenerate enough oil from her preen gland to regain her natural defenses. So until then, if she wants to swim, she’s gonna need to do it from the safety of a pool floatie like the tiny queen she is.

Lesson of the day: Ducks are not dishes. 

And so far duck parenting has started off par for the course.🤦