If you’re used to raising ducks you’ll know that these birds poop, and they poop a lot. Ducks poop about every 15 minutes, and they poop anywhere and everywhere.
If you want to keep the bird’s poop contained then you should probably get the bird to wear a diaper. This article explores how to make a duck diaper out of a sock.
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How to make a duck diaper out of a sock
Diapers are convenient items, they keep waste in and keep the environment clean and sanitary. If you keep ducks in the house you’ll know the benefit of keeping your duck in a diaper.
You can create a duck diaper out of a variety of materials one of which is a sock, here is how:
Step 1: Start off by finding a sock that will fit your bird, if you’re trying to make the diaper for a duckling then an ankle sock will do. A larger bird will require a larger sock.
Step 2: Cut the sock in a straight line along the top, cut from the ankle part of the sock to the toe part of the sock.
Step 3: Lay the sock on a flat surface on its side. Cut out a half-oval shape a little below the elastic at the ankle part of the sock.
Step 4: Open the sock and spread it out flat and then create 4 holes in the sock. Create the first two holes at the two ends of the ankle part of the sock. Create the next two holes at the corners of the sock just below the oval cut out towards the toe side.
Step 5: Attach the shoelace to the sock. The middle of the shoelace should threat through the two holes at the ankle part of the sock connecting the two pieces of the sock elastic. The 2 free pieces of the shoelace should threat into the holes at the bottom of the sock
Step 6: The elastic ankle part of the sock can be attached to the bird’s neck, pull the laces to grip old the bird’s neck well, just don’t make this too tight.
The toe part of the sock should cover the bird’s tail allowing the bird to poop. The rest of the sock, the part that holds the bottom of the foot should go under the bird.
When to change the diaper:
You will likely need to change the bird’s diaper quite often if they are feeding and drinking regularly. This may look like giving the bird a new diaper every 2-3 hours
If the diaper is getting an overflow of waste then you’d need to change the diaper faster than this.
The diaper can stay on the duck for around 10 hours overnight, the bird isn’t eating, drinking, or pooping at this time.
Tips when using sock diapers for ducklings:
Your bird may struggle while in the sock initially, this is normal. The bird should get used to the sock eventually.
The bird may also pull at the diaper, this doesn’t necessarily mean that the diaper is too tight, it may simply mean that the bird is irritated of wearing it. This is normal
If the duck really hates wearing the duck diaper then you can make the situation for the bird more tolerable by giving the bird treats when it wears the diaper. You can offer the bird treats like grapes, watermelon, and tomatoes,
Offer these treats right after you put the diaper on the duck so it associates the diaper with treats. The bird should get used to wearing the diaper after doing this for some time.
Ducks will need to preen themselves and they do this daily. If the bird can’t get to the preen gland on its tails then its feathers will start to look bad.
Allow the bird to have time without the diaper, usually a few hours a day, so it can preen itself properly.
If you enjoyed this article then you may also be interested in other duck related articles. Here are some articles that you may be interested in: Duck poop black , White duck poop, Duckling Weak After Hatching, Sugar Water For Ducklings