Ducky Diapers

We (my sons and I) adopted 2 ducklings 4 years ago (male and female). It was love at first sight. We could not leave them outside and with white Berber carpet, I could not let them run through the house pooping everywhere. We had to find a happy medium.

So, I got my old sewing machine out and put it to work. After getting the sizes of the ducks I gathered material from clothing that did not fit anymore and went at it. It was challenging! It took a little over a year and several times to get it right so that it was comfortable to them. But we finally did it. There is a lot to take into consideration I will explain as we go.

Now the official name for this outfit is a duck diaper. And that is because it allows you to put a pad in it so that they can stay in the house with you. And all you have to do is just change the pad out. (Regularly) Like every 2.5 hours.

Measurements: Now believe it or not, all ducks are different. So the first thing you need to do is measure from the neck to the start of the tail. Write that measurement down and put it aside.

Pick the material of your choice

2 Double Adjust Side Release Buckles (I've tried several other things these work the best because it allows you to be quick and simple)

thread

needle

thimble

scissors

Sewing machine (if you have one)

Great imagination.

Decide on a pattern that you would like to go with. Sky's the limit here. Grab the material that you desire and lets get to work.

This is what I call the bucket (where the pad goes).(When I say pad I of course mean maxi pad thin ones of course) They are all basically the same male or female.

It consists of 4 triangular sections. I use a waterproof material from the many car tarps we have. Then you sew them like a bowl. Using a zigzag stitch you want to overlap it so if anything misses the pad it doesn't leak out.

Now you will make the part that goes over the head and attaches to bucket.

You want to take 2 4” x 10” pieces of material and fold them over until its ¾ to 1 inch. This gives them some cushion on their shoulders.

Once folded sew the top, bottom, and down the side. Using straight stitch.

You want to put them together like A triangle only sewing the top together.(look at picture) and sew them using zigzag stitch. The end is where you will attach your first clip. It should look like this. (picture) The section that lays on the back should roughly be 6.5 inches. (not including clip)

The opening for their head is not very big. Its 3 3/4 inch long and at its widest 2 1/4 inches which across their chest.

The part that sets on their chest is around 6.5 or 7 inches long. The design is really up to you.

I will show you a couple of examples.

You can leave it open or enclose if going with a theme.

Once finished attach to the bucket.

The part over the tail can be tricky. Its important that you miss their oil gland so that they can preen and fluff their feathers. So what you want to do is something similar to what we did for the top part. It needs to be comfortable.! So take 2- 4 inch x 10 inch material and again fold it until it is about an inch then using straight or zig zag stitch sew it together.

Okay now we are going to make one part of this stretch over the body and the other is going to make a triangle over the tail connecting like this(look at picture) Take one strip and sew to both sides of the bucket. So that it can connect to the straps that go over shoulder. The other will need to be cut in half to straddle the tail. Please look at picture for details.

Once you have that done double check your measurements to make sure its long enough to go over head. Better yet what I do is try it on them. Mark it so you can put clips on.

Now with the girls I always make it frilly. Because she is the only one I have. But really the sky's the limit on what you can do. So have fun with it.

***The only areas you really need to worry about are the tail where their oil gland is and around the neck.

Please message me if you have any questions at all. I will be glad to help you. Or hey even better if you happen to come up with a better idea please let me know.