Why is it that the duck and goose can swim and float in water without drowning or getting soaked?

Question

Why is it that the duck and goose can swim and float in water without drowning or getting soaked?

Answer 1

It is either that it has a special built body to help it float or it has special feathers that can trap air to float

Answer 2

Even without their feathers, many birds are less dense than water and so would float.  We had a hen once who'd lost almost all her feathers, and when she fell in the trough she swam remarkably well, not much deeper than a duck.  Squawked a lot though.

Birds have air in their lungs of course, like mammals, but they also have air sacs elsewhere in their bodies, connected to the lungs.  Extensions of some of these run inside the larger limb bones, so even their bones float (you don't usually see this in poultry from the supermarket, because those are killed at only a few weeks old before the hollow bones have developed).  All this, like their lack of teeth and ultra-thin, highly fused bones, is to make them extra light for flying.

Birds have an oil gland above their tails, which they use to oil the feathers when grooming, making them water-repellent.

The tightly overlapping, water-repellent feathers on water birds prevent water getting through them, and so they trap a layer of air next to the skin (the quills are indeed hollow, but that is not where the main buoyancy is).  Our hen got chilled very quickly in the water -- the layer of air is also very good heat insulation.  

Waterfowl have an extra thick layer of very dense down beneath the main feathers, which helps keep the air layer in for both insulation and buoyancy.

With air spaces within the body and air under the feathers, the whole bird is much less dense than water -- and so it can't possibly sink.  If you watch diving birds such as diving ducks or puffins, they have to work hard to keep under, or in the case of dippers (Cinclus), they hold on to rocks with their feet.

Some specialist diving species (such as penguins, cormorants and divers/loons) are denser, and can swim with just their heads sticking out.

Answer 3

They float in water primarily the way we do. Their lungs hold air which keeps them buoyant. The reason they don't get wet is because of the special gland they have near their tail that secretes a special oil. When they groom themselves they are fluffing up their feathers to trap air and coating the feathers in this oil to provide a waterproof barrier.

These feathers found right around the gland are called CDC or ('cul de canard', which means "duck's butt" in French) They are often used in dry-fly tying because of their extraordinary ability to trap air and repel water, staying afloat.

The second link has a picture of a fly tied with CDC. You can look closely to see the many barbs coming off the feathers. These barbs trap air, especially when coated in the duck's special oil.

Answer 4

There are two things, that keep these and other birds afloat. They have an oil in their feathers, and their feathers have hollow quills, which hold air, and keep them buoyant.

Answer 5

Ducks and geese have an oil gland at the base of their tail; they rub their head on the gland to release oil, and then coat their feathers with it to keep them "waterproof."  Their ability to float simply has to do with the fact that their bodies are shaped to float; think about the body without the head and neck, and you'll see a sort of boat shape, broader than it is deep; it floats naturally, with the feet for propulsion and steering, and the head for navigation ;-)

Answer 6

all the answers are good also they have webbed feet

Answer 7

like everyone already said they have oil glands, it is at the base of their tails, that is why it looks like they are always rubbing their buts they are spreading the oil around thing

many people don't know is that not all ducks/geese float, if the bird isn't introduced to water when they are young (like a pool or something they can swim in) they will not develop the oil glands

a teacher i had raise ducks in a barn and never gave the enough water to swim in, when they were older he brought them down to his pond, they all ran in, but guess what, they didn't float that well, and he even have to save some, without the oil, the feathers became soaked and the started sinking, lol!