Silver/Blue Cayugas

[ANightPerson]

I know that silver ducks are just ducks with two dilution genes, but I can't seem to find any pictures online. Do they just look like blue ducks or are they white/lighter?

I accidentally bred a blue Cayuga (technically a hybrid, I guess) when my Cayuga drake got out and bred my Blue Swede. She had a full litter fathered by multiple different drakes, but out of the half Cayuga ones, I got a Black Swede, a beautiful spotted Blue Cayuga, and one plain Cayuga.

Out of that litter, I only have the plain Cayuga left because my blue got taken by an owl several months back (Black Swede got sold). I am very interested in breeding more blues because they're my favorite color and I've lost the last one in my blue line. I have a brood coming that's half Pekin and half my Cayuga hybrid, but I really don't know what's going to come out.

If anyone has any insight on the dilution genes and what the silver comes out as it would be very helpful. Pictures would also be nice! If anyone has Blue/Silver Cayugas or any interesting hybrids for sale in New England please contact me. I'm always looking to add color to my flock.

 

[FluffTheDuck]

I’m kinda reviving this.. sorry guys. But I’m curious about this.

 

[Duckie doodle]

I know that silver ducks are just ducks with two dilution genes, but I can't seem to find any pictures online. Do they just look like blue ducks or are they white/lighter?

I accidentally bred a blue Cayuga (technically a hybrid, I guess) when my Cayuga drake got out and bred my Blue Swede. She had a full litter fathered by multiple different drakes, but out of the half Cayuga ones, I got a Black Swede, a beautiful spotted Blue Cayuga, and one plain Cayuga.

Out of that litter, I only have the plain Cayuga left because my blue got taken by an owl several months back (Black Swede got sold). I am very interested in breeding more blues because they're my favorite color and I've lost the last one in my blue line. I have a brood coming that's half Pekin and half my Cayuga hybrid, but I really don't know what's going to come out.

If anyone has any insight on the dilution genes and what the silver comes out as it would be very helpful. Pictures would also be nice! If anyone has Blue/Silver Cayugas or any interesting hybrids for sale in New England please contact me. I'm always looking to add color to my flock.

So I have a blue cayuga. I got her from 2 black cayuga breeding. I also accidentally bred her to a pekin and have 2 silver ducklings. I have a similar question but would like to know what I would get from breeding a blue cayuga to a black cayuga.

 

[ANightPerson]

I’m kinda reviving this.. sorry guys. But I’m curious about this.

I haven't tried breeding any more since, but knowing more about duck genetics now, it can be done by crossing any blue duck (a blue Swede would work best, since they're the most similar to Cayugas) with a Cayuga, and selecting the offspring with the dilution gene & no bib. They should be crossed back with Cayugas until they meet and breed true to the Cayuga SOP (minus their coat color, obviously.)

A blue Cayuga crossed with a black Cayuga would have 50/50 black/blue offspring. Since having two copies of the dilution gene results in a "silver" duck, one with very light or even white feathers, crossing two blue Cayugas would have a 1:2:1 silver:blue:black offspring ratio. Breeding blue Cayugas would also result in the existence of silver Cayugas if two blue ones are bred together.

I know that some people have done this, and that there's a small number of blue Cayugas somewhere, but they're not a common or accepted thing.

 

[ANightPerson]

So I have a blue cayuga. I got her from 2 black cayuga breeding. I also accidentally bred her to a pekin and have 2 silver ducklings. I have a similar question but would like to know what I would get from breeding a blue cayuga to a black cayuga.

The dilution gene that creates blue & silver ducks forms an incomplete dominance. Having one copy results in a blue duck, and having two copies results in a silver duck. It's genetically impossible for a blue duck to hatch from two black parents. One parent would have to have at least one copy of the dilution gene, so one parent would have to be blue or silver. Were they exposed to any blue or white ducks at all? (White ducks other than Pekins)

The gene that makes Pekins white is a masking gene, meaning it's separate from the other coat color genes and it "masks" them, it covers them up completely. That means that Pekins carry a "true coat color" under the white. It's recessive, so they need two copies of it for them to appear white. They were bred from a variety of different breeds, so they can carry pretty much any coat color, pattern, or dilution under the masking gene. Crossing Pekins with other breeds can create some very beautiful and unique birds, (and they've got huge personalities!) but they're more-or-less unpredictable, especially if you get them from a large-scale hatchery.

I doubt that the offspring of her and the Pekin are true silver (pictures would help,) they probably just look silver. Although, if it's possible that this Pekin is also her father, she could've gotten the dilution gene from him. Does she have a different figure from the other Cayugas? Is she a bit thicker, maybe a bit bigger? My guess is that she's probably half Pekin, but all I know for sure is that she can't come from two black Cayuga parents.
Edit: If she is half Pekin, the ducklings could also be white, not silver.

 

[Duckie doodle]

The dilution gene that creates blue & silver ducks forms an incomplete dominance. Having one copy results in a blue duck, and having two copies results in a silver duck. It's genetically impossible for a blue duck to hatch from two black parents. One parent would have to have at least one copy of the dilution gene, so one parent would have to be blue or silver. Were they exposed to any blue or white ducks at all? (White ducks other than Pekins)

The gene that makes Pekins white is a masking gene, meaning it's separate from the other coat color genes and it "masks" them, it covers them up completely. That means that Pekins carry a "true coat color" under the white. It's recessive, so they need two copies of it for them to appear white. They were bred from a variety of different breeds, so they can carry pretty much any coat color, pattern, or dilution under the masking gene. Crossing Pekins with other breeds can create some very beautiful and unique birds, (and they've got huge personalities!) but they're more-or-less unpredictable, especially if you get them from a large-scale hatchery.

I doubt that the offspring of her and the Pekin are true silver (pictures would help,) they probably just look silver. Although, if it's possible that this Pekin is also her father, she could've gotten the dilution gene from him. Does she have a different figure from the other Cayugas? Is she a bit thicker, maybe a bit bigger? My guess is that she's probably half Pekin, but all I know for sure is that she can't come from two black Cayuga parents.
Edit: If she is half Pekin, the ducklings could also be white, not silver.

The blue cayuga I have came from a breeder, the breeder told me that she came from two black cayuga and this breeder only breeds cayugas. The ducklings I have look silver and have white patches. They are not pure silver. I don't know much about genetics hense why I am asking so I can learn. The blue cayuga is the size of a cayuga just blue. I can post pictures of ducklings when they are fully hatched and out of incubator, they are still on their way out. If she is a pure blue cayuga like the breeder said then I am planning on breeding her to a black cayuga.

 

[ANightPerson]

The blue cayuga I have came from a breeder, the breeder told me that she came from two black cayuga and this breeder only breeds cayugas. The ducklings I have look silver and have white patches. They are not pure silver. I don't know much about genetics hense why I am asking so I can learn. The blue cayuga is the size of a cayuga just blue. I can post pictures of ducklings when they are fully hatched and out of incubator, they are still on their way out. If she is a pure blue cayuga like the breeder said then I am planning on breeding her to a black cayuga.

Alright, that changes things. If they also breed blue Cayuga, she probably comes from them. How she was bred doesn't really matter, though, since you can get all of the important genes here from her appearance.

She's got the black coat with one copy of the dilution gene, making her blue. She has no bib or other markings, and she's got a black beak & feet. If the halflings aren't black, then they're probably going to be blue with some white here-and-there due to them carrying the white masking gene. Silver ducks look white when they hatch, black ones look black (obviously,) and blue ones look light grey.

If you breed her to a black Cayuga, you will get 50% black offspring and 50% blue. If you breed two blues, you'll get 25% silver, 50% blue, and 25% black. If you breed a silver to a silver, you'll get 100% silver, black to black is 100% black, and if you breed silver to black you'll get 100% blue.

Can't wait to see those fresh little ducklings! Good luck!

 

[Miss Lydia]

@Magnolia Ducks is breeding Blue Pekins!

 

[Magnolia Ducks]

@Magnolia Ducks is breeding Blue Pekins!

Yes but still learning. right now I have two hens and a drake that are Blue pekin runners. I have 4 ducklings also blue. They are all full siblings with fawn and white runner over pekin. I am working on it as a breed just for me. Not for public consumption.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I know I was just hoping you might share what you have done in breeding these 2 breeds.