a Blue Swedish with a crest? *pics*

[barnyard betty]

Wondering if this female is a Blue Swedish, she has a small crest so maybe she is a mix? Or is there a crested type of BS? She is about 5 mos old and just began laying



Below is her on right and a male from same hatch (but not neccessarily the same parents) on left. He has greenish cast to head and a blue bar on right wing only, with gray and brown and white on body and wings and mostly brownish on belly and greenish bill.

 

[Kevin565]

She looks like a blue swedish duck to me. Crested gene can appear in any mallard derived breed.

 

[barnyard betty]

Thanks for the info, I had never seen a BS w/ crest so was wondering. Do you know why it is possible in all mallard breeds? I have no clue on this genetic stuff but wondering cause well mallards don't have crests so why would it be available gene-wise? Very interesting!
Do you think the crest will stay small like that or get big and poofy like some of the other crested breeds?
Thanks so much for edg-i-micating me LOL....

 

[Kevin565]

Thanks for the info, I had never seen a BS w/ crest so was wondering. Do you know why it is possible in all mallard breeds? I have no clue on this genetic stuff but wondering cause well mallards don't have crests so why would it be available gene-wise? Very interesting!
Do you think the crest will stay small like that or get big and poofy like some of the other crested breeds?
Thanks so much for edg-i-micating me LOL....

The gene is a defect that showed up when breeding. For some reason the cute factor stuck so people continued to breed for the gene. Over the decades the gene has been bred into almost every single domestic breed of ducks at this point. A crested gene carrying duck can be bred to a Muscovy but the offspring will be sterile so they can't continue the line. At this point her crest will most likely stay that size. Are you planning on using her for any breeding projects?

 

[barnyard betty]

Very interesting! No I wasn't planning on any specific breeding, just curious about why she had a crest and if she was a pure BS or BS mix, and what the drake was, like is he a BS mix as well? If she did have ducklings...do you think some or all would have a crest or does it matter if the male carries the crested gene too?
Is the crest gene recessive? Like does it only appear on a duck w/ both parents having it whether or not they actually have one themselves? Also, does the crest gene have any relation to the "blue" gene in Swedish ducks..as in do they click on together or no relation? And does it have any relation to a sex or sex-link genes or no...
Sorry for all the questions....don't mean to be a pest LOL!

 

[Kevin565]

Very interesting! No I wasn't planning on any specific breeding, just curious about why she had a crest and if she was a pure BS or BS mix, and what the drake was, like is he a BS mix as well? If she did have ducklings...do you think some or all would have a crest or does it matter if the male carries the crested gene too?
Is the crest gene recessive? Like does it only appear on a duck w/ both parents having it whether or not they actually have one themselves? Also, does the crest gene have any relation to the "blue" gene in Swedish ducks..as in do they click on together or no relation? And does it have any relation to a sex or sex-link genes or no...
Sorry for all the questions....don't mean to be a pest LOL!

Your drake looks like a mixed breed to me. However, I am not a swedish expert so I'm not positive. If you were to hatch them out from her some of the ducklings will be crested. If the male also carried the crested gene then breeding them together is a giant No. I would advise taking a look at my crested duck thread for more information on the gene. No the crested gene is not recessive. I believe its a example of incomplete dominance. Ducks can also be a carrier of the gene but not show signs of the gene. No the gene has no relation to the blue gene. I believe it's on a different part of the chromosome. No it does not have any sex link gene. LOL! You are defiantly not a pest! It's good people are eager to learn about genetics!

 

[barnyard betty]

Your drake looks like a mixed breed to me. However, I am not a swedish expert so I'm not positive. If you were to hatch them out from her some of the ducklings will be crested. If the male also carried the crested gene then breeding them together is a giant No. I would advise taking a look at my crested duck thread for more information on the gene. No the crested gene is not recessive. I believe its a example of incomplete dominance. Ducks can also be a carrier of the gene but not show signs of the gene. No the gene has no relation to the blue gene. I believe it's on a different part of the chromosome. No it does not have any sex link gene. LOL! You are defiantly not a pest! It's good people are eager to learn about genetics!

Thanks! So if the drake did have crest gene too (just not expressed) do you mean I should not breed them like it would lead to some kind of defect? Kinda like you shouldn't breed 2 merles together in Australian Shepherds cause they tend to be born blind and/or deaf. There's no way to tell if he does or not right?
How do I access your crested duck thread? Genetics is so interesting, so many possible outcomes. Thanks tons and tons

 

[Kevin565]

Yes you defiantly do not want to breed them. Actually to be honest I really wouldn't advise breeding any individual carrying the gene. It's a lot more hassle then it appears. Sadly if he is a carrier not expressing the gene there is no way to know besides breeding him to a hen that is for sure not carrying the gene.

Here is my crested thread:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/707110/the-truth-behind-crested-ducks

However, I'll give you fair warning the truth behind the gene is quite saddening.

Oh it's no problem at all. It's nice to share this information on the gene.

 

[barnyard betty]

Thanks, I'm not a big crested duck fan either but had no idea it was such an issue genetically...so am glad her's will stay small, and although it's kinda cute on her to be sure, I will not breed her if it's gonna cause any problems like ya said. Thanks for the info and will be checking out your crested thread further!

 

[Kevin565]

That's great to hear! I wish I could have left the thread open but it was taking a direction not beneficial to the cause so I had to close it. I'm glad the information on the gene will live on though! Your duck sure is a beauty though! She may still make you a great broody for other birds eggs.