The white feathers is a common flaw with the breed, particularly with the hens, because it is associated with a better green sheen in the drakes. I raised BEI ducks years ago but I will never raise them again because the fault is too bred into the breed to attempt to breed it back out. It is like the pied gene in Muscovies ruining their solid coloring so that it is hard to find quality breeding stock that does not have white feathers in places they really don't belong. I had beautiful chocolates for many years but they would be hard to find now because too many lines have been ruined with the pied genetics. There are not enough people preserving quality lines for breeding so there is an abundance of inferior genetics as a result.
