Black Muscovy offspring yellow??

[laboroflove]

Has anyone ever had two black Muscovy parents produce a solid yellow duckling with a dark bill? I have had Muscovy ducks for around 12 years and any that I have had has always been colored on top of their heads and backs with a yellow underside (unless of course it was a young white Muscovy, then it was all yellow). I just purchased some ducklings and they are all yellow with dark bills, said to be full Muscovy with both parents black. I hate to question but this would be a first for me. Normally I have my go to breeder but purchased some on a whim this time....

No experience with same color to color breeding. I have always had a mix of colors. There does appear to be some dark feathers growing in through the yellow.

 

[Yardmom]

Any idea if there were other ducks around (muskovy or mallard derived)? My other thought would be that the parents of your ducklings were siblings who had a white parent. (I don't know if white or black is dominant in muskovies)

 

[laboroflove]

She does have some Blue Swedish. She mentioned that they aren't laying yet but that doesn't mean the drakes aren't breeding other hens I would imagine...if she has drakes. I'm also not sure if they run together. I got the feeling they didn't but who knows.?.?

I should edit to add: there seems to be dark feathers growing in through the yellow. I just thought Muscovy always had color to them as ducklings if they were going to be colored as adults.

 

[Canadian Wind]

Look at their tails. Are they also dark? If yes, you have Barred Muscovy!

 

[laboroflove]

Look at their tails. Are they also dark? If yes, you have Barred Muscovy!

The tails are yellow like the rest of the duckling, but there are some dark feathers growing in. Just starting to. They are still quite young. I noticed what looked to be some white tips or ??? I will try and get some photos this evening to post.

 

[Canadian Wind]

Try this website for comparisons:

https://www.muscovyduckdynasty.com/colors-patterns

Also, here is one of my Black Barred ducklings when she was around four weeks old or so.

 

[HollowOfWisps]

Technically yes. A black duck has to have at least one copy of the black gene to be black, but can still be a carrier for another gene. So a black duck can be Ee or EE. If both parents are Ee it would be possible for them to produce a different color offspring. A black duck that carries both black genes would be mdmd Li+Li+ EE bl+bl+ C+C+ B+B+ r+r+ D+D+ Bu+Bu+. A black duck that carries black and a recessive color would be mdmd Li+Li+ Ee bl+bl+ C+C+ B+B+ r+r+ D+D+ Bu+Bu+. It's similar to how people with Brown eyes have the brown eye gene which is dominant, but can also carry a recessive gene. For example, if two parents have brown eyes, but also carry a copy of the blue eye gene they can technically have a child that has blue eyes.

 

[laboroflove]

Try this website for comparisons:

https://www.muscovyduckdynasty.com/colors-patterns

Also, here is one of my Black Barred ducklings when she was around four weeks old or so.

View attachment 3404078

View attachment 3404094

Here are what I have. Very similar to what is shown in the photo you shared

 

[laboroflove]

Technically yes. A black duck has to have at least one copy of the black gene to be black, but can still be a carrier for another gene. So a black duck can be Ee or EE. If both parents are Ee it would be possible for them to produce a different color offspring. A black duck that carries both black genes would be mdmd Li+Li+ EE bl+bl+ C+C+ B+B+ r+r+ D+D+ Bu+Bu+. A black duck that carries black and a recessive color would be mdmd Li+Li+ Ee bl+bl+ C+C+ B+B+ r+r+ D+D+ Bu+Bu+. It's similar to how people with Brown eyes have the brown eye gene which is dominant, but can also be carries of another gene. Two parents have brown eyes who carry a copy of the blue eye gene can technically have a child that has blue eyes.
View attachment 3404091

That makes sense, thank you

 

[Canadian Wind]

Here are what I have. Very similar to what is shown in the photo you shared

I would say, with abut a 99.9% certainty, that you have Barred Muscovy. It's a recessive gene (like the example given above) so can show up unexpectedly. Genetics are so interesting!

The sad part about this gene is that they will lose most of the beautiful barring after their first major moult. Mine looks mostly like a black Muscovy now.

Oh, and it can be carried in ALL the colour forms Muscovy come in.