Call duck color ?'s - Please help :)

[19hhbelgian]

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Well, I don't know for sure, but When I got my silkie ducks from Holderreads, they told me that the white color is typically masking a grey coloration. Other than the explanation they gave me, I don't have a clue. Needless to say I have a white drake with 2 grey hens. We'll have to see what happens! If I don't get the results I want I'll have to get a grey drake in the fall...

 

[Mrs. Turbo]

I see people selling nutmegs now and then......most of the time they are just mixed ducks and someone told them they were nutmeg. Post pictures if you get them.

 

[Mrs. Turbo]

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I didn't see a blue butterscotch post.

 

[rollyard]

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Progeny bred from your pair of nutmegs should all be nutmegs (if nothing else involved). Progeny bred from crossing each nutmeg to their reciprocal grey partner will be as per above.

The brown dilution gene is on the Z chromosome, males have two, females only the one. So the male needs to have two doses (recessive gene) for colour to express, female can only have the one dose of recessive brown dilution (as only one Z chromosome), but that is all it takes for colour to express in her.

Cheers

 

[tonini3059]

I have pictures of the blues on here https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=3960717#p3960717

 

[CityChicker]

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[duckluck]

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I like that explanation better than any grids!

 

[bacres]

Anyone elses input about my Snowy x Gray question?

 

[CityChicker]

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[rollyard]

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My book does say that Snowies are harlequin phase wild-type but I have not had anything to do with them so don't really know. If they were wild-type as opposed to dusky, then yes you could cross your snowy with a grey & produce as CityChickers has described, all phenotypically grey birds in the F1s. Inbreeding these F1s should then produce theoretically 25% snowies (M+/M+, lih/lih).

But if your snowies are dusky based ie silver harlequins (md/md, lih/lih), then crossing with greys will produce F1s split M+/md & Li+/lih. If F1s are then interbred you may actually get a very small percentage (6.25%) of F2 progeny that are pure for harlequin phase dusky (as well as 6.25% pure for M+/M+, lih/lih), but large numbers would have to be bred, & unknown factors/modifyers associated with one or the other original stock birds may also influence colour in the new line?

Using a white would not be a consideration for myself really because anything could be under the masking white (black, dusky, wild-type mallard, restricted mallard, blue, dark phase etc etc). At least with the grey you know what you are starting out with & therefore predict colour outcomes as well as our undertstanding of involved genes dictates.

So, if it is snowies you are wanting to breed & not wanting to experiment with colour, as outlined above, likely the best (& shortest, least time consuming, least expensive, least resource requiring etc) route to take would be to source another good quality snowy.

Just one more thought, if I was in the situation where I couldn't source another snowy for what ever reason, & if your snowies are harlequin phase duskies, then I would probably resort to using a bantam harlequin (absent for brown dilution) if I had to, for example needed new blood. But only as a last resort, & certainly not if good quality snowies were available.

Cheers