Dark ducks turning white...care to share pics?

[nettie]

White brown and black runner ducks Ming Mei and Vinny are getting whiter and whiter with every molt. Poor Vinny is molting now and looks like someone has been flicking white out at him. He's also getting rings of white around his eyes. I know that turning white or "going gray" is common amongst dark ducks, but can how much more white will they get? MingMei's flight feathers are almost all white now too. I remember seeing a picture on BYC of someone's duck who looked more white than black, but I couldn't seem to find it.

I was wondering if others would like to share pics of the dark ducks turning white with us? I'd love to see other "graying" ducks... esp one with lots of white feathers.... How much white do they get!?!

Here's Ming Mei before she started turning white-

Here she is now (her chest. back of her head, and her flight feathers)-

Here's my Vinny turning whiter-

 

[DuckLady]

I had a chocolate runner go almost completely white before she died.

Just like humans, most animals show outward signs of aging.

I read somewhere that a runner that goes white early is a sign of a good layer, but I have no proof that it is true or not.
Anyway this is Milkie, A chocolate runner (get it?

)

This is her brother, she was the same color of brown

Milkie at 4 years old

 

[newchickmom09]

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Wow!

That is interesting and crazy.

 

[nettie]

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Wow!

That is interesting and crazy.

First thing I thought too! I better not show Ming Mei that picture or she'll get upset. She seems to dislike her new white feathers. Ming got her first gray when she was about 8-9 months old and gets more and more with every molt. I have a feeling that my Vinny is going to end up like that! (Despite the name and the references to "him" Vinny is actually a girl, lol) Both are pretty good layers, so maybe there is something to that. Vinny is exceptional at egg laying and the most white currently.

I think the lighter color is super cute, esp on a duck with a darker bill. Victor our f/w runner is our lightest duck and he always gets the most attention when we go out. Perhaps Ming Mei and Victor are just trying to be as cute. lol

 

[Amiga]

nettie,

I don't have pics yet, as Zwei just started getting a few white freckles a few days ago. Wow, I wonder if she is going to get much more white on her. I think she does look nice with a little dappling. I think I will always think she is beautiful

And I think Zwei is one of my early and steady layers. Vier, who I think is my best and earliest layer, doesn't have any white feathers at this point.

 

[Southerngirl]

I raise black cayuga ducks. as they age and get older they do start to turn white. This is normal for the cayugas but not sure about your runners, just wanted to let you know I have seen this happen with ducks though.

 

[toadbriar]

Nettie how old are Ming Mei and Vinny now?

 

[katharinad]

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Do all your ducks have German numbers as their name? I find this hilarious, since I'm German.

 

[Amiga]

katharinad,

Caught me!

Yes, with eleven runners arriving all at once (I ordered ten, and received a bonus duckling), I could not imagine coming up with names for everyone. So, I thought, numbers. How cold. But GERMAN numbers would sound so friendly and fascinating (my MIL is German).

So, numbers.

Eins and Elf were easy - Eins is the largest, was the friendliest duckling, and Elf is the smallest, a chocolate runner. The rest took some time. Acht is the loudest, Zehn is the nuttiest, Zwei seems to be buddies with Eins. Drei is close with Zwei. Vier used to be the duckling most likely to panic, with Fünf close behind. Sechs was unnamed for a while, and one day I just knew that was her number though I cannot explain why. Sieben was the duckling usually sitting off by herself while everyone else was in two's three's or fours, napping. Neun is another one named intuitively, who just looked like a Neun one day.

Nice that you noticed! Danke!

 

[nettie]

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Ming Mei's 2nd birthday is coming up on the 30th (Victor's is on August 30th). She gets a little tasty treat for her birthday- 2 french fries. lol When Joe first met her, she begged him for some of his french fries and he didn't know any better so he gave her a couple. Since they are not a healthy treat, she gets two french fries we'll bake at home for her. lol

We also make them special birdie muffins with peas baked in as a "birthday cake".

Here's a few more of Ming Mei and Vinny looking whiter... just took these today in the back yard-