Ducks have long white feathers

[LivinOnLove]

Hi.
My female Rouen ducks have turned from a nice brown/tan color to a light tan with the edges of their feathers having white. The white feathers are also longer and do a criss-cross on their backs. I noticed this last fall in just one of them, and she was a mother of a large brood, so I guessed it was just from stressors. My ducks have also just recently started laying. Has anyone else noticed this with their ducks? Is it normal, or should I be concerned? Do they maybe have a deficiency? They get free choice oyster shell/calcium and do consume that in spurts. I feed them a poultry mix, layers pellets, and a bit of corn. Otherwise, they free-range for the rest when the season allows. What time of year do they molt? Could it be that?

 

[Twistedfeather]

I don't think female ducks go through an eclipse molt but then again it could be possible. How old is this duck? Are you also able to post pictures? Sometimes that helps.

 

[DemonicFowl]

Your duck is probably bleaching out. My cayuga's started doing this last year first E'aster now Solveig this year. It basically means she might have a poor color gene. As a hen ages her ability to keep her color might deteriorate. So a black duck ,cayuga, might be mostly white in a few years. Its not harmful its just a genetic thing.

Look something like this? E'aster used to be all black like her sister Solveig. But as she molted white feathers replaced some of the black.

 

[Kaessa]

Your duck is probably bleaching out. My cayuga's started doing this last year first E'aster now Solveig this year. It basically means she might have a poor color gene. As a hen ages her ability to keep her color might deteriorate. So a black duck ,cayuga, might be mostly white in a few years. Its not harmful its just a genetic thing.

Look something like this? E'aster used to be all black like her sister Solveig. But as she molted white feathers replaced some of the black.

That's actually pretty typical for Cayugas, especially the females.

 

[DemonicFowl]

That's actually pretty typical for Cayugas, especially the females.

Yah I know. I don't mind it. Wanna see how white they will get, its gonna be awesome if they hit solid white.

 

[Kaessa]

Yah I know. I don't mind it. Wanna see how white they will get, its gonna be awesome if they hit solid white.

Yeah, I'm looking forward to seeing what happens with mine, too.

 

[Twistedfeather]

Now that you mention it. I remember reading about that in Storey's guide to raising duck that it is common for black ducks as they age. That was why I decided to steer clear of black runner's when I ordered some this year.

 

[LivinOnLove]

Hi. I was able to get picts on Saturday, and finally have a moment to post them. The black/white one is 2 yrs and the brown one is only a year old.