Getting a new black scovy drake

[Quacking Pigeon]

Hi guys, I’m just wondering if I should get this drake for breeding and showing or if i should just hold off for a while and wait till there’s an auction.

His parents are black and white... I’m a bit confused how they produced a black but that’s genetics. The drake overtime will most likely form a white breast. What’s your opinion?

 

[learycow]

If wanting to show, hes not a good one. You want all black with the only white being on the wing tips. No white on the chest

 

[Quacking Pigeon]

It’s very hard to find pure black drakes in Australia. I did have one who had a black breast.

But he had a respiratory infection and ended up dying after a few days. Also should I be worried about the girls he was with?

 

[Quacking Pigeon]

This is another drake for sale, but he has the same issue with the white. Also he should have a lower tail like the drake I had. And his wings are crossed so he isn’t a good one.

 

[sylviethecochin]

Theoretically, I think you could use a good black pied drake to get black ducklings--in goats and cattle and rabbits, the spot/pied gene is a pattern gene, but I'm pretty sure that in muscovies, it's a single white gene that causes loss of pigment. Two copies means that the bird is completely white, one copy means that the bird has patches of pigment (or patches of white) and no copies mean that you get a solid colored bird. Of course, it would be a bit of a gamble over whether you got a good black pattern without being able to see the entire pattern...

@learycow? I don't show muscovies, and it looks like you do, so would this work? Or am I leaving out another factor completely?

 

[learycow]

Theoretically, I think you could use a good black pied drake to get black ducklings--in goats and cattle and rabbits, the spot/pied gene is a pattern gene, but I'm pretty sure that in muscovies, it's a single white gene that causes loss of pigment. Two copies means that the bird is completely white, one copy means that the bird has patches of pigment (or patches of white) and no copies mean that you get a solid colored bird. Of course, it would be a bit of a gamble over whether you got a good black pattern without being able to see the entire pattern...

@learycow? I don't show muscovies, and it looks like you do, so would this work? Or am I leaving out another factor completely?

I show only for fun (and don't breed solids!) but pied can be used to breed solids. It just takes a few generations of breeding to get solids. And keep in mind that those will still carry the pied gene recessively so it can pop up generations later.

I wouldn't suggest using an white head gened birds though as that takes MUCH longer to breed out of a flock.

But @Quacking Pigeon is right, go for conformation first as thats harder to breed and correct. Pattern is much easier to work on

 

[Quacking Pigeon]

Also should I be worried about the ducks that were with the sick drake since I want to move them out soon.

 

[Quacking Pigeon]

These are 2 black ducks I found for sale the other day. I think there’s a dead pekin in the background of the second pic...

 

[Miss Lydia]

Are they showing any signs of being sick?

Why would any one post pics of their birds with a dead bird in it. Poor thing.

 

[Quacking Pigeon]

No they aren’t. But it doesn’t help that the chook kennels haven’t been cleaned out for months, except the one they’re in.