How many times has your duck changed colors????

[chickengirlnm]

we started with this little army green duckling with a small pompom on its head .....

than changed to this all brown teenage duck looking very female mallardish with a nice sized pompom.....

we now have this very adult mallard/crested mix with a huge pompom head and we finally now its a boy !!!
but I think he is changing again his neck looks like it is starting to get a mallard green color coming in

hope you all enjoyed the pics if Frodo changes again I will take more pics.

 

[GoodEgg]

Duckies! Hehe, I have to call my dd. She loves pics of ducks. Even though ours are becoming little punks.

I love the pics. Nice pompom too! Rounder than Kupo's I think.

trish

 

[chickengirlnm]

My male mallard has been breeding with the little black duck so I cant wait to see what thier babies are going to look if they ever have any

 

[Chelly]

That pom-pom sure is CUTE! It looks like it was just glued on!

 

[chickenlisa]

Speaking of pompoms, some of my ducks have them. My adult Blue Swedish female has one,and it has gotten much bigger since she stopped laying eggs. anyone know why? Is it possible that my drake (black Swedish) has stopped breeding her and maybe isn't pulling all the feathers out? Also a young black swedish and young Cayuga (I think) have the pompoms too, but only a little poof (like half of one.) So why do some ducks have them and others don't have any-all of the same breed duck?
Lisa

 

[chickengirlnm]

I am not sure why some would have it and others don't when I frist picked my babies out of a box filled with ducklings I was not aware he was going to get this pompom thing, I called the bredders and was told he was a mallard/ crested mix - being new duck parents this is still all new to me- good luck finding out the answear to that one.

 

[greyfields]

The 'pompom' is a crest. It's actually a genetic defect where the skull doesn't form fully and a small lump of fat fills the void. The crested feathers grow from the lump of fat giving you the crest. If I recall correctly, it's a dominant trait so all her offspring should be crested to some degree.

Also, a crest is different from a tuft if you keep tufted geese. The genetics there are different I think.... although my Pilgrim male mated my Roman Tufted female and all the offspring are tufted.

 

[greyfields]

Also you asked about how many times they change color. Ducks have juvenile feathers initially. Depending on the time of year they are hatched, they will change into their "eclipse" plumage or their "nuptial" plumage. The nuptial phase is when the boys will start getting the green on their heads. The eclipse phase generally runs 3-4 months after breeding in which the males are far less fleshy and more resemlbe the females. However, females in the eclipse plumage tend to be more flashy and good for showing.

So, every year, your ducks will change colors at least once as they go from nuptial to eclipse and back to nuptial again.

 

[GoodEgg]

I think with the ducks' pompoms the genetic trait is actually potentially lethal.

I'm not sure if I am recalling the genetics correctly, but I *think* that if the duckling is homozygous for crested (genes from both parents being crested) the duckling will die in the shell. From 2 crested parents this would be 25% death rate expected. And if there is no crested gene at all, the ducklings of course won't have it. That would be 25% as well from two crested parents. The other 50% should have crests.

That would all change if only one parent is crested. I believe in that case (the parent crested duck has 1 crested gene and 1 normal gene) he may pass on either one to the ducklings, but the other parent will not be able to pass on a crested gene at all. In that case, I believe you would have 50% crested and 50% normal, with none dying from double-effect of crested gene.

I think. If anyone can correct me, please do.

My male runner is crested. My male swedish (and I'm guessing on these breeds) has something weird ... a little tuft on the right side and a little tuft on the left side of the back of his head. Looks like a bad hair day. I have heard there is something short of crested in ducks ... I think it's called tufted, but I don't know if that's what he is. It looks accidental, so if he is one I'm thinking it's not a very good one.

My ducks all changed color several times, but it was more of a gradual becoming than an all-out change. Your chameleon has ours beat!

I really need a camera!

trish

 

[chickengirlnm]

Well as far as I can Frodo is perfectly fine and healthy and does not suffer from any side affects of having a pompom on his head ( except people making fun of him). and since Ebony is not a crested I dont think there should be any harm to any ducklings.
And with Frodo changing colors I dont think I have seen a picture of a duck changing as fast as him - people see his pictures and dont believe me its the same duck LOL