Indian runner drake loses tail curl- Normal??

[Roxyig]

I had one drake with 5 girls. Drake had a white ring around his neck and a curled feather on his tail. Recently, one female hatched eggs and we now have 6 more runners. Seems we one male for sure in the newest crew. Question- Original drake lost the white ring around his neck and no longer has the curled tail feather! Is this due to a new (younger) male coming into the group? If not, why did this happen? No signs of illness at all. I am not sure what to make of this.

 

[cheezenkwackers]

It is perfectly normal for the time of year. Drakes molt in late summer into Eclipse plumage. Their hormone levels drop and they lose their drake feathers, green heads, and revert back to something similar to their juvenile plumage. In the wild this would help them not be as noticeable to predators. They also become much nicer. In late winter their hormone levels go up and they molt again back into their breeding plumage.
I have noticed that when I have two drakes, one is often the dominant one for that year. His colors are brighter and often has more than one drake curl. So, it will be interesting to see what happens with yours come spring.

 

[Roxyig]

It is perfectly normal for the time of year. Drakes molt in late summer into Eclipse plumage. Their hormone levels drop and they lose their drake feathers, green heads, and revert back to something similar to their juvenile plumage. In the wild this would help them not be as noticeable to predators. They also become much nicer. In late winter their hormone levels go up and they molt again back into their breeding plumage.
I have noticed that when I have two drakes, one is often the dominant one for that year. His colors are brighter and often has more than one drake curl. So, it will be interesting to see what happens with yours come spring.

Thank you so much as this info is valuable to me. I know what to watch for. Side note, I went out to look over my new drake and he does have two tail curls! They all share one coop - should we be building another coop and divide the crew now?

 

[cheezenkwackers]

Thank you so much as this info is valuable to me. I know what to watch for. Side note, I went out to look over my new drake and he does have two tail curls! They all share one coop - should we be building another coop and divide the crew now?

Depends how long it takes you to build a coop. Don’t be surprised if the boys are fighting after Christmas. I currently have two drakes with six girls with few issues. But, my boys are Dutch Hookbill’s which are said to be more chill than others. I also only kept the calmest drake originally (had three then) and then later kept his son. In my experience , once drakes become super jerks, they don’t come back from it although they calm down some during Eclipse plumage time. Hope that answers your question!