Wow!! And I keep learning and learning.... This will help you guys get back to the color genetics part of this thread...pictures!! This young drake was a surprise find at a local gentleman's place last September. I called on some ducklings he had and, during the discussion, he mentioned a having a "grey duck" so I just had to go check out his stock since I had never seen a "grey" Muscovy and barely knew they existed (also knowing it was either a blue or lavender). In the beginning of the year, I had contacted Dave Holderread about his Muscovies and was told he could refer me to people that had taken over that project, but the birds were no longer his. I had no idea before listening to you guys that there was an issue with him, but, since we are from California and he is the closest (except for Metzer's), have gotten ducklings from him in the past. Of course, his books are one my shelf and I am a little saddened to hear that the duck world is the same as what I see in horses and dogs, but that is a whole other discussion. Back to my young drake. I would love ANY help from those of you who know way more about Muscovy coloring than I do, with finding out what color and pattern he is and, if you are willing, to help me learn what I can expect out of his offspring when he is put to different ducks. Right now, I am in the process of building different yards so my 3 Muscovy drakes, 3 Muscovy ducks, and one remaining Ancona are loose in the yard together with all of my other birds. The youngest black and white (okay, I do not know if he should be called a black pied with a white head? What is proper?) drake from last year's babies from my black and white male and chocolate pied female will be leaving and not be used for breeding here.
Here is my boy with a duck I got from the same place. I believe he said that her mother was a similar color to him, but had more of a chocolate color than he does...kind of a "muddier" version of him. All I saw at his place were black and white drakes, some with white heads, some without, but from what I have observed, it appears that the white markings spread over time (similar to Appaloosa markings on horses or the color grey on horses) so they may just have been young drakes. From my notes, I think that this drake's mother was white and sister to the mostly black duck that I brought home with him. I did see a brother the gentleman was keeping because he liked his "grey" birds and the brother had much more white than this guy. The two would have been hatched in March according to what he remembered. I do know that this was the first time he had seen this color in his flock and that he said the hen's Mama (my drake's Grandma?) just showed up at his pond one day and never left.
This is a picture of him in the beginning of October at approximately 7 months.
And here are a couple close-ups of his markings. I do not remember the difference between "barred" and "ripple" and will not even attempt to tell you what I would call him
Any help on this would be appreciated!! As you guys have already said that there is no good Muscovy book out there and just recently found the Duck section of this forum. I just hadn't paged down from learning about chickens
So glad that I found you guys and look forward to learning as much as can from you!!! A huge Thanks! in advance....
Here is my boy with a duck I got from the same place. I believe he said that her mother was a similar color to him, but had more of a chocolate color than he does...kind of a "muddier" version of him. All I saw at his place were black and white drakes, some with white heads, some without, but from what I have observed, it appears that the white markings spread over time (similar to Appaloosa markings on horses or the color grey on horses) so they may just have been young drakes. From my notes, I think that this drake's mother was white and sister to the mostly black duck that I brought home with him. I did see a brother the gentleman was keeping because he liked his "grey" birds and the brother had much more white than this guy. The two would have been hatched in March according to what he remembered. I do know that this was the first time he had seen this color in his flock and that he said the hen's Mama (my drake's Grandma?) just showed up at his pond one day and never left.
This is a picture of him in the beginning of October at approximately 7 months.
And here are a couple close-ups of his markings. I do not remember the difference between "barred" and "ripple" and will not even attempt to tell you what I would call him
Any help on this would be appreciated!! As you guys have already said that there is no good Muscovy book out there and just recently found the Duck section of this forum. I just hadn't paged down from learning about chickens
