Not a Magpie...but what?

[Stacykins]

So I hatched some eBay eggs that were supposedly Magpies. Fertility was kinda poor (eggtopsies on clears at a week revealed a lack of a bulleye blastodisk). But I did get two ducklings from them!

One is clearly a Magpie, a maybe girl. The other, not so much. I sexed him, definitely male. He is yellow with not a hint of black. And he has feathers on his legs! Magpies definitely don't have feathered legs.

Here are some pictures, comparing the two.








If the yellow one was a girl, I'd keep her and use her eggs for eating only. But in this case, being male, he'll go to freezer camp eventually. Unless anyone in the area wants him for a pet home (unlikely, but I'll try). I'd rather not have a cull male mating with my other, true Magpies. I was kinda hoping for a backup male, in case something happens to my other Magpie male. Oh well!

 

[Stacykins]

So a yellow duckling with feathered legs rings no bells?

 

[Amiga]

Stacykins, I apologize for not at least writing a note. First, they are just so adorable!

And I know next to nothing about breeds. It crossed my mind that you could have two magpies, the one without spots being some kind of sport (anomaly).

 

[Goat Lover 3]

I have never heard of any breed of duck with feathers on it's legs! I would ask the person you bought them from?

 

[Veer67]

Feathered legs on ducks do appear sometimes, here's a link to another page on BYC with someone who has a feathered leg duckling. https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/654193/feathered-legs-with-pictures

 

[learycow]

He looks like a runner.
I say that because he is noticably smaller than the magpie, and has that darker tint on the head and around the eyes similar to a fawn and white runner.
My other guess would be a silver magpie as I know silver doesn't usually show up in ducklings until they feather. But I am not sure if Magpies come in that color.

Or he is some sort of mix. And you were lied to as I have found many ebayers are not honest with what they are selling.
I messaged back and forth with someone last month who ordered "pure pekins" off ebay. Not a single duckling that she hatched was a pekin. They were all swedish (or mixes that looked similar) and mallard colored mixes.