Pekin ducks...black feathers

[rollyard]

Pekin are genotypically coloured birds that don't express colour phenotypically! I see all ducks as being coloured including "whites" (no colour)! White birds are coloured but have a pair of recessive genes (c/c) in most instances that either inhibit melanin (eumelanin & pheomelanin) production, or prevent the melanins from getting into the feather! Hence, our "coloured bird" doesn't express "the colour/pattern that they have" because of the inhibiting genes c/c, resulting in a bird with no colour (white).

If your "biggest boldest little bugger" is in fact white (no colour) as the result of homozygous recessive c/c, what you may be seeing is possibly some "leakage" of the "colour" that he/she has "masked"!

 

[duckyfromoz]

Thanks Rollyard....you can always say it better than me. I understand it- but putting it into words is the problem.