pink feathers on trout runners???

[688peterl]

i hope they are both girls! im not fussed about eggs but dont you need 2 girls to every drake or will it not matter if they have been raised together since hatch???

 

[CityChicker]

They are so cute! They are definitely not Trout. It is obvious that they are Runner pattern (Pied). They are probably going to be Grey Pieds. I am not sure what colors you guys have in the UK in Runner pattern. You might be able to find out from the Runner club or breeders there. They clearly have the Runner pattern though.

 

[eggybritches]

Quote:
I disagree. The feathers are coming in brown with a darker brown center. That's indicative of trout coloring. I don't know what runner pattern means, but they don't have the same coloring as any of my runners.

I could be wrong.

And if they are both girls or both boys they should be fine. If it is one boy and one girl you might have to watch them when it comes to mating because he could be harsh on her. You might want to get another female if that is the case.

 

[688peterl]

Quote:
I disagree. The feathers are coming in brown with a darker brown center. That's indicative of trout coloring. I don't know what runner pattern means, but they don't have the same coloring as any of my runners.

I could be wrong.

And if they are both girls or both boys they should be fine. If it is one boy and one girl you might have to watch them when it comes to mating because he could be harsh on her. You might want to get another female if that is the case.

thats what i thought but then i would have to buy an adult and she wont be as friendly as these two!

 

[CityChicker]

Quote:
I disagree. The feathers are coming in brown with a darker brown center. That's indicative of trout coloring. I don't know what runner pattern means, but they don't have the same coloring as any of my runners.

I could be wrong.

Yes, you are wrong. What you are describing in the feathers is also not just indicative of Trout either. The Runner pattern is one of the most common patterns in Runner ducks. Genetically, it is the R/R genotype. It is basically pied pattern. Color and pattern are not the same thing. The most common duck colors in Runner pattern are Fawn and White and Penciled (in the US anyway). I strongly suspect that the OP's birds are Grey Pied (again, in Runners referred to as "Runner" pattern). Here are a couple of links that show birds in Grey Pied.....

http://www.kawonufarm.com/varieties.html (7th picture down)
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/gZ9fGYis4WgHzGuU9vtnfA

These are just a few examples. The pattern produces excess white over the top of the color. As I already said, the pattern varies a lot in its expression. Birds can be selectively bred for more or less white. I hope this helps you to understand. There are several good books that cover the genetics of duck color including anything by the Ashtons or Holderread. I hope this helps. I'm sure those babies are going to be beauties.

 

[CityChicker]

Also, to clarify...when I say "Grey", I mean the wild type Mallard color. In the US, that is what we refer to as Grey. At least the darker baby is probably Grey pied (and I think that I have read that most Runner patterned ducks in the UK are not Dusky based, so that would make sense. I would have to check one of the Ashton books to verify since they are from there). The lighter bird in the down color looks like it may have something else like Blue dilution as well, but the feathers coming in don't necessarily show that so it might just be a variation in the Grey. In my pure Mallard stock the down color can range from Black to Light Brown and the ducks can still feather out as normal Grey, so it is probably too early to tell.

 

[CityChicker]

Okay, so I went and checked the Ashton color genetics book since they are in the UK (whew! I don't think I have ever posted three times in a row in the same thread! LOL). So, they say that the Pied birds in the UK *are* more often not Dusky as they are in the US (M^d). They are more often the wild type (M+). That would make sense based on the appearance of your birds. Pied has been called "Runner" since the early 1900's. It is incompletely dominant and can be produced on pretty much any color. There are a few birds in the Ashton book that literally look identical to yours, Peter.

My guess is that the babies are out of a Grey (or possibly Trout since that wouldn't necessarily show in the first generation) mated to a UK Fawn and White (called Penciled in the US). If one of the parents was a Trout (and not the other) and the birds end up being a pair, about 25% of the offspring should be Trout, with or without Pied pattern. I know you don't want to raise babies, but I am sure you would get some beauties! Either way, I bet the current babies are going to be *gorgeous*. I can't wait to see how they turn out! I wish you could mail some eggs across the pond! I'm sure you would have plenty of buyers.

 

[688peterl]

just took some more pics...

 

[classroomducks]

That coloring does look similar to my mallards coloring...they are about a week older than yours...