Runner changing color?

[froggie71]

Onyx is one of our black runners we rescued. When we got her she was all black with 1 white feather on her breast. (obviously not a SQ runner.) She recently started laying and now she looks more like a dalmation than a black runner. LOL. We are thinking of changing her name to Domino.
Onyx aka Domino

 

[Wifezilla]

It's common. My fawn runner looks almost all white during certain times of the year. As they age they tend to lighten too.

She is a cutie either way

 

[froggie71]

Thanks, we think she is a cutie as well.
I've seen our F/W runners lighten and then darken as well. I've not seen a black get so spotted like that. The other black runner we have has a bit of white on her neck and she hasn't changed like that at all.

 

[J3172]

how old is she? I've heard of a lot of cayuga, and west Indies turning "Mottled" as they get older, that might be whats happening to her.

 

[froggie71]

We got her at the end of July,so about 6 1/2 to 7 months. It is interesting to see the changes they go through.

 

[CityChicker]

It is aging white. Pretty much all black ducks can (and usually do) get that. I have seen it start that early too. It is more common with hens than drakes. Some will eventually become almost solid white.

 

[froggie71]

Wow, that's interesting. You learn something everyday on this site. Thanks for the info.

 

[nettie]

both my black and chocolate runners are getting "Gray hairs" lol. They get more usualy with each molt. My chocolate runner has about 4-5 white flight feathers on each wing now too.