Trout Indian Runner Genetics

[Duck Hill]

You are right it's been quite fun seeing what comes out of the egg. That's Barbra Lewis in my avatar and I think she might be blue too, just have to wait for feathers

What a cute duckling! When ducklings are light like yours, it can be hard to tell what color they really are unless you know the parents. A duckling like her could be a fawn-and-white (Runner) like Crocus below, or could be fawn without white, or could even be blue Harlequin like the second phot below.

Crocus.

• Duck Hill
• Dec 9, 2015

I love the surprise when they first come out of the egg. Then I love the surprise when the feathers come in and everything you thought you knew goes out the window!!!

 

[Pekin747]

The guy I bought a few Indian runners of has only pure black ones and every now and again u can get a trout or a white Indian runner the whites in my opinion rnt up to standered but the trouts r fantastic birds

 

[Duck Hill]

I have noticed that different colors of runners do tend to have different body shapes. I think this is related to the crosses that were made to obtain the colors. For example, I have made a runner / welsh harlequin cross. Even in the second generation, the body types are all in between runner and harlequin. I do NOT see some very thin and tall, and I do not see fatter squat ones. So while color genes may be well separated (black or blue or silver), the body shape genes seem to lead to mixtures that remain somewhat stable. I have bred my half/half birds back to pure runner, and this has led to taller, thinner birds. It may simply be a question of establishing a color, breeding back to better birds, re-establishing the color, breeding back...

I think whites could fairly easily be improved. In the first generation, you would breed a white to a colored duck/ ducks whose shape you admired. All the babies would be colored, but you would know that all the babies carry white. Then you could interbreed the babies and 1/4 of them would come out white, with somewhat better body shape.

 

[Pekin747]

I have noticed that different colors of runners do tend to have different body shapes. I think this is related to the crosses that were made to obtain the colors. For example, I have made a runner / welsh harlequin cross. Even in the second generation, the body types are all in between runner and harlequin. I do NOT see some very thin and tall, and I do not see fatter squat ones. So while color genes may be well separated (black or blue or silver), the body shape genes seem to lead to mixtures that remain somewhat stable. I have bred my half/half birds back to pure runner, and this has led to taller, thinner birds. It may simply be a question of establishing a color, breeding back to better birds, re-establishing the color, breeding back...

I think whites could fairly easily be improved. In the first generation, you would breed a white to a colored duck/ ducks whose shape you admired. All the babies would be colored, but you would know that all the babies carry white. Then you could interbreed the babies and 1/4 of them would come out white, with somewhat better body shape.

Ur last part there was what I was thing breeding some whites to my trouts and then breeding back to get better and taller whites

 

[Duck Hill]

Yep! First generation they will all look trout, and you won't see any differences between them and regular trout. The hard part is that means you have to find a way to keep track of exactly which of your trout ducks have the hidden white gene.

 

[Pekin747]

Yea it wont be easy but itll just be a matter of separating them into small groups 2s 3s or 4s and then going from there it's not going to be a short project but I've a few young being raised atm by another breeder for me to get started next year

 

[Duck Hill]

Once they are grown, you could identify your white-carrying trouts with a yellow or white zip tie around one leg. I have had no issues at all with zip ties around adult duck legs. I have had a pair with zip ties for more than a year, because they look exactly alike and I want to tell them apart!

 

[Pekin747]

Once they are grown, you could identify your white-carrying trouts with a yellow or white zip tie around one leg. I have had no issues at all with zip ties around adult duck legs. I have had a pair with zip ties for more than a year, because they look exactly alike and I want to tell them apart!

I have 1 black duck that carries a white and black ducklings and she looks just like the other and I use a white zip tie to tell her apart so I dont sell her and keep her for breeding

 

[Magnolia Ducks]

What a cute duckling! When ducklings are light like yours, it can be hard to tell what color they really are unless you know the parents. A duckling like her could be a fawn-and-white (Runner) like Crocus below, or could be fawn without white, or could even be blue Harlequin like the second phot below.

Crocus.

• Duck Hill
• Dec 9, 2015

View attachment 1889614

I love the surprise when they first come out of the egg. Then I love the surprise when the feathers come in and everything you thought you knew goes out the window!!!

I think she's gonna be blue. Pekin Fawn and white runner cross.

 

[picky]

That duckling is "brown". Brown has interesting genetics. It is recessive gene. However, it is on the gender gene. Girl ducks have a shorter gender gene from mom, and therefore do not get "brown/not brown" info from mom at all. They do get that info from dad.

Your dad Drake had 1 not-brown gene, making him dark, and one brown gene, which was hidden because it is recessive.

The boy ducklings all got a dark gene from mom and either a dark gene from dad or a hidden brown gene from dad. They all looked dark, because they all had at least one dark gene.

The girl ducklings got a dark gene from dad or a brown gene from dad. They did not get any info on this from mom, because mom's contribution to them was a short "girl" gene without "brown" info.

Your little lighter duckling was a girl duckling with a brown gene from dad. As she had no info from mom, she had to go "brown".

Short version? Brown is a crazy gene. Your duckling was brown and since the mom and dad both looked dark she had to be a girl duckling.

Thank you so much to take the time to explain this to me, I understand now. I actually have a duckling that I believe was mix with a runner that has the brown gene. And she looks pretty. She probably will be cream. Thank youu so very much!