What breed is she??

[Sierra67]

Her flight feathers are awful ratty looking if she just molted and got new ones. is she beating her wings up against something?

Not as far as I’m aware. Only time she really does anything is on the fence when I grab her but that’s not often and she doesn’t really freak out either she also had that wing look when I got her too

 

[Sierra67]

Hmm. She may have something different mixed in her bloodline somewhere. Now the appearance of white feathers after a molt is normal.
Or I suppose there's a standard for the Cayuga like anything else and perhaps she's just not as standard as some others.
I have heard some lines lay more black eggs than others, mine only lay one or two really dark eggs when they first start laying again and that fades to a light gray, then the rest will be a creamy white until they stop laying and start up again.

The white feathers I’m aware they do, I was more wondering about the amount of brown she has

 

[shawluvsbirds]

The white feathers I’m aware they do, I was more wondering about the amount of brown she has

I just wondered if her lack of color and feather quality could be related. I wouldn't have a clue what could be causing it though.

 

[Sierra67]

I just wondered if her lack of color and feather quality could be related. I wouldn't have a clue what could be causing it though.

I’ve had her since may 3rd, and she’s always looked like this, just molted her flight feathers and they re grew to this

 

[Miss Lydia]

Is she in good health otherwise? eating ,drinking, pooping all normal?
What do you feed them? Maybe up the protein, some an see if that helps. Mealworms is a good choice.

 

[HollowOfWisps]

Her feathers are sun bleached. Duck feathers are primarily composed of the protein keratin which is a very photosensitive protein. When Photochemical impairment is induced by the sun's radiation it weakens and damages the keratin in the feathers. This damage shows by the lightening of the feathers similar. Notice how her feathers are also raggedy? Damaged/raggedy feathers imply that the strength of her feathers are weakened which means that the proteins are damaged since a duck feather as said above is primarily composed of protein. Damaged proteins will cause the feathers to be more prone to sun bleaching.

 

[shawluvsbirds]

Her feathers are sun bleached. Duck feathers are primarily composed of the protein keratin which is a very photosensitive protein. When Photochemical impairment is induced by the sun's radiation it weakens and damages the keratin in the feathers. This damage shows by the lightening of the feathers similar. Notice how her feathers are also raggedy? Damaged/raggedy feathers imply that the strength of her feathers are weakened which means that the proteins are damaged since a duck feather as said above is primarily composed of protein. Damaged proteins will cause the feathers to be more prone to sun bleaching.

But..she said the duck had just went through a molt and grew back again looking the same.
So what would be the cause of the damaged proteins/poor feather quality for this one particular bird?
Does this one just need more protein than the others since her other ducks aren't like this?

 

[HollowOfWisps]

But..she said the duck had just went through a molt and grew back again looking the same.
So what would be the cause of the damaged proteins/poor feather quality for this one particular bird?
Does this one just need more protein than the others since her other ducks aren't like this?

It's the same process that occurs with human hair and how some people end up sun bleached/damaged hair and other don't. It's all about the individuals health, genetics and protein structure/integrity.

 

[Quatie]

She looks like a black runner duck to me. My black runner has more of the brown coloration. Do you have a picture of her standing up?

You can see my black runner standing up next to my Cayugas. But you can just see the color difference. I don't have a better picture of these ones.

 

[shawluvsbirds]

It's the same process that occurs with human hair and how some people end up sun bleached/damaged hair and other don't. It's all about the individuals health, genetics and protein structure/integrity.

Interesting!