What color would you describe this Runner as being?

[houndit]

Quote:
Like I said, they are mixed colors. I have no clue what the Grandparents were like. So you think that I should breed to a black instead of white. Here is a picture of part of the father. He is the Blue/Gray with a little brown. Sorry their is no head.

 

[ThePolishPrincess]

He looks Magpie to me.

 

[Goat_Walker]

Nope - The magpie has a solid color formation on the back, wings,tail, and head. If anything the coloring and pattern is like an ancona in the way the colors are on the head and that the feathers are random.

 

[briarpatchfarms]

thats ancona I think!

 

[suburbanduckmom]

Cookies and Cream!

That is one adorable duck

 

[Green Ridge MO]

Your runners sure dont stand near as erect as mine nor are they near as slender. The bills on mine are also more in a straight line with their heads. I only have a dozen fawn&white runners but your pics look like they might have other breeds mixed in by their overall body shape/posture.

 

[Goat_Walker]

There are two different body forms for runners - the original tall slim form and then the hatchery form - where they are slightly widder and lean over like regular ducks - but still stand tall on occassion

 

[Green Ridge MO]

So - do you mean some hatcheries are hatching and selling non erect runners? I figured to be a runner duck it had to stand more erect and be thin lined. I guess I just got lucky and all mine are more of the way "they used to be". The colors of this duck are awesome I must agree, but they just dont look like the runner form I researched before ordering. The ducks I have act like waddling bowling pins.

 

[Goat_Walker]

Quote:
If rainplace gets on here you can see hers - they have the true runner form.

Where as the runner drake i had was more slouched over and thicker - but still a pure runner. He was so pretty! Tri colored and everything.

 

[CityChicker]

Sorry, I forgot about this thread! The second picture posted could very well be the father, but it is weird that he doesn't show any signs of being bibbed since that is necessary for the Ancona (broken pattern) color. It is a little perplexing, but that would explain where the black came from. The second bird looks like a Blue Pied (heterozygous Blue and heterozygous Runner pattern). There are a number of different crosses/colors that could create that, but again- the lack of bib and white primaries is kind of unusual considering the coloring of the bird in post 1.

Anyway, as far as getting more of the same (Black and White Ancona pattern), it is going to be hard, especially if you just use Runners. As I said, definitely do NOT breed to white. If you just like the color and don't mind not using Runners, I would breed back to Black Swedish or Black Magpie. If you want to stay with Runners, breed back to Pencilled or Emery Pencilled. If you can't locate either of those, then breed back to Black.

In all of these breedings though, you are likely only going to get a few birds that look similar to the one in the first post. The Ancona pattern is pretty easy to get, but it doesn't breed true (comparatively) and the patterns you need to produce it do not commonly exist in Runners. You need the combination of heterozygous extended black, Bibbed, and Runner pattern. It is only slightly different from the combination that creates Magpies.