White and Chocolate Swedish Ducks

[LoveMySweedDucks]

I've been asking around about my white duckling (who is now feathered) but there's not many people around me familiar with Swedish ducks, so I figured I would ask here!

I'm not good with genetics but I have a silver hen, a chocolate hen, and that batch was a black Swedish drake (related by one parent to my hens) of 17 eggs I got 10 ducklings, 8 black, 1 blue, and the 1 white one. She has a very pale orange/white bill, and in the sunlight her eyes appear blueish. I bought the parents as day olds and didn't see the parents so I don't have that genetic information to share.

I've been told A ) my chocolate hen must be a cross because only blue and black exist which after looking up a few things I know is wrong, B ) my white duckling is a pekin cross, which is impossible because I only own the three ducks

Please help me figure this out on what happened to get a white duck. (I love her and might keep her to breed to my new blue drake when she's older)

 

[Kiki to Nana]

Well I can add. I've seen a a women with two chocolate sweedish. I believe it's genetic and extremely rare. But other wise she looks exactly like my sweeds just chocolate and actually a lot more beautiful.

I also know a person who has a black sweedish and one of her molting she ended up coming out white with black spots instead of black with white and has been that way every since.

Could just be genetic? Give her a few weeks and you'll start to see any color coming through

 

[cheezenkwackers]

Your post intrigued me because I teach some genetics so I looked in Storey's guide for help. White, is a recessive gene for "no color". Think of it like a new ink cartridge for your printer with the protective tape left on. If you forgot to take the tape off before using it, the color would be there but not get on the paper. Now imagine, your printer holds two ink carrtridges because all animals have two genes for every trait, one from mom and one from dad. If you forgot to take the tape off both cartridges -white paper. In the same way, white ducks have two "no color" genes, so no "ink" gets in their feathers. If a duck has one "no color" gene and one normal gene, it looks normal because color gets to the feathers from the normal gene (the cartridge with the tape off).
So, your drake and one of your hens most likely carry one normal and one "no color" gene. They both happened to give your white duck "no color".

I say most likely, because all non-mallard traits are mutations or mistakes in the DNA. It is possible, although unlikely, that her lack of color is from a new mutation in the line.

In my reading, I also learned that the gene for silver (a totally different gene -think ink color) is a recessive gene as well. The dominant gene is black. If a duck has one black and one silver gene you get blue. So, your silver hen has to be the mother of the blue duckling. I hope this makes sense and helps.

 

[chickens really]

@Ravynscroft

 

[WVduckchick]

2 years ago, i hatched my first 4 Swedish ducks. They were all 4 different, from one being almost white, with just a black spot on his rump, one is about half black half white, one is black with a full white bib, to the darkest which had a white bib, but very speckled with black feathers.

3 of these turned out to be drakes I moved the 2 lightest males to my farm, and kept the 2 bibbed ones (white bib female, speckled bib male) at home.

She went broody and hatched 8 ducklings. 3 were solid black! No more with much white, but mostly decently bibbed. It turned out only 2 solid black ones were female, so again, i moved the drakes to my farm, kept one of the nicely bibbed sons with my original momma duck, and the daughters.

This summer, mom decided to brood again, including eggs from both daughters, hatched 5, one is almost all white, with a few random black patches, almost like my original 4. I have also hatched many ducklings for others that have been about the same as my own ducks results.

So to shorten this a bit, mine have not bred much like the parents.

would love to see your chocolate!

A few pics, in backwards order lol

 

[Ravynscroft]

In my reading, I also learned that the gene for silver (a totally different gene -think ink color) is a recessive gene as well. The dominant gene is black. If a duck has one black and one silver gene you get blue. So, your silver hen has to be the mother of the blue duckling. I hope this makes sense and helps.

Ah, correct on the white being recessive... drake and at least 1 hen are carrying white to create a white duckling...

But silver is not recessive... black is the base color, yes... blue is a *dilute* gene of black, and it is dominant... silver is 2 blue genes, thus dilutes the black twice...

Correct that the blue duckling would be the silvers offspring... a single silver parent will always have blue offspring, since she will always pass down 1 of her blue genes to all her offspring...

 

[LoveMySweedDucks]

Thank you! I am learning so much, (my chocolate is in my picture but I'll post a few below if I can!)

I will post pictures of the white, silver, and chocolate, since the white is fully feathered now!

 

[WVduckchick]

Very pretty!

 

[cheezenkwackers]

Beautiful ducks!

 

[Ravynscroft]

Agree, gorgeous!!

Btw, if you want more white ducks, breed your white back to her father... approx 50% should hatch out white from that pairing...