White spots on our ducks backs...

[TheGoldenRoo]

We have three black runner ducks and they are all 1 years old but two of them have white spots all over their backs. At first we thought it was molting but come summer again they still had white... They are not sick because they have been like this for quite some time now but I wish I had some pure black ducks.

<I just wanna here what you think>

 

[roocrazy]

r they females or males becauase i know that when cayuga females age the get the mottled look?

 

[L0rraine]

It's my understanding that pure Black can be a difficult color. White spotting is a common problem (it's the same with Blues). I think it has something to do with an incompletely dominant gene. Dave Holderread's book Storey's Guide to Raising Ducks has some good info on the difficulty of getting pure black.

Here's my Blue Runner duck, Juliette, who supposedly was solid in early days.

In her case I think her speckles have added to her charm. But I know what you mean - the solid black can be quite elegant.

 

[Wifezilla]

 

[nettie]

my friend david has a black runner and just emailed the other day concerned about vinny the runner getting white feathers... think of them as gray hairs... they get more as they get older. lol nothing to worry about.