Duck Color Genetics

-White

White is one of the most common colors in Runner ducks. It is also the easiest color to have that will breed true. Basically, if it’s white, it will breed true when bred to another white. Easy-peasy. Possibly this is the reason that whites typically have the best conformation; no energy is wasted trying to perfect color since the color is simple. That frees up all sorts of attention to focus on everything else that makes a runner a runner.

Basics of White

Commonly used genotype letters

  • c white (recessive)

  • C+ non-white (wild type)

(C+/C+) is non-white allowing other color genetics to do their thing.

(C+/c) is non-white as well but when mated with a white or a duck that carries a white, can produce white offspring.

(c/c) is white and will always produce white when mated with another white.

 

White, when homozygous, causes the lack of pigmentation, although occasionally it is possible to have small amounts of pigment “leak” through the “white-out” resulting in colored spots of various sizes.

I like to think of it like a white sheet that covers the duck; all you see is white, but the other color genetics are still there…you just can’t see them! When you cross a white with another color, it’s a lot like opening a mystery box. Since white only expresses when homozygous, crossing with another color will likely result in all non-white ducklings (unless of course, the non-white mate was secretly carrying around a single copy of white, in which case half the resulting offspring would still be white…a good opportunity to pull out your notebook and mark down the secret white culprit you discovered in your non-white duck!) The offspring would all carry a single copy of white, but would otherwise show the shared genetics of both white and non-white parents, giving you a glimpse as to what color “lies beneath” the white parent! A true sleuthing venture!

White Ducklings

  • White ducklings will always be yellow. They are very easy to identify from day one.

  • as they grow out, white ducklings cannot be sexed by feather color.

 

Leakage in White

  • White duckling with Leakage

    I was very puzzled when I first saw this duckling. A person might think that possibly it could be a very white ancona colored duckling but at the time the color genes that cause that color were completely absent from my flock.

  • White duckling with Leakage

    It was suggested by fellow breeders that it might just be color leakage. Nothing left to do but watch it grow!

  • Duckling grown up

    Here is the same duckling all grown up and feathered out. As you can see, the odd colored feather corresponds with where the dark patches in the duckling down were!

  • Close-up of Leakage

    I can’t help but wonder if the color of this odd non-white feather says something about what other color genetics the white is hiding….one day I may find out!

 disclaimer: since I am on a continuous learning journey, any of my comments on duck color genetics may be revised at any time as I learn new things. If your experiences differ to mine, please feel free to share them with me as I’m always excited to update, revise, and add to my duck color genetics knowledge!