making feathers

the ducklings are looking a bit motley these days as they're busy shedding fuzz and making feathers.  runner ducks have several genes for color.  they can be white, black, fawn, penciled, gray (mallard), etc. and breeders are always tinkering with developing new colors.  i've always loved the deep brown of the chocolate runners.  so when i decided it was time to get ducks i ordered chocolate runners.  out of the 17 ducklings i received 3 are chocolate runners.  i'd been a bit suspicious from the moment i opened their shipping box.  3 of them were definitely brown.  the others were a kind of brownish gray.  as they grew the grayish ones became a bit lighter gray and developed black spots here and there.  i contacted the hatchery to find out why some of my "chocolate" runners were gray with black spots.  well, it turns out, it's because they're blue runners.  they're all beautiful, chocolate or not.

a chocolate surrounded by blues showing off some sleek new belly feathers

a blue runner with new feathers just above her wings

they all seem to be feathering out at their own pace

can't wait to see them all dressed up.