Colors & Patterns
Black
Black is known as the 'Common Color' for Muscovy. Ducklings will have a dark head, dark bodies, dark bill and feet.
Blue
Blue is a dilution of black. It may appear dark or light. Ducklings have dark heads similar to blacks, but lighter colored bodies. They're very close to the color of blacks at hatch. They will have dark pigment on bill, a dark bean and feet.
Silver
Courtesy of Sommer Palmer
Silvers are an uneven metallic gray. Silvers will have a rusty red coloring to their chest as juveniles that will disappear and sometimes reappear after they molt. Silvers can often times be confused with lavenders, but a pure lavender will always be darker than a silver unless mixed with a blue or silver bird which in turn causes the lavender to appear lighter. Silvers will often times have tannish tones from being in the sunshine and may also show lacing and darker bleed through feathers, similar to blues. Ducklings hatch out with a gray head and sometimes may have golden tones. Their bodies are slightly lighter than their heads. As adults, silvers will have a metallic gray head and body, black pigment on their bill, a black/gray bean and gray feet.
Lavender
Lavenders are similar to silvers, but with slight differences. First of all as adults, lavenders are darker than silvers and will have red/purple tones vs the tannish tones on a silver. Lavenders are autosomal recessive, meaning you need two lavender/lavender based parents or two parents carrying the lavender gene in order to produce more lavenders. Ducklings will hatch out with blue/gray heads and slightly lighter bluish gray bodies. Lavender adults will be dark gray in color with slight reddish/purple tones, black pigment on bill, and black/gray bean and feet.
Bronze
Bronze is also autosomal recessive, again meaning both parents must be bronze, bronze based, or carry the bronze gene in order to produce more bronze or bronze based offspring. Bronze are similar to chocolate, but have a lot of variation to their color. As adults, bronze have lacing, which is lighter shades of color just around the outer edges of the feathers. Chocolates can have lighter variations as well, but involved the whole feather being lightened due to the amount of exposure to sunlight. Duckling hatch out with reddish brown colored heads and almost zero color to their bodies. Their bills will be a light bluish purple color, which will in turn lighten up as they age. The same applies to their bean and feet. As adults, bronze have bright pink bills, a white bean, and fleshy pink colored feet.
Chocolate
Chocolate appears brown and can become much lighter when exposed often to the sun. Ducklings hatch with rusty brown colored heads and brown bodies. Chocolates will have brown pigment on bill, a brown bean, and brown feet. Chocolate is known as a sex-linked color gene and is recessive in males. This means that when a drake is chocolate or carrying the chocolate gene and is bred to a non-chocolate female, all chocolate ducklings will be females. This same rule applies to all other chocolate based colors such as lilac, buff, cream, chocolate bronze, lilac bronze, buff bronze and cream bronze.
Lilac
Blue + Chocolate
Lilac is chocolate with blue. Lilacs have brown heads similar to chocolate, but have a light blue overlay on their bodies giving them a pastel appearance. The sex-linked gene applies with this color. Ducklings will hatch with a rusty colored head that is slightly lighter than a chocolate and their bodies will be a light tan color, lighter than their head. Lilacs will have brown pigment on their bill, a brown bean and brown feet.
Buff
Silver + Chocolate
Buff is very similar to lilac, but lighter. Buff is chocolate with silver, causing it to be lighter than lilac. They are almost pinkish with some having a light blue/gray lacing. The sex-linked gene applies with buff. Ducklings will have heads very similar to silver, but light tannish in color. Their bodies will also be a light tannish color, the same as their head. Their bill will be very light with light brown pigment, bean will be a very light tan, same with their feet.
Cream
Lavender + Chocolate
Cream is lavender with chocolate and because cream involves lavender, the recessive gene applies here, again with both parents either expressing or carrying the lavender gene. In the case with cream, the sex-link gene also applies. When a cream drake is bred to a non-cream or other non-chocolate based colored hen, all cream and all other chocolate based offspring will be female. This is due to the chocolate, “sex-linked” gene. Cream ducklings hatch out with light tannish colored heads with lighter tan bodies. Their bills will be a light pinkish/purple color with bean and feet being a light reddish brown color. As they age, the bean and feet on a cream will turn light brown. Adult creams are a light tan/vanilla color from head to tail, have brown pigment on bill with a light brown bean and brown feet.
Fume
Bronze + Blue
Fume is bronze and blue, which together creates a smoky color appearance. In order to produce fume, both parents must have the bronze gene, but one parent must also have a blue gene. The head and neck of an adult fume is a dark gray or plum color which extends down the back towards the tail, gradually getting lighter with the tail being the lightest point on the bird. Fume will have bleed through feathers due to the blue gene. These can appear as black spots in lighter areas on the bird. Fume ducklings hatch out with light golden tan heads and almost zero color on their bodies. They will have pinkish bills and feet that will lighten up as they age. Adult fume will have a dark smoky colored head, lighter smoky colored body with the lightest point at the end of tail. The bill on an adult fume is bright pink with a white bean, and fleshy pink colored feet.
Tortora
Bronze + Silver
Tortora is bronze and silver. In order to produce tortora, both parents must have a bronze and a blue gene. Tortoras will hatch out looking very close to a fume, but slightly lighter. You won’t be able to tell it’s a tortora until the head and chest feathers start growing in. The head will have silvery colored feathers growing in, while their chest and tail feathers grow in with an orangey tinge coloring. This silver like consistency on their heads will continue extending from the head and down the back towards their tail as the bird matures. Ducklings will look almost exactly like a fume at hatch, but with slightly lighter head. Their bodies will have zero coloring like fume. They will have pinkish bills and feet that will lighten up as they age. Adult tortoras will have a silver head, lighter silver colored bodies with the lightest point at the end of the tail. The bill on an adult tortora is bright pink with a white bean, and fleshy pink colored feet.
Copper / Chocolate Bronze
Bronze + Chocolate
Chocolate bronze is bronze and chocolate. In order to produce chocolate bronze both parents must have a bronze gene with the male also carrying a chocolate gene, or with both parents expressing a chocolate gene. As with chocolate alone, chocolate bronze is chocolate based therefore the sex-linked gene comes into play with this color. If the male is a chocolate bronze or carries the chocolate gene and is bred to a bronze or non-chocolate based colored bird, all chocolate bronze offspring will be females. Chocolate bronze ducklings will hatch out very similar to bronze ducklings except they have lighter rusty colored heads whereas bronze have darker reddish brown heads. Their bodies like bronze, will have zero color. They will have light pink bills and feet that will lighten to a fleshy pink color as they mature. Their head and tail feathers will grow in as a lighter reddish brown color. As adults, chocolate bronze will have reddish brown heads, lighter brown bodies with light lacing around the edges of their feathers similar to bronze. They are lighter than a bronze and differ from a chocolate in that their feathers are laced around the edges and not sun bleached like a chocolate. Their bills will be a bright pink with white bean and have pink fleshy colored feet.
Pewter /Lilac Bronze
Bronze + Blue + Chocolate
Pewter will have bronzy brown bleed through feathers
Fume drake and Pewter hen side by side
From left to right... Pewter, Tortora, Fume and Copper
Lilac bronze is bronze with blue and chocolate. Just like blue, lilac and fume, lilac bronze can come in a variation of shades from light to dark. In order to produce a lilac bronze both parents must carry a bronze and a blue gene with one parent also carrying or expressing a chocolate gene. As with chocolate and lilac, lilac bronze is a chocolate based color therefore, the sex-linked gene applies here as well. Lilac bronze ducklings will hatch out similar to fume, tortora, and any other bronze based bird carrying a blue gene. They will have light tan heads, zero color to their bodies, and light pink bills and feet. As their feathers grow in, their heads will be a smoky color similar to a fume, but their tail will be white with a slight tinge of reddish brown at the tips. Their wing feathers will grow in a light blue/gray color and they will have bronzy brown bleed through feather spots similar to fume and all other blue based colors. As a lilac bronze matures, their lighter wing feathers will continue to turn to a darker golden gray color all while their tail turns from a tinged brownish color to an almost dirty gray. Just like all other bronze based colors, as adults, lilac bronze birds will have bright pink bills with white beans and have pink fleshy colored feet.
Brass / Buff Bronze
Bronze + Silver + Chocolate
COMING SOON
Buff bronze is bronze with silver and chocolate. In order to produce a buff bronze both parents must carry both a bronze and a blue gene with one parent also carrying or expressing a chocolate gene. As with chocolate and lilac, the same sex-linked gene rule applies here with all chocolate based offspring being females.
Patina / Lavender Bronze
Bronze + Lavender
Courtesy of Sommer Palmer
Lavender bronze is bronze and lavender. In order to produce a lavender bronze both parents must carry both a lavender gene and a bronze gene. Lavender bronze ducklings hatch out yellowish with a slightly gray colored head and lighter dusting of gray over their bodies. They will have pinkish purple bills and feet that will become lighter with age. As adults, lavender bronze like many other bronze based colors will have light lacing around the edges of their feathers. They will have light gray colored heads, with lighter variations of gray over their bodies, bright pink bills with white beans and pink fleshy colored feet.
Slate / Blue Lavender Bronze
Bronze + Blue + Lavender
Slate will have lavender bleed through feathers
Porcelain / Cream Bronze
Bronze + Lavender + Chocolate
Champagne / Lilac Cream Bronze
Bronze + Blue + Lavender + Chocolate
Champagne will have light lavender bleed through feathers
Patterns
Ripple
Ripple is a pattern of darker and lighter stripes on individual feathers. If you suspect your bird is ripple, you will see these stripes covering feathers mainly on the wings and tail. You may even see a few random rippled feathers on the wings or tail of solid colored birds, which could mean your bird is carrying the ripple gene.
Black Ripple
Blue Ripple
Lavender Ripple
Chocolate Ripple
Copper / Chocolate Bronze Ripple
COMING SOON
Pewter / Lilac Bronze Ripple
COMING SOON
Barring
When I think of barring, I think of the Barred Owl. Not to get barring confused with ripple, barring is white stripes on feathers of a bird. They appear on the head, chest, wings and sides of the bird, not on the tail. They only last for the first few months after hatch, then disappear except for a small patch underneath and between the wings, and sometimes on their undersides. Barring can sometimes reappear shortly after a molt and then disappear again.
Black Barred
Blue Barred
Bronze Barred
Copper / Chocolate Bronze Barred
Looney
COMING SOON
Looney is a pattern combined of both ripple and barring. The duckling will hatch with the same characteristics as a barred of similar color. As the duckling continues to feather in, the tail feathers will display only the rippled pattern, while the wing feathers will exhibit both the ripple and barring patterns together.
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More explanation on the looney pattern will be available in the next few months.
Magpie
Magpie is a pattern with a cap on the head and a saddle on the back of the bird. The tail must also be the same solid color consistent with the cap and saddle.
Black Magpie
Lavender Magpie
Bronze Magpie
Bronze Barred Magpie
Chocolate Magpie
Copper / Chocolate Bronze Magpie
Bibbed
The bib is a pattern on the chest of a bird. Some bibs are solid white, while others may be speckled or spotted white. The solid bib gene is connected to the magpie gene, meaning if you have a bird with a solid bib and white wingtips, that bird may inherited some characteristics of magpie through it's parentage.
