Type on snowys

[callduckguy]

I have seen over the years our snowy flock start to lose their type..color is great, but they are getting bigger and beakier

Is there anyway to get that good "call duck" type back into maybe say breeding them whites? and then crossing them back?

Has anyone had any experience and success doing this?

Let me know, would love to see and share genetic stories!

Thanks

and related to this, who do you feel has the best snowys in the country right now??

[HeadmUP]

Don't cross them with whites, use nice type grays. The offspring will be all gray, but carry snowy. When bred together or back to snowy parents, they will produce a percentance of pure snowy, which should breed true from there.

[callduckguy]

Don't cross them with whites, use nice type grays. The offspring will be all gray, but carry snowy. When bred together or back to snowy parents, they will produce a percentance of pure snowy, which should breed true from there.

Thanks HeadmUp..I will definitely keep this in mind and try it in the spring.
Is it better to use a better type grey drake or a typey grey hen..?

Or can I use 1 grey drake and 2 snowy hens and 1 snowy drake on 2 grey hens and then breed the offspring together from there? Or do they have to be bred back to snowy parents to get the snowy color..??

Also, how do you get that good type in the butterscotch?? What can you breed those to, in order to get that good type?? I have heard blue fawn will do this and give the drakes the good color that is needed..?

Sorry for all the questions, I am young and even though been breeding ducks for several years am always looking for ways to improve the breeding program!

[HeadmUP]

Is it better to use a better type grey drake or a typey grey hen..? Its better to use your best birds. If you were buying a new bird to better your flock, I would choose a drake because he can have more influence over several hens. Snowy/Gray crosses should produce all grays. (F1) Take the improved best offspring from F1 and breed them to each other. About 1/4 of those offspring (F2) will be snowys.

Also, how do you get that good type in the butterscotch??

Very carefully :lol: Butterscotch is a combination of color traits. It is homozygous for light phase, blue dilution with restricted mallard. If that sounds a bit complicated its because it is. Color genetics makes my head spin, so I'm not the guy to be asking. Maybe Josh Synder can jump in here. Or Patrick...Where is Patrick???

[callduckguy]

Thanks again for the great info.

Now the greys that are split to snowy, if bred back to greys will they throw pure grey or do I need to cull as they will throw snowy..??

I just love the genetics of this hobby!!

[cchoate]

My experience have been females get better every year, I've had a few females that would rival a decent gray. To bad judges never look at anything besides white and gray to win best Call.
I've never hatched a really good male though, body to big, bills to long, ect..
One year I tried breeding a top notch gray male with my best snowy female and the offspring turned out poorly. I decided to scrap the idea and just bred snowys with snowys. I hope you have better luck if you try it.

[callduckguy]

Thanks for the insight Chris!

I am definitely going to give it a shot!
Maybe one day in a few years I will be able to compete against you in the snowy's at some of the shows ;)
Any other tricks with snowys..? I can ask you in Columbus if you prefer.

Yes it is too bad any other varitied colored calls dont get the knod....I think the varieties have come leaps and bounds. It is hard though to rival a good looking grey or white.
I myself have seen a few birds that could do this...

Now what is the thought process to this and why don't judges put more A.O.V calls as best variety??

Judges out there, any thoughts...??

[MattL]

I have judged and raised a few calls in my day and in most cases the AOV calls lack type even before we get into the color issues. If we judge by the Scale of Points it is very difficult for the colored calls including Grays to beat the whites if type is equal. I have not seen a Gray female for quite sometime that had the proper penciling and color. I have seen a few Pastels that could win Best of Breed. I have seen one or two Snowys that had good type but they had color issues. Don't chastize judges for not putting them up, breed them good enough so we can put them up for a Best of Breed.
MattL

[callduckguy]

Hey Matt,

I am sorry, I think I wrote what I wanted to say incorrectly or I wasn't clear :)

I am not chastizing anyone :)
I was just wondering (and you answered) if there have been any calls out there that could rival the whites and the greys. I have seen a few over the years but you are right, type or color was lacking....if only we could find a way to put all the good traits in one of them little suckers!!! It is soo hard though to rival those white and greys that are being bred today! They are just getting and continue to be getting stronger and stronger

When judging though, have there been times when a duck not white or grey has beat a won in a good,deep class?? Now that I havent seen...


hmmmm....food for thought.... could you imagine if it happened at this years National???....

[Evy]

hmmmm....food for thought.... could you imagine if it happened at this years National???....

It won't happen if they enter things like most at last years Nat'l. Even the Chocolates were mostly terrible & IMO, shouldn't have been accepted. Two pretty good ones ( one with a slipped wing ), out of that many, don't make a variety worthy of the standard. People need to concentrate on type before they start pushing colors. It took many, many years to get Grays & Whites to breed fairly reliably true. The rest of them, except for an occasional bird, just aren't there yet.

[MattL]

Lou Horton won the IWBA and a Call Duck National with a Pastel in Lucasville a few years ago. It can happen but it will take years of work and frankly very few breeders are willing to do that anymore as it is easier to raise whites. You have to raise what you like and not what will win! I like the Apricot colored ones I got this weekend and really have no grand design to win Best of Breed, just love the color.
MattL