Designer Runner Ducks became a popular trend towards the 20th century. These ducks were created just for their visual appeal. This trend had a great impact on the Indian Runner Duck.
Breeders sought to improve the color variations in this breed by mixing them with various domestic breeds. In fact, duck breeds like the Khaki Campbell are the result of breeding the Indian Runner Duck with other domestic varieties.
With the availability of various chromotypes and the inherent egg-laying abilities of the Indian Runner Duck, both commercial and show breeders became very interested in this particular breed.
The Indian runner ducks that were originally found in Asia were known for their beautiful plumage colors. The mutations were quite interesting. There were black variants of runner ducks, brown variants of runner ducks, and buff variants in this breed.
However, the colors that really caught the attention of breeders were the exquisite shades of fawn and white. These shades were natural to Indian runner ducks and were also found in other duck breeds such as Silver Appleyard and Rouen Clair.
Several years later the pied, blue, and black varieties of runner ducks were introduced on the market. With the introduction of this breed came the possibility of creating a color palette for Indian Runner ducks.
Several stable color forms are available today, even without crossing them with normal waterfowl.
11 Different Colors Of Runner Ducks
- Black Runner Ducks
- Trout Runner Ducks
- Mallard Runner Ducks
- Blue Trout Runner Ducks
- Apricot Trout Runner Ducks
- Fawn Runner Ducks
- Chocolate Runner Ducks
- Fawn And White Runner Ducks
- American Fawn And White Runner Ducks
- Cumberland Blue Runner Ducks
- Silver Runner Ducks
Black Runner Ducks
Black Runner Ducks are an incredibly distinctive breed with a lean, slender physique and an upturned posture.
They had initially been bred for their mobility and excessive egg-laying ability. They incline to have a more nervous temperament.
Description
- Black plumage with a beetle green sheen throughout
- Dark brown eyes
- Black bill
- Black wings with a beetle green sheen
- Dark grey underwing
- Legs are as black as possible
Trout Runner Ducks
Trout runner ducks have fawn head and neck, each feather with brown graining. This grain forms a darker band from the crown down the back of the upper neck.
Description
- Creamy white eyebrow
- The dark line through the eye
- The Pale line in front of the eye to beak
- Brown eyes
- Pinkish orange-brown with spots Bill
- Dull orange legs
- Fawn Breast & Flanks
Mallard Runner Ducks
Mallard runner ducks have golden-brown heads and necks and each feather with darker graining.
Description
- Brown eyes, the paler line above the eye, a dark line across the eye, and a pale line in front of the eye.
- Plain brown throat.
- Dark orange bill with a brown frame and dark bean
- Brown breast and flanks
- Dull dark tail, irregularly marked with brown
- Darker feathers in the center than the outer edges wings
- Dull orange legs similar to Trout runner ducks
Blue Trout Runner Ducks
- Fawn head and neck and each feather with blue-grey graining
- Eyes: A creamy white eyebrow, dark line through the eye and pale line in front of the eye down to the bill
- Breast and flanks: Grey fawn delicately streaked or penciled with blue-grey
- Tail: Grey-buff on the outer vane of each feather and grey on the inner vane
- Wings: Primaries grey with faint buff on the leading edges
- Legs: Dull orange
Apricot Trout Runner Ducks
- Deep apricot buff head and neck
- Eyes: Brown eyes, creamy white eyebrow and dark line through the eyes
- Breast & Flanks: Deep apricot buff
- Tail: Apricot buff on the outer vane of each feather and light buff on the inner vane
- Wings: Primaries oatmeal and secondaries pigeon blue tipped with white
- Legs: Orange
Fawn Runner Ducks
- Warm ginger fawn head and neck and a slightly lighter shade than the rest of the body
- Each feather is marked with darker red-brown graining
- Eyes: Golden brown and no eye stripes
- Bill: Black
- Breast and Flanks: Light fawn, penciled
- Tail: Light fawn, penciled
- Wings: Primaries a shade lighter, secondaries warm red-brown
- Legs: Black or dark tan
Chocolate Runner Ducks
- Plumage: A rich, solid chocolate throughout
- Eyes: Dark brown
- Bill: Black
- Wings: A dark, rich, solid chocolate throughout
- Underwing: Pearly brown-grey
- Legs: Black
Fawn And White Runner Ducks
- Head and neck: The cap and cheek markings are nearly the same shade of fawn as the body-color
- Eyes: dark brown
- Bill: light orange-yellow in young birds; spotted green to almost entirely dull cucumber in adult females
- Breast and flanks: The colored plumage is nearly the same shade as the Fawn Runner duck
- Tail: Fawn to medium brown in the central area
- Wings: White
- Legs: Deep orange
American Fawn And White Runner Ducks
- Head and neck: Pied markings distributed as in the penciled fawn and white colored feathers an even apricot
- Eyes: Dark brown
- Bill: Light orange-yellow possibly darkening with age
- Breast and flanks: Pied markings distributed as in the penciled Fawn and white Coloured feathers an even apricot-fawn
- Legs: Deep orange
Cumberland Blue Runner Ducks
- Head and neck: Rich blue
- Eyes: Dark brown
- Bill: Bluish grey
- Wings: Rich slate blue with dark lacing on the coverts and underwing blue-grey
- Legs: Smoky orange to grey
Silver Runner Ducks
- Head and neck: Fawn (a deeper shade in young females) with the forehead and crown clearly grained with dark brown
- Eyes: dark brown
- Bill: dark slate green
- Tail; Fawn, edged with cream
- Legs: Dark