Duck color?

Question

Why do ducks start out yellow and then turn white as they mature?

Answer 1

It's the same with chickens, you know... And other animals change their color as time passes...

Answer 2

Think of it kinda like a defense thing. If you were a duckling out in the wild with predators all around you, would you rather be yellow and blend in with the ground and grass? Or be white and stick out like a sore thumb?
Most predators go for white things first. A bird of prey will almost always pick out the lighter color birds in a flock of pigeons, and a dog will almost always attack the lighter chickens out of the flock. There isn't much you can blend in with in the wild that is white. Once the ducks are bigger and old enough to fly at least a little, it's okay to be white. A older duck has a whole lot more of a chance to survive in the wild than a young one - no matter what the color really.
The environment that the ducks are native to may also have an effect in the color of their down. If a duck lives in a heavily wooded area around a pond or lake and nests in trees (like
Wood Ducks), it's mostly a dark color with patches of lighter to blend in with the bark and grass.
Others that are domestic and bred for production, are normally white and they don't need any protection or camouflage. Birds that are bred solely for meat like Turkeys, Chickens, and Ducks, are white because they have been bred so much to get the meat size people desire, that their camo colors have disappeared.

Hope that helped!
- Becky

Answer 3

The yellow and black colorings that ducklings are help them blend in with the stuff on the ground. I once took my ducking out into the woods and if he hadn't kept chirping every time I started to leave him behind on accident I wouldn't have known where he was. He just disappeared! This would obviously come in handy for the defenseless guys.

Very few wild breeds of duck actually turn completely white. Usually the breeds that do live where there is a lot of snow so that they can blend in. The white ducks most people think of when they think of ducks is really the Peking duck which was bred by humans for laying eggs and for meat. The white on these ducks is really of no help to them what so ever. Hope this helps!

Answer 4

I am guessing yellow can help camofluge them with the yellowish grasses they might hide in