Welsh Harlequin - Page 2

Way to go KanakaNui!!!

So then, you ordered 12 and got 6 of each, is that right--and lost one hen, bringing no. of hens down to 5?

So perhaps I will end up with 8 & 8 with our monastery order come May (we've ordered 16 in case you didn't guess)

I really appreciate your post--and I 've seen another of yours about the WH's which of course caught my eye.

We are forming a WH network, perhaps!!!

Holderread's sent an extra... 7 drakes, 6 ducks lost 1 duck and ate 4 drakes. I like the network idea. I think these are great birds I think everyone should have some...then again I'm biased.I had a trio I got from a friend of a friend about a yr and a half ago, not anywhere near as nice as the Holderreads batch, I think one might have some runner in her she stands kinda funny...

Duckmonk, is your monastery getting the regular WH or the show hatchlings? I ordered the regular Silver-phase, but the birds look very good (correct type) to my inexperienced eye. I'm very curious how nice their show quality hatchlings might be.

It was very difficult to choose the drakes to cull, they all looked very good....One duck has very nice markings and conformation, but has an orangish bill which is a fault if it doesn't darken as she gets older/lays more.She lays well and I'm not hatching any just yet so I'll keep her, besides she's a clown.

I'm certain you'll like WH's. I obsessed and studied on chickens and ducks for laying birds while we were renting in the city. I'm really happy and quite surprised at how well the choice worked out. The ducks are rather calm and quite beautiful. And sturdier than I remember chickens being from when I was a kid. Have had zero disease or health issues with these ducks (the duck I lost was killed by a predator.)

Oh! and the eggs are better than chicken eggs, too.

Will the monastery have both silver and gold?

Kana:

Just Silver, and not show birds either. Too pricey and we don't plan on showing either.

Beakeeper: I'd pass on ordering from McMurray, IMO their straight run (only) WH are 7.55 apiece (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!), whereas the undoubtedly superior Holderread's birds are but 4.00 apiece.

Amazing. McMurray, btw, gets some of their stuff from Metzer's: I'm sure their WHs, Hybrid laying ducks, poss. Runners, as well; maybe alll their ducks--as well as some of their photos!!!

I think Webfoot has, or will have WH hatching eggs. The pictures they posted are beautiful-http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=121780

Really nice looking birds

According to the Holderreads A khaki Campbell drake to a Silver Welsh duck will have dark brownish-black drakelets and brown ducklets.

KanakaNui
You know I thought about doing that since those ducks are much easier to locate.  Then you wind up with Khaki Campbell looking duckings and draklets that will look like dark Campbells.  But they are genetically impure, I believe.  So I think you would want to be careful about selling them to anyone who would use them for breeding.  What is interesting about that though, is that most of the egg laying genetics are passed from father to daughter, so a father from a bred to lay strain of Campbells (Holderreads of course), might give those girls an added egg laying boost.
These are probably good questions for Holderread.

Dances with Ducks

Good points to consider...am I right in thinking most sex-linked poultry is hybrid? Even gold to silver welshies will end up with mixed genes. I think:/ Will F2 and later generations still produce sex-linked ducklings?

It took a while but beakkeeper requested some pics. I apologize for the poor quality, but here's my WH's




I'm just not a photog:rolleyes:

I think beakkeeper definately needs a few

Here's the only gold phase I've seen so far.  She hatched last spring from silver phase parents. The picture was taken last summer, and she's just a tad darker overall now.

Webfoot

Webfoot
How exciting to see a gold Welsh Harlequin! 

It might take a couple of generations but you could eventually get a Gold Drake from her too! 

If you had even a pure silver drake breed with her, all thier sons would be silver with gold recessive (and thier daughters would be pure silver).  If you bred a son with her, half those sons would be pure gold and the other half silver with gold recessive.  Half of those daughters would be pure gold and the other half pure silver.

Wherever you got her from must have silver drakes with gold recessive.  But without knowing a drake's parents is be impossible to tell if he had the recessive gene unless, of course, he produces some gold offspring. 

Since both of your hen's parents are silver, then her father has to have the recessive gold gene.

KanakaNui
The dark and khaki Campbells are the same breed, so mixes between them are not considered to be hybrid.  It's the same with WH, most breeders actually keep them together, if they even have the golds.  I have read that in the UK it's different, the gold is the standard, and silvers are considered a defect.   

I don't know if the dark or khaki colored ducks produced by mixing WH with Campbells are actually Campbells, imperfect Campbells, or a hybrid.  But in any case they would certainly be close enough genetically to be able to reproduce, and also the sex link breeding abilities should hold true for these mixes.

I don't know anything about sex-linked breeding with other poultry.

Webfoot

Thanks for the picture. I really admire your birds...I've got the picture of the WH duck in grass from your website as my desktop. Just so I have something to shoot for when I start breeding in ernest. She's gorgeous!

Is all your WH stock from Holderread's show quality ducks?
I'm curious as to the difference in quality they offer...How long have you been breeding them?

Dances with Ducks

I guess I was being loose with the term hybrid. I also didn't realize re: the recessive gene/s involved in Gold-phase WH's. I was imagining almost two seperate "breeds" of WH. It's good to know a Gold might just "pop-up". Thanks