Duck Breed Focus - Welsh Harlequin

[Tevyes Dad]

I wonder who was more surprised, you guys or her?

I'm sure it was us. She was a regular layer and although we had her lay in the house before (in a dog crate), that was the only time we ever saw her WHILE she was laying. Maybe the crazy girl shoots them out the front all the time??? Anyway I'm sure she knew what was going on even if the urge was sudden. We however just saw a duck struggling to keep balance while standing rocked back 15 degrees and thought she was maybe having a seizure.

 

[lisaalene]

Here is a WH 'ling photo to get you in the mood for your babies:

I just can't wait for my babies. Now if my contractor will just finish my house.

 

[barkersbirds]

Does anyone know where I can get some young ducklings asap? I have a day-old Mallard single hatchling that needs some company desperately. Willing to consider other lightweight breeds especially WH or Buf and will drive to pick up most anywhere in New England. Please let me know if you know of any options.

Thanks!

 

[N F C]

Does anyone know where I can get some young ducklings asap? I have a day-old Mallard single hatchling that needs some company desperately. Willing to consider other lightweight breeds especially WH or Buf and will drive to pick up most anywhere in New England. Please let me know if you know of any options.

Thanks!

Have you checked the buy-sell-trade forum? You might get lucky there

 

[kiwichiks]

I am new to ducks and picked the WH for my first breed because they are supposed to be calm. I also think they are beautiful. I have them mostly for pets but the eggs will be a bonus. I adore my girls.

What beautiful photos! Is the duck at the front of the 4th photo a female? It looks almost exactly like our Daisy. We've just become a little unsure if our Daisy is a female (she's almost 6 weeks old) as she hardly says a word, so we can't judge her 'quack'. We also have a magpie duck (same age) who we were convinced was a boy, but he has just started quacking VERY loudly, without the rasp! Perhaps Daisy has decided that Arlo quacks enough for the both of them. If your duck in the 4th photo is a girl, then I will still hold out hope!!

 

[lomine]

What beautiful photos!  Is the duck at the front of the 4th photo a female?  It looks almost exactly like our Daisy.  We've just become a little unsure if our Daisy is a female (she's almost 6 weeks old) as she hardly says a word, so we can't judge her 'quack'.  We also have a magpie duck (same age) who we were convinced was a boy, but he has just started quacking VERY loudly, without the rasp!  Perhaps Daisy has decided that Arlo quacks enough for the both of them.  If your duck in the 4th photo is a girl, then I will still hold out hope!!

Yes they are all females. I also had one that I was really questioning because her head was so dark compared to the others. She was also didn't quack so I couldn't tell for a long while.

 

[PotatoWaffles]

My WH male looks pretty standard, but I feel like my welshie girl looks different from all the other WH females I have seen. Her neck seems too slender, almost runner-like. She's so light colored. She's from Metzer, so she's probably silver phase, but still, she's just so light! The black in her feathers also seems very prominent and streak-y. she will be molting soon I think, so maybe she will darken up.

 

[Tevyes Dad]

@PotatoWaffles Funny, I was just going to post this and your post popped up on the bottom just as I was starting to type... BTW, WH don't get their full pattern until 2 years old which Rhiannon is nearing.

A recent curiosity got me looking into the difference between Silver Phase and Gold Phase because my Rhiannon is so dark and she is from Metzer who sells only Silver Phase.

@sumi , you might confirm then add this to the top description if you wish.

Although Silver Phase are typically lighter than Gold Phase, this is not always the case. The main differences can be described by what Gold Phase does not have... Gold Phase does not have black or gray markings - they are completely within the brown - buff spectrum with white. Gold Phase does not have blue/purple speculum feathers - They are brown. Gold Phase are very rare in the USA.

Of the pictures in the OP, they are:

1 GP ducks with a SP drake in the background. @duck&chickencrazy
2 SP drake @richie1
3 Who knows cute little 'lings @Theeggboxtoo
4 SP drake @Wifezilla
5 GP duck (foreground) SP duck and drake (background) @Zombified

# 5 makes a great comparison. In that case the Silver is darker than the Gold and on the Silver, you can see the black around the speculum feathers, the tail and on the head and neck that are not on the Gold Phase.

 

[Tevyes Dad]

Because I read that the Welsh Harlequin comes into their pattern at around 2 years, I decided to go back and check Rhiannon (my only WH so I can't pull a fast one on you

) one year ago... Here is what I came up with. The picture on the left is from February of 2015 which would have made her 11 months old. The picture on the right was from a few days ago making her 23 months old. I adjusted the left picture (darkened it actually) so that the grass/straw came out the same level as the picture on the right. The right picture was untouched. This should give the pictures a somewhat common reference point. You can see at nearly 2 years her pattern is quite a bit more developed than it was in 2015.

 

[PotatoWaffles]

Hmmmmmm interesting. Maybe Jeepers will look different after molting, which she should be doing very soon. WH are so cool