Welsh Harlequin

[OzarkCountryGirl]

Quote: What a beautiful girl!

 

[hokankai]

My girls started crouching for me today, LOL. I don't have a drake, so I just pressed down on their backs and they got all fluffy and flappy afterwards. They were hatched around June 21st . When have you guys found that they begin to lay?

 

[hokankai]

Here are some photos from today

 

[Amiga]

hokankai,

Lovely!!!

 

[Zombified]

What beautiful girls! I'm away from home for three weeks (my partner and dad are taking care of the ducks) so no pictures. ): I can't wait to see them when I return home, though!

 

[chickkrzi]

I was planning on getting some ducks but I was wanting to wait till spring before I purchase some. but I found these Welsh Harlequins on Craigslist. And for the price of $10 a head I couldn't pass them up. the guy that I got them from said they were about 11/2 yrs old and they free range of small acreage land. he only had the ducks for about 6 months. and they were his wife's ducks so he could tell me about the egg production and was thinking they just went through the molt. when examining each bird i check there pelvic bone ( just as I do with my hens) and found they had least three fingers gap between them ( is that wright for ducks ?) . And their wing feathers look clean and new so I believe him about the moat. their eyes and nasal area seem to be clear though I did see one that seemed to have a runny nose. there was no sign of the mites, all the birds seem to be quite healthy even had a little bit of fat between your legs.
Sense I'm new to duck management I have a few questions.
1) After relocating the HW's how long would it be before they start laying again?
2) having a hard time getting them to sleep inside the chicken coop tonight. when I put them in, they just start to making a lot of noise and disrupt my hens. So I just let them sleep in the smaller pen just outside the coop. I've only had him since Saturday 8-5. So I'm thinking they won't settle in for at least another week or two?
3) and whats the average distance between, pelvic bones for the average hen?
Thanks In advance for your help.

 

[hokankai]

The diaper for my ducks arrived yesterday...here is Jemima modeling it! Jasper is my duck ambassador so it'll be fun to see what adventures come!

 

[carousel86]

How cute

 

[Zombified]

Duck ambassador? Coolies!

 

[hokankai]

Yes! I've taken her into work and Petco, and she's going into work the day I take her to the fairgrounds for the show