Appleyard vs. Welsh Harlequin ducks

[Fiasco]

Hi! I'm thinking about getting ducks, for two purposes: eating their eggs, and selling their ducklings. I really love the coloring on the Appleyard and Welsh Harlequin ducks, but I can't seem to find much on what the differences are between these two! If one flies higher than the other, one is louder, lays more/bigger eggs, eats more food, has a better temperament, needs more space, or if there's a higher demand for ducklings, etc?

If any of you have had these ducks, or have heard about them, I'd appreciate your input! Suggestions for other kinds of ducks are welcome too!
Thanks in advance!

 

[chickens really]

I used to have Appleyard and they are fantastic Ducks. Great layers and Docile too.

 

[Soon2BChixMom]

https://livestockconservancy.org/index.php/heritage/internal/welshharlequin

http://livestockconservancy.org/index.php/heritage/internal/silverappleyard

The livestock conservancy has a great write up regarding both breeds.
I was looking into them before I settled on muscovies.

 

[onaharley]

I just got my 1st Silver Appleyard this Feb. and i love her to pieces!! I was at a cross just like you between these two breeds. i went with the SA because of their temperament and from what i could find research wise that they are not as capable of flying unlike the WH. Currently mine is running the show outside and bossing my 1 yr old Pekin around. She is sassy but completely loveable. So smart too!

 

[Soon2BChixMom]

I just got my 1st Silver Appleyard this Feb. and i love her to pieces!! I was at a cross just like you between these two breeds. i went with the SA because of their temperament and from what i could find research wise that they are not as capable of flying unlike the WH. Currently mine is running the show outside and bossing my 1 yr old Pekin around. She is sassy but completely loveable. So smart too! View attachment 1356429View attachment 1356431View attachment 1356434

You can just see the sass in the first pic.

 

[LLee34]

I have been raising Silver Welsh Harlequins for over a year and I really do enjoy them. Lay eggs every day. Don't fly. Not very noisy. Good meat. What's not to like? And they eat snails!

 

[onaharley]

You can just see the sass in the first pic.

LOL....yes you can!

 

[onaharley]

I have been raising Silver Welsh Harlequins for over a year and I really do enjoy them. Lay eggs every day. Don't fly. Not very noisy. Good meat. What's not to like? And they eat snails!

Pictures please

 

[Fiasco]

Thanks everyone! Haha, I'm still caught between these too. It seems they each have a lot of fans!

I noticed that onaharley mentioned that their Appleyards didn't fly as much as they had read WH could, but LLee34 said that their WH's didn't fly. I assume this just means that they can fly to varying degrees? I'm okay with a duck that can fly a bit, like a chicken, but too much more than that and I wouldn't be able to contain them!

Temperament would be a biggie for me. Two of you have said that your Appleyards have a nice temperament, does anyone know if the WH's do too?

Also, I noticed on the links you gave me (thanks!), that the Appleyards are quite a bit heavier than the WH's. (8-9 lbs, vs. 5 or so lbs.) I assume this would mean that they need more space? How much space would you recommend for the kind of ducks you have? And do you think the Appleyards would need to eat much more than the WH's due to this? If they both lay the same amount of eggs but one eats significantly more than the other, it might make a difference in the cost/benefit in the long run.

Sorry for all of the questions! The more answers I hear, the more questions I have!

 

[lomine]

I've had three WH hens for 2.5 years now. I love my girls. I have an order for more, along with some Saxony, coming from Holderreads (will hopefully be here tomorrow ). They are very sweet and calm. They like to talk to me when they see me coming. Mine have never gotten more than a few inches off the ground. Like maybe six inches max. The only time I've seen them "fly" is when they are heading toward a freshly filled pool. I will say that my girls take a long winter break from laying. When they do lay, it's almost always an egg a day with few days off.

I would think that a larger bird would eat more than a smaller bird. I believe that the Appleyard are bred more for meat even though they can also lay a lot of eggs.

Here are some pictures of my girls.