Best Place to Buy Welsh Harlequin Ducklings

[NEgoosegirl]

I'm not 100% sure if this is the best place to post this. Sorry if I'm putting it in the wrong spot!

I am seriously considering WH ducklings for next spring, and I am looking for some advice. I want ducklings from a good egg-laying strain that also have the potential to be breeding-quality. (My plan is to get more than I'm going to keep so I can pick out the best ones.) Any suggestions where to buy from?

I checked into Holderreads and was all excited to place an order this fall/winter. But then I saw that their website says they expected 2020 to be the last year they sell day-olds.

Has anyone ever purchased ducklings (of any breed) from Sand Hill Preservation Center?

Thanks in advance for any advice!

 

[Quatie]

I am happy to share. Here is what mine look like. They range a slightly in color.

 

[Critter721]

Thank you! Personal experience is exactly what I'm looking for! There don't seem to be many WH breeders here in southern Vermont, but maybe I just haven't found them yet.... I did check out the Livestock Conservancy website and found a few breeders in the general New England area that I can contact if I decide to go that route. They'd have to be willing to ship, though, so I'm not sure if it will work.
Thanks so much for the info.!

In addition to posting on your state thread (and any states that are close to you), you could also start a thread on the buy sell trade forum. Good luck!

Here's my girl, just for fun.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I understand they have nice breeds. But haven't personally bought from them. Did Holderreads say they will sell breeding stock?

 

[Kat_withducks]

We got ours from Metzer, and I’d say it was a mediocre experience. They sent us one injured duckling who died within a week, and didn’t send our whole order - following up with them wasn’t great.

But that aside, their Welsh harlequins aren’t the vivid white I expected- they are pretty, but not what I hoped they would look like.

Someone on here posted a photo of the ones they got from Meyer Hatchery, and they were gorgeous - however I don’t know if they are out for the season.

Metzer told me they had a huge demand for WH this year and had trouble keeping up - not sure if that had had any impact on the quality of the birds or not.

good luck - they really are pretty birds.

 

[NEgoosegirl]

I got mine through Cackle and am pleased with the coloration on all of them.
I did get one out of six females whose feet are orange and bill is lighter than desired.

View attachment 2375932

You can see my off color girl in the pic below.
View attachment 2375935

That pink dish IS empty but it is a treat dish. They have additional water dishes off camera as well as the pool.

Thanks for the info. and for sharing photos! Your drake is handsome too.

 

[Quatie]

I bought mine from Metzer's and was really happy with them. I have not had any issues with responsiveness from Metzer. They helped answer questions about feeding ducks. My ducks are just about 5 months now. I also picked Metzer because they are closer to where I live, so they would not ship as far.

 

[NEgoosegirl]

I am happy to share. Here is what mine look like. They range a slightly in color.

Thank you! What sweet girls you have!! It's so helpful to look at pics of other's birds. I'm trying to get a feel for the range of what WHs can look like.

 

[NEgoosegirl]

In addition to posting on your state thread (and any states that are close to you), you could also start a thread on the buy sell trade forum. Good luck!

Here's my girl, just for fun.

Good ideas! Thanks! And thanks for sharing the pic — so sweet!

 

[Floof]

I understand they have nice breeds. But haven't personally bought from them. Did Holderreads say they will sell breeding stock?

I've been in touch with Holderreads and they said they don't have much left available. I asked to be put on the list for any available females and they said there probably won't be any by the time they get to me. Bummer.