Calling welsh harlequin experts

[CarinaRose]

Did you get another picture?

 

[BabyGotQuack]

Did you get another picture?

Yes I did get another pic but they took longer than expected to send it so started talking with someone on here about getting some eggs shipped hopefully this week and if not I will be purchasing eggs from the ducks pictured. Here’s the updated pic

 

[ibarbidahl]

Are you looking to show these birds, or just keep them as pets?
The final feathering isn't too bad, but there is 1 golden hen and the drake is not up to par with the standard. If all you want is pets they will be perfectly fine.

 

[BabyGotQuack]

Are you looking to show these birds, or just keep them as pets?
The final feathering isn't too bad, but there is 1 golden hen and the drake is not up to par with the standard. If all you want is pets they will be perfectly fine.

Yes just pets but I still prefer them to be more white. They’re my back up plan as of now. I agree they look great for pets.

 

[Bassgin]

Are you looking to show these birds, or just keep them as pets?
The final feathering isn't too bad, but there is 1 golden hen and the drake is not up to par with the standard. If all you want is pets they will be perfectly fine.

Just curious, why do you say the drake i not up to par with the standard?

 

[21hens-incharge]

FWIW I ordered ducklings through Cackle and they all feathered in light and beautiful.

I ended up selling them due to the noise level and extreme mess. Being in town has its limits.
Not a great picture but I think you can see they are quite light.

 

[MeanCheek]

Gold phaseView attachment 3054211

Gold on left, Silver on right. You can tell by the speculum, golds have gold, and silvers have blue.

 

[MeanCheek]

Remember to look out for hens with yellow feet, they're supposed to be gray.

 

[ibarbidahl]

Bassgin -
The black on the ridge of his bill is a 2 point deduction, The white on his wings, sides and tail are faults. Don't get me wrong he's a beautiful bird, and a better picture may show that the white is grey or it may hide when he's standing up instead of flat like that which is perfectly acceptable.

FWIW the darker color in the hens is what is "show quality/standard of perfection" They are still young yet. They will molt again before their adult plumage sets in.

 

[Smiles-N-Sunshine]

What do y'all think of mine? To my eyes my drakes look very similar (and quite handsome, if I do say so myself) and my hens have noticeable variation. They definitely look different in their juvenile vs adult plumage, but this is the first I've read about silver and gold phases.

My understanding is hens should have black bills, period, but there is a range of acceptable shading from light fawn to light brown, and in the silver variety the black harlequin/diamond pattern should be distinct. My starter stock were from Metzer and Cackle, which were clearly darker and lighter respectively.

In writing this, I've realized it's past time to shell out the $60 for a copy of the actual SOP, because I've just been going with the "I know what I like" approach. This is fine for my primary goal of selling eggs at farmers markets. But there seems to be a demand for Welsh Harlequins and if I will ever be a supplier, I should separate the most show-quality birds from genpop, where "if it lays, it stays".

Top pic is from yesterday with a fresh block of alfalfa for them to pick at. Middle pic is juveniles from the BYC New Years Hatch-A-Long, where you can see the yellow bill (from 100% black-billed parents) and lighter plumage. Bottom pic is what I consider an ideal hen, if not an ideal photo.