Darker heads

[Quackygal84]

Hi! 3 of my welsh harlequin ducklings (almost a month old) have darker heads. Is this any indication of sex? I know you can tell once they start to quack but they are still chirping. The suspense is killing me! Lol

 

[Isaac 0]

The Darkness on the head is not a reliable indicator until the ducks have matured more, females will also develop a blackish head, but soon morph back into white, just give them some more time, and voice sex them.

Welcome to BackYard Chickens!

 

[Quackygal84]

Thank you so much for your reply! It's weird, the lighter one is so much softer than the others!

 

[ibarbidahl]

Your biggest indicator will be the next 2 weeks. Those bills start to go greenish you'll know. Mine usually start around the nares and moves down. Voices will also start to change in the next 2 weeks. The one with the yellow bill doesn't fit the standard. Welsh don't have yellow bills for either sex at any age. (but, it happens with hatchery birds quite a bit)
Either way they are cuties and you will have to wait and see.

 

[ibarbidahl]

Hey - do you have pics of them the day you got them? How old were they? The lighter one looks like it may be a golden. I might be able to tell with pics from a week old or so....they fuzzies of silvers looks like it has grey or black tipping and the goldens look... well - gold. LOL

 

[CrystaBub]

Your lighter one is a Gold WH. I have 1 silver, 1 gold - you can see the difference in this pic. Left is Gold, Right is Silver - both females.

 

[Quackygal84]

Hey - do you have pics of them the day you got them? How old were they? The lighter one looks like it may be a golden. I might be able to tell with pics from a week old or so....they fuzzies of silvers looks like it has grey or black tipping and the goldens look... well - gold. LOL

I didn't even know there were different varieties!

 

[Quackygal84]

I didn't even know there were different varieties!

I think they were 1-2 days old, I tried to tell by bill color but I don't think they were bred to standard so it was too hard to tell

 

[Quackygal84]

Your lighter one is a Gold WH. I have 1 silver, 1 gold - you can see the difference in this pic. Left is Gold, Right is Silver - both females.
View attachment 2197318

Oh wow! Such cuties!

 

[CrystaBub]

I think they were 1-2 days old, I tried to tell by bill color but I don't think they were bred to standard so it was too hard to tell

Adorable babies! Where did you get them? I searched high and low for a gold and felt super lucky when I finally found one! If you end up with a Gold male, I think that's a breeders jackpot lol!