Hatching Eggs

[Magnolia Ducks]

Sorry all grown now and I'm the queen of bad pictures. The one on the left has a lighter bill with a spot at the end but he's a drake.

 

[BabyGotQuack]

Drake- dark bill

Female- dark tipped bill

This method only works the first 3 days or so of life

 

[BabyGotQuack]

Sorry all grown now and I'm the queen of bad pictures. The one on the left has a lighter bill with a spot at the end but he's a drake.

Yea based off the method it would be female but it’s not 100% accurate obviously

 

[Canadian Wind]

Such sweet little quackers!

 

[BabyGotQuack]

*sigh* So the four 'hens' I got turned out to be two hens and two drakes. So that means eight drakes and five hens. NOT GOOD! These are the mallard-derived ducks, not the Muscovy.

Solution? Tomorrow I pick up two dozen Welsh Harlequin eggs to hatch out! Yes, you read that right. Two DOZEN. 24. If figure that with this amount, I'm guaranteed a few hens, right? Right?!? And since they can be sexed as hatchlings, I'll know exactly what I have right away! I also figure that even if they don't all hatch, even if it's only 50%, I'll still get the hens I want/need.

I know it's getting late in the season for it, but we usually have decent weather here, during the day, until late October and sometimes beyond. They should be feathered out by then.

Just had to share.

Excited to follow this! We hatched welshies this spring but didn’t have a great hatch rate, they were shipped eggs. Sounds like yours are local?

As far as the bill method it seemed pretty accurate for us, there was only one I wasn’t sure about.

 

[Canadian Wind]

Excited to follow this! We hatched welshies this spring but didn’t have a great hatch rate, they were shipped eggs. Sounds like yours are local?

As far as the bill method it seemed pretty accurate for us, there was only one I wasn’t sure about.

As local as living in the middle of nowhere can be, yes! Lol! That's why I'm getting 24, in case the hatch rate is low. Or I mess something up. With my luck this year, it wouldn't surprise me >.>

Getting my incubator ready. Hopefully in a month's time, I'll be going crazy with the sound of chirping.

 

[BabyGotQuack]

As local as living in the middle of nowhere can be, yes! Lol! That's why I'm getting 24, in case the hatch rate is low. Or I mess something up. With my luck this year, it wouldn't surprise me >.>

Getting my incubator ready. Hopefully in a month's time, I'll be going crazy with the sound of chirping.

Can’t wait! Post lots of updates

 

[EggSighted4Life]

The extra will probably end up at Freezer Camp. It's the reality of running a homestead withthe goal of becoming self-sufficient.

That's great.. I was under the impression maybe it wasn't an option due to the current ratio concerns.

'As day olds, sex can be determined based on bill colour with over 90% accuracy. Young drakes will have darker bills while female with have lighter with a dark spot at the tip of the bill.'

This disappears withing a few days of hatching.. and may only be valid if the line were selected to maintain this quality.

https://saltinmycoffee.com/how-to-sex-welsh-harlequin-ducklings/

FWIW.. (and by that, I mean all the fun) the chocolate gene is also sex linked.. and will produce sexable ducklings at hatch.. chocolate drake over other colored female equals chocolate female offspring. It's possible (or I've read) that a buff drake also works this way.

Happy hatching!

 

[Canadian Wind]

That's great.. I was under the impression maybe it wasn't an option due to the current ratio concerns.

I'm trying to save a few of the drakes I already have by having some extra hens, since I like them and don't want them to end up having to be culled. This will mean mixed-breed ducklings, or I can reserve those eggs for eating.

This disappears withing a few days of hatching.. and may only be valid if the line were selected to maintain this quality.

https://saltinmycoffee.com/how-to-sex-welsh-harlequin-ducklings/

Thank you! I've book-marked that, and will try to do as they did, and breed mine to be easily differentiated. I doubt where I'm getting my eggs from is doing super-high quality birds, but I can try to improve on that by selectively breeding on my end. I do so love this as a hobby!

FWIW.. (and by that, I mean all the fun) the chocolate gene is also sex linked.. and will produce sexable ducklings at hatch.. chocolate drake over other colored female equals chocolate female offspring. It's possible (or I've read) that a buff drake also works this way.

Happy hatching!

Yup! This I knew from my Muscovy! I've thankfully got a good genetics background from my years of breeding Peach-face Lovebirds, and it's definitely helping with the 'scovies.

I want Buff Orpington ducks

 

[Canadian Wind]

So I go pick up my eggs in about an hour or so. I have read on here that I should let them rest for 24 hours before plopping them in the incubator?