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HennyPenny44 said:
Oh I didn’t realize I omitted that. They’re purebred Welsh Harlequins.
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I thought so! We are neighbors!!! lol also in NJ, same county. I want so badly to replace the WH drake we lost in January... But the husband is not as enthusiastic :( How long have you been breeding Welsh Harlequin ducks, and where is your stock from?

I just love them so much.
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Chipmunk Chicks said:
I thought so! We are neighbors!!! lol also in NJ, same county. I want so badly to replace the WH drake we lost in January... But the husband is not as enthusiastic :( How long have you been breeding Welsh Harlequin ducks, and where is your stock from?

I just love them so much.View attachment 3550270
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Those are beauties! I rarely see people on these forums that live in the same county. Actually we moved here from the suburbs of Somerset County this past November. I had chickens back there but then decided I wanted ducks too spur of the moment. I don’t breed them and have an incubator so I got some hatching eggs from someone in North Carolina, I believe. As luck would have it, I got 3 boys and 1 girl! I’ve purchased 4 more girls since then from Metzer Farms. My boys are just a pleasure and all get along so great but I’m fearing the hormonal stage I heard about. I just love these ducks. The only girl I hatched is a hoot! She’s always yelling at me from across the yard if food is running low or just because. Why does your husband not want a drake?
 
HennyPenny44 said:
I looked at the last photos I took and my boys have already changed colors considerably. They’re getting more chestnut on their chests and cream on their bellies along with black heads. I’ll post another photo when I get a chance today.
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They are so gorgeous. I wish I had better pics of my drake, Rhys, but my phone has been taking terrible pictures lately, if I have to zoom at all. He was such a handsome boy!

It's complicated, but short version I guess is right now since we only have hens, we can keep them in the run with our chickens. But adding a drake back into the mix would kind of demand we add another separate run somehow.... And we rent, so DH hesitates to "do" too much when it's really not our yard. :/

Or else let them free range with electric netting, but at the moment, there's a hawk with a baby hunting in our yard that are their primary threat, (not the baby, but the mama teaching her baby how to hunt. It's kind of neat!) So that wouldn't exactly help offer much protection.

Also he's determined that he may be sensitive to the duck eggs! So if he can't even eat the eggs, he's less inclined to go out of our way right now. I still hope to be able to hatch out ducklings some day though, especially since 2/3 girls are super broody at the moment!
 
Chipmunk Chicks said:
They are so gorgeous. I wish I had better pics of my drake, Rhys, but my phone has been taking terrible pictures lately, if I have to zoom at all. He was such a handsome boy!

It's complicated, but short version I guess is right now since we only have hens, we can keep them in the run with our chickens. But adding a drake back into the mix would kind of demand we add another separate run somehow.... And we rent, so DH hesitates to "do" too much when it's really not our yard. :/

Or else let them free range with electric netting, but at the moment, there's a hawk with a baby hunting in our yard that are their primary threat, (not the baby, but the mama teaching her baby how to hunt. It's kind of neat!) So that wouldn't exactly help offer much protection.

Also he's determined that he may be sensitive to the duck eggs! So if he can't even eat the eggs, he's less inclined to go out of our way right now. I still hope to be able to hatch out ducklings some day though, especially since 2/3 girls are super broody at the moment!
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I understand. I have a dog kennel type run for just my ducks that I built this Spring (plus the duck house). My chickens are inside an electric fence in a chicken tractor, but I will need to divide up the duck run come fall (tight squeeze) or whip up another run for my chickens AND reassemble their coop from the old house,
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which I dread...it’s so much work! Right now, the chickens have no netting over the electric fence since it’s so cumbersome to walk under it and the hawks seem to have disappeared for the Spring and Summer and been replaced with vultures and crows. But I know from experience that come Fall, the hawks will return. They stress me out so much!

The reason I want a drake is to breed my ducks to sell hatching eggs and possibly ducklings, plus they’re so endearing, handsome and funny. The girls are the assertive ones and the boys are kinda shy. They’re all super messy but so adorable and easier to keep contained than chickens. My boys all hang out with each other and are best buddies.
 
The sun managed to shine through the smoke and smog for a few minutes so I got a nice picture of a pile of melted chickens lol.

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My old, silkie feathered ameraucana girl was just out there relaxing too

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And a group of pullets and cockerels were hanging out on the other side of the sand mound and climbing on the lower branches of the trees. That always seems to be a popular spot in the yard.

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Good morning PA United. I’m looking for chicken owners in the Berks County area interested in supplementing mealworms as treats to their chickens. We are hoping to expand our business by focusing on owners of backyard chickens. We are giving away 100 count containers of mealworms as free samples.
We just wanted to get this message out.
Thank you
 

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