Welsh harlequin drake in a flock of (mostly) bantam chickens - bad idea right?

sevenbabychicks

Crowing
13 Years
Sep 9, 2010
670
86
261
Saint Paul, MN
Last week our neighbor gave us a little 2-day old Welsh harlequin duckling that her daughter brought home but was unable to care for. Judging by its beak color it's likely male (I know this isn't a for-sure way to sex WHs - though the daughter said that, with one exception, this has held true at the place the duckling came from). I put it with one of our broody hens and things are going so well and they're having just the best and cutest time together.

I had ducks when I was a kid and the male (mallard) was just the worst and would forcibly try to mate with anything that moved - including our geese. Our current flock consists of 6 bantam and 2 standard chickens and we're functioning under the assumption that we'll need to find the duckling another home if it does indeed turn out to be male. Unless we don't? I've never had WH... I don't suppose WH drakes are gentle? Is it possible for a drake to coexist peacefully with bantam chickens? I'm guessing not, but thought I'd see if anyone had insights just in case!

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Such sweet pictures. I have never had WH but I do have Runner drakes 2 with 9 females between them. Your drake needs at least 4 and up females the more the better or you don't want him with your bantams. I have chickens [bantam and LF] and haven't ever had a problem with my drakes going after any of my chickens. Or my geese lol. But they have plenty of females.
 
Such sweet pictures. I have never had WH but I do have Runner drakes 2 with 9 females between them. Your drake needs at least 4 and up females the more the better or you don't want him with your bantams. I have chickens [bantam and LF] and haven't ever had a problem with my drakes going after any of my chickens. Or my geese lol. But they have plenty of females.
Thanks for the insights! We're already 3 birds above our permitted number (we live in the city), but maybe we can sneak in a few more ducks... :)
 
I hatched two Welsh Harlequins a few years ago. Both were girls and had mostly pink bills when they hatched. But, their bills got darker every day after hatch. This picture is 5 days old: View attachment 2749886
So, your duckling might be female. 🤞
Oh wow, those are some cuties. Sorry to hear you lost one young :( At 5 days ours had a similar colored beak, but it was also dark when we got it at 2 days old. Reeeally hoping it darkened up fast and ends up being female!
 

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