Welsh harlequin? Silkie? Runner duck or a mix of all 3?

[Happy Hill Farmstead]

Hi, my family and I are new to poultry. We recently purchased 3 ducks that we were told were welsh harlequin and silkie mixes, but as they have matured we are not sure what they are. Two of them almost appear runner duckish. My kids love the ducks and they are great fun for all of us. We enjoy watching them play and my daughter in particular enjoys duck hugs as she is putting them in their coop for the night. I am attaching pictures of the three of them; if anyone has any insight on what breed(s) they might be we would appreciate it. Also, the female lays blueish green eggs if that helps in identifying. We look forward to learning lots on the forum. Thanks so much!
Happy Hill Farmstead

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Okay. I don't know a ton about ducks, but I do know silkie ducks are super super rare, so it's not likely (not impossible) to be mixed with one. You wouldn't be able to tell though unless you bred it to a carrier or pure silkie and had silkied babies for some of the hatch.

Runners I believe can lay a green colored egg. Bit I'm not sure if mixes are up right at all or If they look normal

 

[HollowOfWisps]

-The blue fawn/blue mallard drake is definitely a runner cross.

-The hen appears to be blue fawn/blue mallard. She could be a silked cross or she might not. Unless you saw the parents there really isn't a way to know for sure.

-The snowy drake just looks like a regular Welsh harlequin.

 

[Happy Hill Farmstead]

-The blue fawn/blue mallard drake is definitely a runner cross.

-The hen appears to be blue fawn/blue mallard. She could be a silked cross or she might not. Unless you saw the parents there really isn't a way to know for sure.

-The snowy drake just looks like a regular Welsh harlequin.

We have 3 month old ducklings that we hatched from the upright drake and the female. They are all 3 different colors and very upright which is what caused our questioning to begin. I will post pictures of them as well, hopefully they will help to figure things out.
I too thought the snowy drake looked to be a regular Welsh Harlequin, but I am definitely not a poultry expert yet (we are very new and still learning which has been great fun for the whole family).
Thanks so much for all of the insights!

 

[Happy Hill Farmstead]

Any duck breed identifying experts have guesses?

 

[ibarbidahl]

Definitely runners in the mix. the drake has a nice upright posture for a cross, so I'd say less than 25% other breed, and judging his color his parents are also diluted, mostly likely one was fawn based ont he colors of the hen as well.... Looking at the ducklings I would say you've got buff and/or fawn in the cross, and silkie ducks are a bantam - a call duck size - it's really more about the feathers not having splines so it looks more like fur - just like a silkie chicken. I'd say there is a (high) possibility that the smaller drake is a silk/harlequin cross, he looks very much like a mini welsh harlequin.

Then hen could honestly be just about any cross of ducks, but I would say not silkie based on size and build.... definitely has a diluted gene, but otherwise most breeds can produce this. The picture of her nesting - she looks like a runner so I would say she too is a runner cross based on bill structure/facial features but not on build.

 

[Happy Hill Farmstead]

Definitely runners in the mix. the drake has a nice upright posture for a cross, so I'd say less than 25% other breed, and judging his color his parents are also diluted, mostly likely one was fawn based ont he colors of the hen as well.... Looking at the ducklings I would say you've got buff and/or fawn in the cross, and silkie ducks are a bantam - a call duck size - it's really more about the feathers not having splines so it looks more like fur - just like a silkie chicken. I'd say there is a (high) possibility that the smaller drake is a silk/harlequin cross, he looks very much like a mini welsh harlequin.

Then hen could honestly be just about any cross of ducks, but I would say not silkie based on size and build.... definitely has a diluted gene, but otherwise most breeds can produce this. The picture of her nesting - she looks like a runner so I would say she too is a runner cross based on bill structure/facial features but not on build.

Thanks so much!

 

[Happy Hill Farmstead]

Okay. I don't know a ton about ducks, but I do know silkie ducks are super super rare, so it's not likely (not impossible) to be mixed with one. You wouldn't be able to tell though unless you bred it to a carrier or pure silkie and had silkied babies for some of the hatch.

Runners I believe can lay a green colored egg. Bit I'm not sure if mixes are up right at all or If they look normal

Thank you!

 

[Happy Hill Farmstead]

-The blue fawn/blue mallard drake is definitely a runner cross.

-The hen appears to be blue fawn/blue mallard. She could be a silked cross or she might not. Unless you saw the parents there really isn't a way to know for sure.

-The snowy drake just looks like a regular Welsh harlequin.

Thanks so much

 

[Miss Lydia]

Gorgeous ducks