Welsh Harlequin/Silver Appleyard Duckling Gender

[alofthus]

Hi all,
Someone in my area has some two month old Welsh Harlequin/Silver Appleyard mix ducklings and I am interested in getting a couple. However, I would prefer only girls and their gender is unknown....would any of you be able to guess gender from this picture, if it is even possible to tell?




Thanks in advance, I am fairly new to ducks and only have three of my own so far!

 

[tdd2]

They are pretty young to tell by plumage, and they are mix ducklings to boot, but the two with the dark bills in the middle are my bet for females, and the two in the back with the lighter/greenish bills are more likely male....just my opinion - as I said, they may be too young to sex by coloring as they still have their adolescent feathers....any of them have a definite "quack" when picked up?

 

[Sfraker]

I agree with tdd2 on which is which

The girls should honk/quack at that age

 

[Learningstill]

Hi all, Someone in my area has some two month old Welsh Harlequin/Silver Appleyard mix ducklings and I am interested in getting a couple. However, I would prefer only girls and their gender is unknown....would any of you be able to guess gender from this picture, if it is even possible to tell? Thanks in advance, I am fairly new to ducks and only have three of my own so far!

Okay, first they should be honking or quacking at this stage. Pick one up and start to walk away from the flock, if it is loud and honks it is a duck or quiet and raspy quack it is a drake. Second, we have both breeds and the bill color of the appleyard is yellow for both genders whereas the welsh is slate for ducks and yellow for drakes. So mix breeds could pick up on the yellow bill from the appleyard and still be a duck. Hope this is helpful and best of luck with your choice.

 

[alofthus]

Thanks everyone! All this information and advice is definitely helpful! I am going to go look at them tomorrow and I will definitely try picking them up and seeing whether they quack/rasp.

 

[PtJudeRI]

Question here... I have about 2 dozen welsh harlequins so far, and love the breed. I have been toying with the idea of adding some Silver Appleyards to cross with them. Does anyone know how they cross in regards to size and egg production.

It would be great if they kept the laying and demeanor of the Welshies and got some size from the Appleyards!