Welsh Harlequin Surprise!

[larkflying]

Today when I checked on my broody bantam silkie, I found a chick and a duckling - much to my surprise. I'd thought she wasn't going to hatch out anything . . . but obviously she had different ideas. The family is eating and drinking well . . .

My question is whether the duckling looks like a full Welsh Harlequin, or more like a Rouen cross . . . I do have one Rouen duck and the egg may have been hers. The duckling looks like I remember my Welshies looking last year . . . but the beak looks a little off.
According to the pictures of WH's that I've found it should be either completely dark, or yellow with a black spot at the end. What do you think? I am hoping that this is close enough to yellow / black spot, as I'd love to have more females, but I can't tell. It is less than a day old in these pictures. The ducks all came from Metzers, except for the Rouen of course.

 

[Senna95]

She's (?) all welsh harlequin. If she had rouen in her she'd show the eye-stripes (assuming your rouen is pure of course).

 

[larkflying]

Oh, good! I was thinking she'd be darker, more stripy if she had Rouen. I went back and looked at my duckling pictures from last year, and there were a couple with this bill coloration. Most of the girls had the pale bills with the dark spot, but there were several with this stripy thing. I'm still hoping that she's a girl -- seems the most likely with her coloring . . . and she's my first duckling this year, so she'll get all the attention right now . . .

It is amazing how much calmer she is than the hatchery ducklings that came in the mail. Don't know whether it was no traumatic box and shipping, or the mother hen muttering sweet chicken language to her, but she is much less jumpy. I'm very pleased . . . not that I had any complaints last year -- the ducklings and geese were very healthy and strong, but I can tell a difference . . .

 

[zooweemama]

That's so cute! She looks like my little WH did. <3