Welsh Harlequin

[beakkeeper]

I caught sight of these cuties in the most recent McMurray Hatchery catalog. They are so beautiful, and are said to lay well. In your experience, do they? Also, are they good backyard birds? Some pics and stories of yours would be nice...

 

[Dances with Ducks]

Thanks for giving me a chance to brag about my Bridgett! She is the apple of my eye! I have three hens and I love them all but Bridgett is not only the prettiest, the friendliest, the most curious, but also the best layer of all of them.

Bridgett is of course a WH, my other two hens are a Runner and a Khaki Campbell. I was very suprised to realize a week or so ago that the one daily egg I have been getting since another one stopped laying in early December, has come from Bridgett and not my Campbell! She knows her name, and is the bravest of all the ducks when I am giving out food by hand. Her quack is quieter than the other ducks, but she does make the cutest squeaky toy sounds sometimes.
Here she is!

with her "sister" Yacky

 

[Dances with Ducks]

Wifezilla
You could mate a Gold WH with a dark Campbell hen and the drakelets will look like dark Campbells and the ducklets will be khaki. You could also take your khaki Campbell drake and mate him with a silver WH hen and get the same result. Whether these would be considered true Campbells, I don't know.
As far as ordering some ducks?

I'm so on the fence, because I would really like to order some golds.

But personally I have a problem because I have enough ducks for my backyard, maybe could get away with 1 more

I keep trying to talk myself into getting rid of my two beloved raised-from-duckling freeloading drakes, but after several attempts including listing them on Craigs List, I just didn't have the heart to do it.
When breeding season starts again, and they get REALLY OBNOXIOUS like they do . . . . . I may be reconsidering. But that would break the chocolate hen's heart as well as mine! and I'm so disappointed with my khaki Campbell not laying as much as I expected. Sometimes I wonder if I should try to just rehome them all together except Bridgett , my WH . . .

Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night and look on the MLS for a few acres in the country. Could get some minature goats then too!
See what a BYC addiction can lead to, warn your children!

 

[Zombified]

 

[wendychicklawyr]

they both look like drakes to me, and silver phase

Thank u guys I agree I named them Abbot and Castello

 

[Pyxis]

These are two gold phase WH females I just got not sure about the colors they look nothing like the pictures of gold phase WH they look more like the silver applyard which worries me, and the guy I bought them from said they are show quality...but I'm not sure what the standards are for coloring..neither one has a black beak but they are only 5 months old right now...can anyone help me?

I can help here. Firstly, gold phase welsh harlequins are not accepted by the APA at this time, so while it would be possible for a gold phase to have great type and confirmation, the color isn't accepted and the best it could do as far as showing is best of all other, I believe.

The coloring doesn't look right either, you're right. Those eye stripes are not what you want to see at all. The coloring doesn't look right, but it may just be juvenile plumage if they are young. Welsh harlequin females are also supposed to have black beaks, although if these are young enough perhaps they just haven't darkened up yet. Here's a good place to see what they are supposed to look like in both silver and gold phase, as well as a good example of a duck with good conformation and type: http://www.holderreadfarm.com/photogallery/welsh_page/welsh_page.htm

 

[Sfraker]

Two of mine went on a field trip on Saturday. Hubby works at Lowes and since they announced they are pet friendly his coworkers have been bugging him to bring in some ducks. Duck Vader and Rose did a nice job eating mealworms from people, posing for pictures and getting lots of pets.

 

[bydhatch]

Wow!  Is he an only duck?  My Welshies are about the same age and won't even let me touch them without running.

I have to tell my welshies to "let me love them!" Haha! Mine will tolerate and sometimes enjoy holding AFTER I catch them.

 

[neetabeamie]

 

[DancingWthDucks]

Mine always hatch day 28 or later..... If you're getting them hatch on day 23, than the temps are way too high.