Welsh Harlequin

[Sandara]

We are not always here at night to put them up. That is why I have an automatic coop door for the chickens. If I can't get the ducks to go in on their own, I will have to get rid of them for their own safety.

 

[furbabymum]

So I can't tell any of them apart, except for the white welsh harlequin. There's another WH in there somewhere....

It's a girl...right?


Could one of these be my WH drake?


More of them


And more. Is the drake the lightest brown one?? Have Golden 300 and khaki campbell

 

[larkflying]

My two drakes have bills that look just about like the one that you are holding. Is the duck quacking yet? One of my ducklings started quacking when she looked about like that or maybe even younger. In a few weeks, if it is a drake, he'll start growing lovely green feathers on his head and you will know for sure.

As far as your other ducks, they are lovely ducks and look very healthy. Love the brown shades! However, they are much much darker than even my gold female Harlequin's. All of my ducks have a lot of white, mixed with pale grays and buffs, and would stand out among the browns just like your WH does. Hopefully there just is something I'm not noticing though . . .

 

[jtbrown]

I just acquired a pair of welsh harlequins from a friend of mine who got them shipped from somewhere in Oregon maybe? She said it was a great breeder, but anyway. They are a beautiful pair, pretty. I have only had ducks for a short time, and I wanted some extra females (pekins) for my drake so he didn't abuse the lone girl with him. So, she was thinning her flock of pekins to make room for new breeds and asked if I also wanted a pair of WH. Well, I said "sure."

I don't have pictures as I am not at home, but I will post soon. I picked up the drake and after handling my pekins, was surprised how light he was, but these guys are not mature yet. They are quiet, but seem to quickly have acclimated to the new home. I cannot wait to read this section on the WH.

 

[furbabymum]

My two drakes have bills that look just about like the one that you are holding. Is the duck quacking yet? One of my ducklings started quacking when she looked about like that or maybe even younger. In a few weeks, if it is a drake, he'll start growing lovely green feathers on his head and you will know for sure.

As far as your other ducks, they are lovely ducks and look very healthy. Love the brown shades! However, they are much much darker than even my gold female Harlequin's. All of my ducks have a lot of white, mixed with pale grays and buffs, and would stand out among the browns just like your WH does. Hopefully there just is something I'm not noticing though . . .

Hmm. Well I ordered 2 WH and 4 Golden 300. Officially have no idea what I got.

 

[Muse7]

Here's a picture of my WH.
girls. Closest is my eldest and in her second feathering, the darker headed one is my youngest, just fully feathered.
Back and to the right are Brave and Mimsy. Mimsy has a mottled yellow and black bill, but she is definitely a she.



This is my Jack and he is coming into his second feathering, much darker tones of cinnamon this time.
His head also darkened up, but I want to remind you that not all WH drakes come in with a green head,
some have this coloration and some come in with just a dark cap on their heads. But again he is definitely a he.



This is a better look at my Princess. She is coming into her second feathering, a little yellower through the chest.
Somewhat disappointing, since her first feathering had been so beautifully white and silver and black with the WH blue primary stripe.
She is still quite a looker though, so I'm really not complaining.

Unfortunately, none of them really fit the images you sent. But I'd have to agree that only one of yours looks like a WH. However, they can
trick you. Sometimes their second feathering comes in completely different. One of my mixes first came in with a beautiful deep chocolate and black mallard pattern, but
darned if he isn't dulling out to muted shades of brown in his second feathering.

All of yours look beautiful and healthy, so, unless you got a whole bunch of drakes, you should still have your hands full with eggs or ducklings whichever your looking for.

Best,

Liz

 

[furbabymum]

Here's a picture of my WH.
girls. Closest is my eldest and in her second feathering, the darker headed one is my youngest, just fully feathered.
Back and to the right are Brave and Mimsy. Mimsy has a mottled yellow and black bill, but she is definitely a she.



This is my Jack and he is coming into his second feathering, much darker tones of cinnamon this time.
His head also darkened up, but I want to remind you that not all WH drakes come in with a green head,
some have this coloration and some come in with just a dark cap on their heads. But again he is definitely a he.



This is a better look at my Princess. She is coming into her second feathering, a little yellower through the chest.
Somewhat disappointing, since her first feathering had been so beautifully white and silver and black with the WH blue primary stripe.
She is still quite a looker though, so I'm really not complaining.

Unfortunately, none of them really fit the images you sent. But I'd have to agree that only one of yours looks like a WH. However, they can
trick you. Sometimes their second feathering comes in completely different. One of my mixes first came in with a beautiful deep chocolate and black mallard pattern, but
darned if he isn't dulling out to muted shades of brown in his second feathering.

All of yours look beautiful and healthy, so, unless you got a whole bunch of drakes, you should still have your hands full with eggs or ducklings whichever your looking for.

Best,

Liz

I guess I figured I was going to have a drake because of how they looked as little bitty babies. I've obviously no clue but based on others pictures I figured the dark black duckling was a WH drake. I dunno.



I did have one duckling die. The yellow one lying by the water dish. Maybe that was my second WH.

PS. I hope mine come out as beautiful as yours!

 

[larkflying]

My WH's as ducklings had bright yellow bodies and greyish heads -- very minimal striping on the heads if any at all. I'd think that you probably did lose one of the WH's if that is what it looked like. So sorry for the loss . . . but your other birds look very healthy! Hopefully the WH will turn out to be a duck and not a drake. Mine are great egg producers and foragers . . . but then the other breeds that you have are great for those things too I think.

 

[Muse7]

I'm afraid you are right, the one by the water dish has the classic, yellow with dark fuzzy head of a WH duckling, as does the one in the corner.
That would explain why you only have one instead of two, but didn't your breeder guarantee health, at least for the first 48 hours. Or did it pass after that. Usually
if they don't make 24 to 48 hours and you didn't do anything to promote their demise, the breeder will replace it.

I got three of mine from Metzers and they sent me to ducks and a drake on an order that was supposed to be 3 ducks.
I had to find a home for the drake, because it would have off set my duck to drake ratio, but they didn't even bat an eye.
They had to send me two, cause the don't ship just one at a time. So I gave one to another duck friend and go my little
Patience, and the Drake is living the life of Riley, as a pet duck with a couple who lost their Pekin duck pet last year.

Funny how things work out.

At any rate, wait for the quack to see for sure what you ended up with, it's a roller coaster on ones that don't get sexed after hatching.
Hope you got a good ratio.

Best,

Liz

 

[furbabymum]

I'm afraid you are right, the one by the water dish has the classic, yellow with dark fuzzy head of a WH duckling, as does the one in the corner.
That would explain why you only have one instead of two, but didn't your breeder guarantee health, at least for the first 48 hours. Or did it pass after that. Usually
if they don't make 24 to 48 hours and you didn't do anything to promote their demise, the breeder will replace it.

I got three of mine from Metzers and they sent me to ducks and a drake on an order that was supposed to be 3 ducks.
I had to find a home for the drake, because it would have off set my duck to drake ratio, but they didn't even bat an eye.
They had to send me two, cause the don't ship just one at a time. So I gave one to another duck friend and go my little
Patience, and the Drake is living the life of Riley, as a pet duck with a couple who lost their Pekin duck pet last year.

Funny how things work out.

At any rate, wait for the quack to see for sure what you ended up with, it's a roller coaster on ones that don't get sexed after hatching.
Hope you got a good ratio.

Best,

Liz

They did guarantee it but I only lost one. They won't ship just one duckling and I didn't want more than one duckling so I just got a refund for the dead one.