Welsh Harlequin

[Weezy58]

Yikes, really? The man we bought them from said he ordered Welsh Harlequin ducklings from Cackle Hatchery, but I admit I haven't always heard the best things about them. Last year we sold some pullets to a family after all the chicks they ordered from Cackle got sick and died.

What do you think they're a mix of? They're starting to get the blue/green patches on their wings, but it doesn't show in pics yet.

 

[LightningTFarm]

I don't think they look mixed. My girls range from very light to very dark fawn in color. My only question is about your drake - what color is his head turning? If he's a Silver, it should be a dark bottle green. If he's a Golden, it should be more dark olive to brown. It almost looks blue in the picture.

 

[jonhpdx]

Your new ducks look like they are crossed with something.

I somewhat agree with this. The two in the back are the ones that are throwing me off, one has a semi-dark head, but not nearly as defined as I've seen in most pictures of WH, and the one all the way in the back has an orange bill (I've never seen or heard of a purebread WH with an orange bill, but maybe that's just me).

 

[Nebraskagirl]

I have seen the orange bill (aren't male WH SUPPOSED to have orange bills while the females have the dark bills???) and they do look like Welsh Harlequins. Who cares as long as they are healthy.

 

[pips&peeps]

bill color is incorrect on the female in the back.

head should be dark on the male. The females should have color on their heads and neck so that you can see a "collar" on their necks.

 

[jonhpdx]

bill color is incorrect on the female in the back.

head should be dark on the male. The females should have color on their heads and neck so that you can see a "collar" on their necks.

Do females ever become white like that in his picture? I've seen others with WHs with similar white heads, and I'm also wondering if mine will ever turn that way or if she'll always have her greyish/brown head.

Speaking of... here's a few pictures I got of my girl the other day! Of all 4 different breeds of duck I have, she's the one that consistently gets the comments calling her beautiful/pretty/etc. I personally like my Swedish the most (personal preference, I know that's practically slander in a Welsh Harlequin thread!).







Also, I think she's a gold phase but can someone confirm? My head gets spun around whenever people are talking about silver/gold phase WHs. Thanks!

 

[Nebraskagirl]

Do females ever become white like that in his picture? I've seen others with WHs with similar white heads, and I'm also wondering if mine will ever turn that way or if she'll always have her greyish/brown head.

Speaking of... here's a few pictures I got of my girl the other day! Of all 4 different breeds of duck I have, she's the one that consistently gets the comments calling her beautiful/pretty/etc. I personally like my Swedish the most (personal preference, I know that's practically slander in a Welsh Harlequin thread!).







Also, I think she's a gold phase but can someone confirm? My head gets spun around whenever people are talking about silver/gold phase WHs. Thanks!

She is a silver phase. You can tell by the markings on her wing. They are a blue. Gold phase does not have blue coloring. She is very pretty indeed.

 

[pips&peeps]

Do females ever become white like that in his picture? I've seen others with WHs with similar white heads, and I'm also wondering if mine will ever turn that way or if she'll always have her greyish/brown head.

Speaking of... here's a few pictures I got of my girl the other day! Of all 4 different breeds of duck I have, she's the one that consistently gets the comments calling her beautiful/pretty/etc. I personally like my Swedish the most (personal preference, I know that's practically slander in a Welsh Harlequin thread!).







Also, I think she's a gold phase but can someone confirm? My head gets spun around whenever people are talking about silver/gold phase WHs. Thanks!

I just think her color is off by being too light. She is very pretty.

Gold phase birds have a bronze or greenish bronze speculum.

 

[Muse7]

I don't think their mixes eiher. They look pretty strait forward WH. The Drake has he black cap. He'll eventually, probably have a full blacky/metalic green head into the top part of the neck.
Your girls look well within range. I have one girl with orange feet and a yellow bill mottled with black patches, strait WH. She has blue eyes, crazy through back there.
Two of my girls have distinct cinnamin head into neck coloration and then look almost like silvers and one is almost pure white with hints of cinnamin in her sleek black back and tail markings.

You also have to keep in mind that your batch haven't molted yet, their color can change pretty drastically at that point, or sometimes just be replacement feathers that look the same.
Give it some time to find out what they will look like. First molt will probably happen around month 3ish.

Good looking animals. As to the calming. Sounds like your doing what you can. Only time will tell how they will end up as far as handle ability. But it is important for you to handle them, in case they ever need to be treated or taken to a vet.

Best,

Liz

 

[Weezy58]

Thank you all so much for your thoughts!! We're really newbies with this breed - didn't even know about the silver and golden variations. Maybe I should have waited a few more weeks to post photos because they're really changing every day. They'll be eight weeks old on June 11. They still have a lot of white baby fluff showing - you can see where it's coming off the drake's head because his dark green feathers are starting to show. Even on the light-colored girls you can see rust and brown stripes starting to appear in the center of each feather. Also, just in the last few days their beautiful blue and green wing patches have appeared. Only one of the females looks like she'll have a clearly defined brown head, but like someone said, they're all healthy, so we're happy!

This might be a better picture...