Welsh Harlequin

[Dances with Ducks]

Thanks
I didn't realize it either, they go through so many changes.

 

[lakota_elder]

I have a young duck that I can't figure out if it's male or female... any info would be appreciated.... here's her photo ..... she's on the left and a known female is on the right.... it looks like her bill is starting to darken but I'm not sure....

and here's a closer look at just the one....

and here is a photo of one of my boys..... he's an odd color... instead of the black coming on around the head he's got a rich dark brown...and the spots on his back or brown instead of black.. is there a name for this coloring as I could not find one in the breed descriptions...

and the other side

 

[Wifezilla]

I think that is a girl. I have 3 girls and their bills still are not dark yet. One has made it to all army green, but the other two have "freckles" just like yours. As for the odd colored drake, that is referred to as a "gold phase" wh. Metzer hatchery doesn't differentiate, but Holderead's hatchery does.

Are your Metzer ducks per chance?

 

[Dances with Ducks]

lakota_elder
About the duck of unidentified sex, the bill colors on mine were pretty dark on both sexes at that age, I want to guess female because the feathering is so light. On my silver drake's the body feathers kept getting darker and more colorful while the female got lighter and more white. But the drake next to the unidentified one in the photo also looks petty light so I don't know what to say for sure.
I think that young drake looks fairly typical at that stage, maybe a lighter shade of green on the bill than usual. What color are the dark feathers on his wings, more bronze or more blue?
Where did you get your ducks from? I love the way the lighter coloring looks.

 

[Cetawin]

I love my GWH, especially my boys (4 of them)

My girl Nibblets

My girl Lilly

Today in their new enclosure

Get the WHs...you will love them.

 

[lakota_elder]

I bought a dozen eggs off eBay.... but lost all but one due to a malfunctioning incubator.... he's the darkest, oldest drake.... I bought 3 females from a North Central Florida breeder..... and 5 from an auction... I have 4 females and 5 males.... I'm going to sell a pair at the auction this weekend and maybe 3 of the drakes... as they are all the same coloring... I'm going to keep the younger brown male and 3 females...

4 of the 5 males are all from the same breeder..... so does that mean that these other 3 males may carry the gold factor..??

PS... the brown drake has brown coloring on the wings.... but it does look like they may have some irresidence coloring to them when you open them and display the coloring to the sun..

 

[lakota_elder]

I didn't realize that the females colored up as much as that... I thought they stayed pretty much white....

How long before they reach full coloring and maturity.... start laying eggs....

 

[Dances with Ducks]

Lakota-Elder
It's very possible some or all may have the recessive gold.

Cetawin
Those gold girls are beautiful!!! Looking forward to some eggs!!
I'm trying to get my husband to warm up to the idea of an incubator.

 

[Wifezilla]

the brown drake has brown coloring on the wings.... but it does look like they may have some irresidence coloring to them when you open them and display the coloring to the sun..

Gold phase ducks will have shiny bronze wing markings. Silver phase has blue/green.​

 

[lakota_elder]

Well I guess I have to trim down my Welsh Harlequins...... I just posted my gold drake and a silver/gold hen on the auction site... hopefully they'll stay close so I can get some babies at a later date...!!!