Welsh Harlequin

[maryhysong]

Good Luck Maryhysong.

Let us know how it goes....pics would be nice also

This morning one is out, one unzipping, more pipped. Will do pics as soon as they are done and dried off. Wondering if I was wrong on # of days; should be 28, right?

 

[tbitt]

Ya, 28 days. Could they have been warmed a bit before they were set? Maybe they started to develop before you put them in the incubator.

 

[maryhysong]

Ya, 28 days. Could they have been warmed a bit before they were set? Maybe they started to develop before you put them in the incubator.

It's been pretty cool here and close to freezing most mornings I collected these; I think the 'bator was running too warm a few days tho and/or my cheapie thermometer was off. Have a new digi combo unit coming from poultry supply

 

[tbitt]

I heard someone say once that running high creates boys.


You will have to let us all know how many hatched...and how many ended up being boys.

 

[jorhyne]

Hey guys,

I have five welsh harlequin female chicks, all about 3 weeks old. I ordered them mostly because of the great things I read about them in this thread. We've loved watching them grow, and four of them are very healthy, adventurous, and active as you might expect. The fifth (Susie) is quite a bit smaller than the rest. She had an eye infection a week ago, that has since been successfully cleared up after a visit to the vet and some topical antibiotics. Because of the infection she has been in a separate but adjacent brooder per the vets recommendation. Since then it has become clear she is the runt of the group, and now that the infection is gone is getting some pecking and muscling around by the other larger ducks (we think this might have been how her eye got hurt in the first place). But I think this will go away as she spends more time with them.

My main concern is that she is very wobbly on her feet, and really has been since the eye infection started. She often falls back onto her butt when moving around, and she also swims awkwardly compared to the rest when we let them swim inside.

Do you have any advice for what could be causing her wobbliness? Her stool is normal and she is eating and drinking normally, but it has been a week and despite my inexperience, it seems to be more than just a duck not used to her big feet. They are being fed DuMor Chick/Duckling starter along with a bit of uncooked spinach or broccoli every day.

Here is a youtube video. It should be clear which one is Susie! I took this right before I decided to move her back to her own spot..the other four had seemed to tolerate her for an hour but started to gang up on her right as I was filming.

I really appreciate any help you guys can offer. We've grown quite fond of Susie as we've had to handle her much more to apply the eye meds..she is definitely more keen on our touch than the rest of them.

 

[DaisyMeadow]

Hi all! New to this thread.

I was given a trio of Welsh Harlequins sometime around November of last year. They appear to be adults (have full feathering, etc.) and haven't gotten any bigger since we got them. However, I haven't seen a single egg out of either female. I asked the man I got them from how old they are, and he said that he has no clue. I'm thinking they may have been last summer's ducklings, and haven't started laying yet, but I guess they might be older and have stopped for the winter? It doesn't look like they molted at all this winter, which is why I'm leaning toward the young bird theory, but I can only base that off of my chicken experience. I'm wondering now how soon before they'll start laying?

I have a potential buyer for all of my extra duck eggs, but these will be my first egg layers, so I'm naturally more anxious about it this time around. I just hatched out several Khakis, and have 3 dozen more khaki eggs in the incubator to hatch the end of the month, so it'll be a few months before they start laying.

Thanks for any bits of wisdom you might have!

 

[LadyLuck]

re: sexing with beak color.
by the time they are shipped to me from a hatchery, will the beak color still hold true? They would be what, 2 days old?
thanks so much!

 

[LadyLuck]

Can you share where you were able to get females? I thought I'd checked ALL the hatcheries and can only find straight run. Thanks

 

[tbitt]

re: sexing with beak color.
by the time they are shipped to me from a hatchery, will the beak color still hold true? They would be what, 2 days old?
thanks so much!

It will be harder and less accurate, but there might still be a bit of a difference for you to try and sex them by bill color.


Did you check Metzer farms for sexed ducklings?

http://www.metzerfarms.com/WelshHar... Harlequin&BirdType=Duck&ID=WH&CustID=1415674




DaisyMeadow,

Most of my ducks have just now started back to laying. Maybe they just need a bit more daylight to get going again.

 

[CherokeeFlats]

I'll be getting my WHs in April. So excited. Looking forward to getting to know these wonderful ducks.