Welsh Harlequin

[Zombified]

Updated pictures of my flock! Eris is indeed a gold phase, and I suspect my little "drake" Thoth might actually be a hen. He quacks, has a black bill, is the same size as the other hens, and even though his cap is dark, it's still lighter than Erebus's.

Erebus and Thoth size comparison.


Nyx on the left, Eris on the right


For more pictures, visit the Welsh Harlequin Breeding thread. I posted a few more there.

 

[Muse7]

You ducks should be fine through the first year, they don't start the hard core lets make duckling till thieir first adult spring, so you August babies should be old enough to
absorb some of the testosterone in the spring. My first batch hatched in mid May and the boys didn't go into hyper drive until late March early April.

 

[Zombified]

Oh alright, sweet. If we take Pyrrhos to the vet, I may not be able to get my extra babies until later.

 

[CherokeeFlats]

I finally found some females



Got them from a girl in Urbana IL (she lived in the city limits!) so these City Birds became Farm Birds and they love it!

 

[Nebraskagirl]

Oh they are lovely! Very nice looking Welshies.

 

[carousel86]

I'm thinking about buy duckling, I would like to get welsh harlequin duckling. They are not available until Sept. 23th. I live in NY and was wondering if they would be big enough to survive the winter? Or should I wait until spring? I bought two Rouen duck and they went in my pond and never came back

. Would like to try again not sure if it's to late in the year.

 

[Muse7]

Carousel,

Personally, I'd wait unless you have indoor accommodations. If your upper State NY, you see some pretty bitter temps early don't you?
I know that they say after 3 months they are generally good to go in most temps. My Welsh Harlequins are O.K. with winter, but they hunker down a lot.

Question regarding your Rouens. Did you establish a feeding pattern with them or were they completely free range self feed? Ducks don't usually take off
if they know where their one or two shots at everyday food is. It is actually more likely that they got taken by a fox, coon, or up your way could have been a Coyote.
You can free range, but you really should get them used to coming back to shelter in a secure house at night. Otherwise, they are open to any prowling predators, four legged or winged.

Best of luck in your endeavors.

Liz

 

[Muse7]

Hey all,

We had some real excitement around our place this week. We had a week of winged predators swinging through. Started with our resident pair of Red Tails. Fortunately, they aren't nearly as curious about making a meal out of our ducks, since the female got caught in our Winter paddock electric fence, day before last Christmas. Then I had a juvenile Cooper hawk, bold as brass if you please, land on the duck house right next to where I was standing, twice. Seems to have moved on though, probably didn't receive a very kind welcome from the Red Tails and our horde of crows.

Lastly, and most unbelievably, on Saturday, I heard three very loud quacks come from our juvenile duck paddock and I looked out and our two 3 month ducks and the Hen I pulled from the flock to acclimate with them were all hold up in the little brooder. Now, you have to understand that we have just shy of an acre of land in the middle of suburbia, so what I saw just about made me pop.

I went out to see what had scared them so badly and there sitting on a limb of the tree over looking the paddock was a juvenile bald eagle. No joke, it was huge. It just sat there looking at me, so I had to get a couple stones to toss in its direction. It was stunning, but obviously, not welcome on our property of ducks. As soon as it took flight, there was a burst of sound, every crow from all around the area was squawking and taking flight after it. I have not seen it in the last two days, so I'm pretty sure that it too has moved on. But what a week of surprises.

Hope everyone else's week is a little less eventful.

Best,

Liz

 

[carousel86]

Hi Liz, thank you for your in put, about buying duckling in Sept. we would put them in our garage for the winter. I know that they still will have to go outside too. I wasn't sure if they would be big enough to make it through the winter. Thank you Diane

 

[Muse7]

Important blog for folks to read who are now in the wake of West Nile virus territory.
http://www.acornhollowbantams.com/waterfowl_basics.cfm?id=42

Excellent information in this blog about a 4 or 5 year period, experiencing the first wave of West Nile with ducks.
We all think of our ducks are super hardy, which they are, but they are not immune from West Nile, so read and
be aware.

Best,

Liz