Welsh Harlequin

[carousel86]

Just be aware,  I believe, that Holderread has a minimum of 10 ducks/lings per order, so if you are going to order from them, and you only want 2 to 5, you will want to find someone else to
go in on the order with you.

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Best,

Liz

Ok Thank you Liz

 

[Zombified]

Oh, yeah, I forgot about that. I think Metzer's minimum is three? Or maybe five? I don't quite remember.

 

[carousel86]

Oh, yeah, I forgot about that. I think Metzer's minimum is three? Or maybe five? I don't quite remember.

I guess I'll buy 10 then lol

 

[tsandhage]

I have 2 Welsh Harlequinn's. Periodically, about 4 times per year, I will find a dark green circular piece within the whites of my eggs. I can easily remove it with a spoon and it seems to be encapsulated in its own clear encasement. I haven't dissected it but it looks greenish and appears grainy. It does not look like something I'd want to eat. The eggs taste fine because I eat them after I've removed the icky looking stuff. Does anyone know what this is or ever experienced it within their own eggs? I've never seen this in chicken eggs. Thanks for any insight!

 

[hokankai]

I have 2 Welsh Harlequinn's. Periodically, about 4 times per year, I will find a dark green circular piece within the whites of my eggs. I can easily remove it with a spoon and it seems to be encapsulated in its own clear encasement. I haven't dissected it but it looks greenish and appears grainy. It does not look like something I'd want to eat. The eggs taste fine because I eat them after I've removed the icky looking stuff. Does anyone know what this is or ever experienced it within their own eggs? I've never seen this in chicken eggs. Thanks for any insight!

Sounds like maybe some kind of parasite. Try worming your ducks, but it's hard to know exactly what it is without a photo.

 

[tsandhage]

I will deworm and I will take a picture next time it happens. Are you saying the green spot is a worm or just caused by the worm? I'm just curious.

 

[Muse7]

Yes, maybe parasite.
Nothing a Harlequin or any other duck should "have" in their eggs.
If you have a vet, next time you find one, remove it and ask if they can do an analysis for
you. It shouldn't cost that much and it would be better to know what you are treating for than
to just worm indiscriminately. Worming is necessary sometimes if you have free range birds, but
it is really not great for your ducks. If you have to worm, make sure you talk to your vet about
getting one that doesn't require time down from collecting eggs. Panacur granules are decent for that.

They don't make it for "duck"s, technically it is for dogs and other 4 footers. But mixing a 4 gram packet with
40 ml. H2O is the usual solution and then giving 5 ml per duck in a weight zone of 3 and 1/2 lbs to 5 lbs. (Welshy & Runner range),

Good luck with that. I'd be curious to hear what the vet finds.

Best,

liz

 

[carousel86]

I guess I'll buy 10 then lol

Am I better buying SQ Welsh Harlequin duckling?

 

[Muse7]

It really depends on why you are purchasing for. If you really are primarily interested in showing, then you should probably start with show quality stock. If you
are interested in them for a well rounded farm bird; eggs, pest control, and meat, then you may want to look at stock that is better for that.

I personally went middle of the road. I got my first Welshies from second generation Holderread stock birds. My original hen is pretty, but a bit small for show, however, she is an excellent layer.
My Drake probably could have showed till his second molt, but now is just good with the ladies.

My second WH purchase I got from Metzer and although the two girls that made it through their first year are excellent layers, one has orange feet and a mottled orange and black bill. The other is a beautiful silver and lays well, but is probably to big to show. The third I lost, failure to thrive into her first spring.

I am adding to my flock again next spring from Moose Manner Farm, so I would expect the quality of hens will be of a similar nature to my first girl. But, I really have no nagging interest in showing. If One of my girls ends up being a good body type, I might show, but if not, they are great at bug control and laying, and will provide good stock for sale to other farms and small homesteads.

So, as I say, it really is about what you personally want to do with your girls. I will say that my hen and drake from Moose Manor are more calm than the two I got from Metzer. Those two are sweet, but a bit more high strung. I can handle all of my birds and check them pretty much daily, but Mimsey and Brave (My Metzer girls) are much less anxious to be handled. That being said, I got a Chocolate runner and a Cayuga hen from Metzer this year, and both of them are very easy to handle. I will keep my fingers crossed that their genetic make up is good and that they make it through their first year without issue.

Hope this was at least a little helpful.

Liz

 

[Zombified]

Definitely agree with Liz. It completely depends on what you want to do with your birds. I would really like to show, but, like Liz, it isn't a nagging desire. It's just something I would want to do if I had a show quality bird. I'm hoping my hens get black feet soon so that I can, but it isn't going to kill me if it never happens, haha.

Now, I'm having serious doubts that one of my "drakes" is actually a drake. While the other one is larger, has a green head, and now has his drake feathers, the questionable one is /smaller/ than the other hens, and has a light head(though still darker than the other hens), and no drake feather. Not even a hint of one. No darkening of the head, no beautiful chestnut chest feathers - nothing. He even competes with one of my hens, Eris, to see who can quack the loudest(or so it seems haha). I don't think the quacking is a sure sign, because Nyx doesn't quack much, and Pyrrhos doesn't really quack at all, but I know for sure that they're both hens.

SO, here are some pictures. Hopefully you WH people will be able to tell for sure.

First, Erebus front and tail:





Now Thoth front and tail: