Welsh Harlequin

[hokankai]

Took my birds to the PPBA show in Stockton, CA this weekend. My young drake got Best of Breed, and my old duck got Reserve of Breed

BoB Sir Charles


RoB Anna


Jasper got First Pullet


Elizabeth got Best of Variety (Gold)

 

[mommakurk]

Aww i saw them!!! Your girls were so calm the only breed all curled up sleeping, really turned me on to this breed.. Way to go

 

[rayray983]

I got my first pair sunday and love them they are so calm Havnt taken pics yet they are still adjusting to new pen its supposed to be super cold how do they fair in the weather or do I need to bring them in and let em live in my laundry room they have a heated coop but don't like being in it previous owner just kept them outside in a huge flock right now they are huddled up in a dog iglo I put in pen with hay in it since they refuse to use the coop :-/

 

[hokankai]

Thank you! Yes I did a lot of cage training in preparation and I can definitely tell it paid off! They also laid eggs in their cages like it was no big deal, hahaha. I think they were the only ducks that did

 

[hokankai]

Mine did fine in the cold snap we had, which I think was as low as single digits. How cold is it going to get?Just make sure they have a lot of food to produce enough body heat and thawed water

 

[rayray983]

I have a heated waterer 20s tonight and tmrw night supposed to be in single digits I've taken their lil pool awe silly things love it but my only concern is they were a flock of 40 plus birds and now they are just 2

 

[rayray983]

I think tmrw even though they don't like being locked up in coop I'm going to lock them in there for safety even though they dislike it

 

[LightningTFarm]

As long as their coop blocks some wind, they will be okay in the cold. Don't forget, unlike chickens your ducks are wearing little down coats all the time! I live in East Texas, and it has gotten down to 15 degrees at night this winter but my ducks are fine. No heat lamps. The coop has solid wood for the bottom four feet then 1/2" wire to the roof. Make sure there is lots of bedding for them to snuggle into and that the wind is blocked. Don't put water inside the coop with them. They'll be fine without it overnight; just go out in the morning and break any ice off their water so they can drink. And, of course, since they don't have any water don't leave any food in the coop overnight. When it's real cold here I got out in the afternoon and throw out some chicken scratch so that digesting that will help keep them warm overnight. Ducks are VERY hardy! Remember, in the wild they swim around in freezing water all the time and nest on the banks of lakes and stuff.

 

[rayray983]

Yea I guess I'm just over babying them

 

[Muse7]

My four WH hate going inside. We have had as low as single digits with wind chills in the negatives this year in PA. I have double stacked straw bales to block wind, heated buckets for water and straw down in their paddock. They fuss when I try to put them in at night. I put them in to protect them from night preds. but
if that wasn't an issue I think they would want to be out all night. I have noticed that egg production has been more sporadic this year with the weird temp changes, but they are still laying.

Best,

Liz