Welsh Harlequin

[lakota_elder]

I have Welsh Harlequins between 6 and 9 mos of age... Only one did I incubate the others I bought at about 2 mos.. Guess I'll have to go to a local breeder who does the job on his stock and either have him do it or learn how...!!! Thanks for the info..

 

[Dances with Ducks]

lakota_elder there is no need to pinion Welsh Harlequins or even clip their wings. I have never heard of them truly flying except very low at short distances. Even if one or two youngsters manage to get a little airbound they will not go far at all without the rest of their flock. If you have even a short fence between them and the lake I believe it is very unlikely they will ever discover it.

 

[pirtykitty]

My welsh Harlequins from Metzers are 26 weeks old today.. I keep them in a raised pen at night.. Daisy and Amy like to take turns going down the ramp so far and then flying the rest.. they dont get but a few feet before they come crashing down.. usually on Stanley as he is going through gate to back yard !!!!!They have also run across yard with wings flapping but haven't gotten any lift.. ( I think theres too much junk in the trunk for that)..

 

[pardygwyn]

I do appreciate a duck with junk in the trunk! Especially if it's from eating lots of slugs.

Didn't realize they got that much heavier than the usual Khaki body type. Those guys aren't the best fliers, but in my experience they can when they're young. I had an imprinted Khaki once named Dinky who would take off flying if I rode my bike past her. Once she was started, she'd fly about three blocks away to the harbor and I'd be hours getting her to come back out!

 

[lakota_elder]

How in the world can you get them back home... Once mine heard the migrating ducks in the spring landing on the pond they headed for the pond ...... and there was no way of getting them to come back....

 

[Dances with Ducks]

lakota_elder
What is the layout of your property, is there a fence to keep the ducks away from the pond? I'm not clear how clipping their wings would keep them away unless you are talking about keeping them from going over a fence. Or maybe the distance is so great that they wouldn't attempt it without flying? Where the ducks attracted by the migrating ducks WH or another breed like a mallard? What eventually happened to them, did you loose them?
Sorry to bombard you with all these questions, I just hope if we understand what you are dealing with there is more chance of helping you find a way to make it work.

 

[lakota_elder]

My property is 225' across by 1600' deep.... the pond is on one end and the house is on a hill in the middle... there is a cabin about 300' from my house half way between the pond and my house.... The property is set up for horses with horse fencing (wire strands). I have a 6' privacy fence on part of the side of the house which I keep the ducks in during the night (their own private duck entrance thru the fence) and a regular 2" square wire fencing around a larger part.... There is a waterfall pond in the front yard that they access during the day.... but lately they are following one of the hens who has decided she likes to wander... they have made it to the cabin which is halfway....

It seems I will have to fence in some area for them.... my problem is how much an area as I do not like to keep things penned in.... I will probably fence in one of the horse pastures attached to the house... ..... I really hate fences.... unless I can add a hot wire near the bottom of the fences that will stop them from getting past the horse fence....

I guess I really need a bigger place with the pond in the middle with no gators....!!!!!

 

[lakota_elder]

whoops.... they were WH and I lost all of them to the pond and the gator....

 

[pirtykitty]

The junk in the trunk is from foraging. LOL... I don't think they are over weight I feed them mazuri in the morning and evening... I think they are just bottom heavy.. they try and fly out of the night pen ( its raised) and they sink like rocks lol..they are about 5 months old right now..

 

[Dances with Ducks]

lakota_elder Wanting to let your ducks forage freely and not have your property divided up with fencing is competely understandible, but yes, it sure would be terrible to loose more to the alligators!! I would expect the fence to work.

I think about all of the lightweight class ducks, WH, runners and campbells do some low "flying" for a few yards at a maximum of four or five feet. Which makes it sound like you would need a pretty high fence, except that the behavior I have seen is that unless something is making them feel desperate, like being chased or seperated from the rest of their flock, even a two foot high fence contains them. I have my veggie garden in a two foot fence and as luscious as my ducks think it is to forage in it they are too lazy to fly over it. I know they could if they really really tried but they just don't. But in your case I would use at least a three foot fence because the risk to them if they did get over it is greater. If they are like mine, when they have enough space they aren't usually driven to explore every possible escape and will feel content staying in their familiar territory.

I forgot to ask how much flying those WH that were devoured were doing? There can be a lot of individual variation within a breed, so anything is possible. I have seen very rare reports on this forum and elsewhere of campbells, runners, and even cayugas actually flying at real height, like above rooftop level. But so far all the WH I have heard of are like pirtykitty's, with enough junk in the trunk to keep them fairly well grounded.

I would love to know if anyone has had any WH that do any real "high flying".