Welsh Harlequin Breeding Thread - People who are breeding or want to breed their WH's talk

[TattooedMama]

I have gotten both their regular quality and their top show quality, and to be honest I can't really tell the difference looking at the birds. Their birds are just of such superior quality that you can't go wrong getting the regular birds.

Thanks for this bit of info!! I was planning to get regular ones and then was beginning to second guess myself. I just ordered $250 in turkeys for next season so I am glad to know my ducks won't cost that much too

 

[LightningTFarm]

Thanks for this bit of info!! I was planning to get regular ones and then was beginning to second guess myself. I just ordered $250 in turkeys for next season so I am glad to know my ducks won't cost that much too

Unless you want to show your birds, you will be VERY HAPPY with the regular birds from Holderread's. Go for it! I have really enjoyed my girls. I started with the Welsh Harlequins the first year, and then added Saxonies the next. I love them both. I will say this about the Welshies, you have to be very careful with your numbers of drakes to hens, as the sex drive in the Welsh drakes is unreal.

 

[TattooedMama]

Unless you want to show your birds, you will be VERY HAPPY with the regular birds from Holderread's. Go for it! I have really enjoyed my girls. I started with the Welsh Harlequins the first year, and then added Saxonies the next. I love them both. I will say this about the Welshies, you have to be very careful with your numbers of drakes to hens, as the sex drive in the Welsh drakes is unreal.

I plan to breed and sell babies. I have no idea how to show birds lol. It's something I would be interested in if I knew how to get into it. I am thinking of putting my son in 4h so maybe he can get into that type of stuff. I was looking at the Saxonies as well. I adore the coloration on the males and just have to have some. I also really like that both the Saxonies & WH are critical on the LBC list. What do you recommend as a drake to hen ratio? These will be my first ducks. We had chickens and turkeys last year but had a Mycoplasma AND Turkey Coryza outbreak from some new birds so we had to cull everyone. We are starting over next year fresh and I am very eager to get some ducks.

Just curious as I have been reading a lot on here and other old threads. It seems people breed gold and silver phase WH separate. Are there differences, other than visually, between the two? I have read the Gold are not specifically in the APA and so are less common here in the US, and also that hatcheries don't discriminate or separate them (though Holderread farm does). I think we decided last night on Gold phase. I like the coloration and that they could possibly be even more rare and uncommon than Silver phase.

 

[LightningTFarm]

In the past Holderread did not separate gold an silver phase. I had one gold drake and one gold hen in my orders, and the rest were silvers. If you want to get into breeding bigtime it might be worth it to get the TSQ ducklings, but like I said their regular ducks are so great you probably don't need to. For 4H I probably would order the TSQ, since the kids will be showing. As for number of ducks to a drake, I would go no less than four and as many as six. Be sure to cull or sell the extra drakes early in the spring, before you wind up with hens with bloody necks. It will be hard to tell which are the best until after their first molt, but at that point I'd look at them with a critical eye and get rid of the extras. You will be glad you did. Your girls will be glad, too!

The same advice holds true for Saxonies, as drakes as a rule are just sex fiends. I love them, but you have to be sure you don't overpower your girls with too many drakes and too much mating, as that can actually injure them.

 

[TattooedMama]

In the past Holderread did not separate gold an silver phase. I had one gold drake and one gold hen in my orders, and the rest were silvers. If you want to get into breeding bigtime it might be worth it to get the TSQ ducklings, but like I said their regular ducks are so great you probably don't need to. For 4H I probably would order the TSQ, since the kids will be showing. As for number of ducks to a drake, I would go no less than four and as many as six. Be sure to cull or sell the extra drakes early in the spring, before you wind up with hens with bloody necks. It will be hard to tell which are the best until after their first molt, but at that point I'd look at them with a critical eye and get rid of the extras. You will be glad you did. Your girls will be glad, too!

The same advice holds true for Saxonies, as drakes as a rule are just sex fiends. I love them, but you have to be sure you don't overpower your girls with too many drakes and too much mating, as that can actually injure them.

What does a gold drake look like?! I cannot find pictures of one. Should the 2 phases be separate or can they be bred together without diminishing some characteristics? I saw an argument or two on this on some old threads I believe; still reading up and soaking up as much as possible. Thanks for the help

I think to start I will get the regular ducklings and then breed selectively. From what I hear, I can't go wrong starting with Holderreads so for this year I will pass on the TSQ. I have a tendency to want to start out with the very best but would like to be able to put in some work as well and save some money in the process. I haven't looked too much into the 4H yet but I definitely want to; I think my son would really enjoy it.

 

[LightningTFarm]

What does a gold drake look like?! I cannot find pictures of one. Should the 2 phases be separate or can they be bred together without diminishing some characteristics? I saw an argument or two on this on some old threads I believe; still reading up and soaking up as much as possible. Thanks for the help

I think to start I will get the regular ducklings and then breed selectively. From what I hear, I can't go wrong starting with Holderreads so for this year I will pass on the TSQ. I have a tendency to want to start out with the very best but would like to be able to put in some work as well and save some money in the process. I haven't looked too much into the 4H yet but I definitely want to; I think my son would really enjoy it.

In drakes, the head is an olive greeny-brown instead of bottle green, and so is the wing couvert. In females, the wing couvert is that color, and their bodies may be a bit lighter in color than the silvers with less stippling. They can be bred together, but it would probably diminish your chances of getting more golds. I doubt your kids could show golds, as they are not the recognized breed here in America.

 

[TattooedMama]

In drakes, the head is an olive greeny-brown instead of bottle green, and so is the wing couvert. In females, the wing couvert is that color, and their bodies may be a bit lighter in color than the silvers with less stippling. They can be bred together, but it would probably diminish your chances of getting more golds. I doubt your kids could show golds, as they are not the recognized breed here in America.

I am not familiar with showing but I remember hearing somewhere that showing was generally the way to get unrecognized breeds or colors recognized; by putting them out in the world so to speak. I can't recall which thread but there was discussion of trying to get them recognized.

Since I am interested in preservation of the critical varieties and I think the Gold's may need more advocates. The Welsh Harlequin in general is Critical status according to the LBC and I would reasonably surmise since the Gold phase is not admitted into the APA that it's numbers are well below that of silvers. There is little info available on them but I did finally find a website with a picture of a Gold phase drake.

 

[LightningTFarm]

There is information on them on the Holderread's website, I think. Since golds are the standard in the UK they are not dying out by any means. I would check with 4H to see what their rules and regs are regarding showing the birds before you make a final decision. Either way, you will love your Welsh Harlequins!

 

[TattooedMama]

Thanks!! I am super excited. We really love the way the Gold phase looks so we will definitely be getting some. I think we are going to get some of each color phase.

 

[Chiaro]

I WISH that the W.H. were rare here, I can't even GIVE these babies away. They're just over 2 months and so nice.