Posts in category: Welsh Harlequin

Another change!  We’ve fenced in the larger area outside their completely enclosed paddock. This larger area is full of grass and weeds where they can enjoy foraging during the day when we’re home and the cat is in the house.  The fence has an electric wire near the bottom, and another at the top to keep predators out, also to keep the horses from leaning over to eat grass and ruin the fence.

At first the ducks were afraid to be out there, but today is their second day out so herding them out was much easier.  I took their food out there first thing this morning when they were hungry.  (Follow the food…)  They are taking to the foraging idea quite well and seem to enjoy nibbling on the grass.  Everywhere they go, they still go as a pack.  Ten ducks all together with one large white one taller than the rest is pretty darn cute.

More changes.  We’ve switched from the small pool to a larger, deeper one.  Tim put a drain in this one so it will be easier to empty & clean.  Nice.  Unfortunately, it’s downhill from the garden, so it will be difficult to get that nice, duck-poopy water into the garden, but perhaps we’ll figure something out.

10 ducks in the small pool were getting pretty crowded!

At first the ducks were afraid of the new pool and wouldn’t go near it.  I put the nice ramp up, but they haven’t quite figured that out yet.  Sometimes I put some chopped greens on the ramp, and they’ll walk up halfway eating the greens, but not yet into the pool.  Sometimes they’ll get onto the ramp to get out of the pool (there’s a brick step inside the pool leading to the ramp), but they jump off before reaching the bottom.  One of them finally walked down it yesterday, and I got a snapshot.  Perhaps they do it when I’m not looking!  Generally they manage to get from the first (lower) step into the pool, but little by little I’ve seen a couple of them step up to the second step, then into the pool (smart ducks).  We’ll leave the ramp there and see if they get the hang of it.

One comes down the ramp!

They like the bigger pool.  They’ve figured out that they can dive under, swim across, then come up again, and sometimes do summersaults in the water.  It’s a joy to watch them in the pool.  It’s funny, but sometimes some of them seem to prefer drinking up the muddy water beside the pool rather than get in, while the others are in for a swim.  Oh well, to each his own!

There have been lots of changes!  The ducks are six weeks old now, they’re getting bigger and adding more feathers every day.  It’s interesting to watch how the feathers are growing out, particularly on the wings.  When they stand up and stretch out their wings, I get a better idea of where each of the different types of feathers start, and how they fold up neatly when not in use.

Two of the ducks (female), 5 1/2 weeks old

The drakes and ducks are easy to tell apart now.  The drakes have much more color all over. The back area above the tail is darker on the drakes and shows a different pattern.  I don’t know if you can tell in these pictures, but it’s quite obvious.  The ducks are quacking quite loudly now, but the drakes still peep.  It’s a louder peep, but still a peep.  Oh, the “mystery”, Whitey, is quite clearly still peeping and therefore, a drake.

One of the drakes (male), 5 1/2 weeks old

Our plan all along was to butcher the drakes.  At first we thought we’d be brave and adventurous and do it
ourselves.  Then we found out about a poultry processing plant nearby that does them, packages them up and freezes them, and we thought that would save us the effort.  Then we found out that they no longer do ducks.  Now we aren’t so sure we want to go to the effort of learning to do it ourselves, so we’ve put the drakes up for sale on craigslist.  So far, there have been no responses.  From the reading I’ve done, it sounds like the best time for butchering will be in another 2-3 weeks or so.  We’ve been so busy, I don’t know that we need another project, but I guess it’ll have to be done, and we may have to do it.

I was realizing that for centuries, probably the majority of families did this kind of thing themselves all the time.  It was probably only the few wealthiest folks who didn’t.  We’ve gotten so disconnected with our food sources!  I think it’s good to have a better recognition of where our food comes from…the garden, the fowl and animals…and appreciate what our Creator has given us.  Thanking Him for the provision of our food will take on new meaning as we butcher our own.

It’s kind of nice that the drakes are just “the drakes” en masse, and I don’t think losing them will be a problem.   …Then there’s Whitey.  I can’t help it.  He is just too cute and too different from the others, I want to keep him.  He’s fatter and slower and easier to catch than the rest.  He sits down a lot, and the others step on him frequently.  I’ve decided to keep him around, at least for a while, so I guess it’ll be “Whitey and the girls”.  I want to see what he’s like as a bigger duck.  I want to keep in mind that he may very well become dinner, and may nickname him “Thanksgiving”, but we’ll see as time goes on.

Whitey (“Thanksgiving”?) – 5 1/2 weeks old

Which are drakes, and which are ducks?  Which are Golden?

I’m placing bets that we have four females, with one other still undetermined.  Four of the Welsh Harlequins have begun to quack, the feathers on their wings and sides are all a little lighter than the others, and their bills are a bit darker.  We’ll have a better idea as time goes on, but that’s my best guess right now.  Four layers will be good–we wanted at least three.  Of the two Goldens, I think one is a drake, the other a duck.

Whitey, the White Appleyard

The mystery is our White Appleyard, Whitey, who is clearly different than the others, not only in appearance, but in behavior as well.  Whitey sits down a lot–while he’s eating, drinking, or just while all the others are walking about.  Often during eating time, he eats a little then goes off to the side and sits.  For as big as he is, much larger than all the others, it’s surprising that he doesn’t seem to eat as much.  He doesn’t participate in all the same activities as the others, and often stays off to the side or is slower to join in.  He gets stepped on an awful lot by the others–they just step right over him while he sits.  He’s still peeping, which could mean he’s a drake, or could be that this breed is slower in developing the quack of a duck.

Duck House & Paddock from window

Tim has finished our deluxe duck paddock, where the ducks can forage and lounge predator-free.  The photo was taken from our living room window, so we get a nice view of them from the house.  A true engineer, he planned the whole thing out, and with a few changes of plan along the way, it’s done.  Now we can let the cat out while the ducks are outside!  There’s no way she can get in.

The ducks can go freely in and out of their house during the day, but we’ll still lock them inside at night.  Eventually we’ll put a perimeter fence around the larger yard, where we’ll let them “free range” when we’re home, but for now there is just enough electric wire to keep the horses out, which you can see in the rear view picture.

Rear View of Paddock

Also, in the rear photo you can see a shade area for the ducks.  There isn’t much shade out there mid-morning, so we’ll be constructing some sort of larger shade roof like this that will be permanent.  In the afternoon there’s nice shade under the trees.

We have a larger pool for them, but before we put that up we need to put a drain plug into it to make it easier to clean out.  That’ll be in the next few days.  Until then, all ten ducklings still fit in this pool, just barely.  As you can see, we’re sure having fun with our ducklings!

All along I’ve been watching these ducklings grow and exhibit different coloring, wondering which are female and which are male.  Aside from Whitey, who is getting much larger, lighter and whither, two have been more pale than the others, and I’ve wondered if they may be two females.  Most have a lot of dark grey on their backs, but these two are more bronze.  I finally figured out that these bronze ones must be the “Golden” Welsh Harlequins, and the rest would be the “Silver” Welsh Harlequins.

Of the two Goldens, I’m quite sure at this point that one is a female, as she’s developed quite a quack.  This one is also a bit lighter, particularly on the wings, than the other Golden, so I’m guessing that one may be a male.

Of the remaining seven Silvers, at least one was quacking.  Some have lighter yellow-greenish bills than the others, so I’m guessing the darker-billed ones are females, three or four of them.

Time will tell, of course, but it’s fun for me to try to guess how many will be ducks or drakes, which will lay eggs for us and which will be dinner.  Of course, Whitey’s a wild card and will be all white.  I suppose we’ll know soon enough by the voice.  So far, Whitey is still peeping like the others.

Golden Welsh Harlequin Duck – Four Weeks (She Quacks)

We’ve been hearing the first sound more like a “quack” coming out of one of the ducklings.  We aren’t sure who, but one’s voice has definitely changed.  We decided to get some colored leg markers so we can tell the difference between them and note their personalities.  

Four Weeks Old

I have a lot of updating to do!  The ducklings are getting bigger and we’re having lots of fun watching them grow and eat and swim.  We’ve been taking photos and videos, so I’ll be posting some of those and post-dating some blog posts to fill in the progress on the ducks, their house and some thoughts chronologically.  So, stay tuned–by going backwards!  Meanwhile, here are some up-to-date photos.

Pool Time 1

Pool Time 2