AUSTRALIAN POULTRY FORUM™

Can a member post a picture of the idea WH please one that is pure and to our standard please

I have been following this thread regarding Welsh harlequins intently, but couldn't reply until I registered as a user to APF. (this is my first post - on a forum site - ever!).
I don't keep ducks (or poultry) yet but I'm full steam into constructing the Taj mahal of duck coops. I'm reading every book I can get my hands on, some from US and some Aussie.
Welsh Harlequins get such a good report, that I decided they were the breed for our family (3 small boys). We do have 1/2 acre but I don't think we could have a rooster in our zoning, so I decided ducks would be a better option, so we can go down the pathway of pro-creation. ( I have the best memories as a child of watching hatchlings from the incubator - and baby ducks that followed me like a mum!!).
So I've been keenly on the look out and advertising that I want either fertile eggs or ducklings from Welsh harlequins, but I'm getting no-where.
I now realise that although WH's must be reasonably common in the U.S., they're pretty scarce over here.
So, advise from the experts please...what should I do?

We could get some "Farme Quins" and not worry about the true nature of the breed, because after all, we're only after eggs and great pets. But I like the idea of trying to keep breeds true, to preserve them.

There is a hatchery in QLD (without naming names, do you know who I mean?) who is advertising that they sell day old WH ducklings for $5.20. can anyone advise me if these birds are likely to actually be Welsh Harlequins?

What sort of prices do WH's go for? fertile Eggs? Ducklings? How on earth do you get them? We live in Victoria, but I would need to consider mail or a transporter I guess.

So, as a second resort I was wondering about Appleyards. Can anyone comment on the size of the miniture Appleyards eggs. Are they better layers that the full size? And also the temperament of the Mini Appleyards.

Roova, are you in a position to sell fertile WH eggs next season? Thanks everyone for some great reading.

Hi There
I am also a tad confused with I.D on these "sloppers" as we call them.
We love our duckies and have four very very like these and they were identified as Mallards (Males) and then someone said ours are Khaki Campbells but I have trio of them (along with a mixed lot of Indian Runners and a pair of white Pekins) and they are the true Khaki Campbells.
I have searched the net and there is a lot of conflicting opinions between Australia, the United Kingdom and the U.S. in regards to identification of some breeds.
BUT We are keeping our boys no matter what they are officially.
I am very taken with the Mallard Call ducks if anyone knows of any or some girls for my Mallard boys.
Thank You

Its very hard to find true 'pure' WH and with so many polluted with KC or mallard and then bred back its also hard to know these days. Its a shame the WH has become so polluted as they are a nice duck breed in the pure form. So Farmequins is the best name for them these days and we can only hope we see a return of the pure WH one day

Hi Motherduck, Depending on how keen you are, you can get what you want with patience. I haven't seen the WH coming from the QLD hatchery but I would be very surprised if they are show or 'standard' quality. When I first started searching for WH and before I realised I had to ask for pictures and ask lots of questions, I was sold some real doozies! My first lot included four ducklings all of whom looked nothing like each other and were more crossbred than anything you could hope to produce!

Some breeders are truly ignorant about what they have and can take great offence to being asked questions or told their birds don't match what you think they should. It pays to be nice but move on if you don't think they have what you're looking for.

As I mentioned earlier I was on a waiting list for a long time and my birds were $50 each which I was pretty impressed with. These were of course not the best birds the breeder owned. .

I don't have them any longer but I know the person I sold them to has done well with the offspring. At her first show she got Reserve Champion Large Waterfowl for one of the drakes, a first for a young duck and a second for the other drake. The judge made a comment it was good to see nice WH in Qld!

If you're really keen please pm me and I'll ask the new owner if she's interested in selling offspring, or I can give you contact details for the original breeder.

Its definitely worth the effort, they're a wonderful looking, placid and great egg laying breed!

Very true

Finding true WH is a task and the chances are slim but I would hope there is still some out there somewhere

My dozen 'sloppers' or 'farme-equins' arrived 4 days ago as day old hatchlings. They are just adorable...and eating and poo-ing an incredible amount. They were sold to me as Welsh Harlequins...guess we'll see when they get their adult markings. Why have the real WH's become so rare?