The highly adaptable, multi purpose duck. They make a great addition to any flock. The importance of its conservation status as well as their sweet personality and mothering instincts.
We totally agree that ducks are an excellent choice for homesteads. We have 3 welsh harlequins and they are an exceptional breed to have. They are great foragers and relatively chill-tempered duck.
When I first got into raising ducks 2 years ago I started just collecting random breeds but I wanted a single good breed so I got welsh harlequins last year as ducklings and now I breed them and incubate them I’m hatching daily now and get 4-5 ducklings a day.
Do you ever sell hatching eggs? How do you find the Welsh Harlequin temperament? I think they are gorgeous birds and would like some, however I am a little wary since they come from khaki Campbell stock and I have had some poor experiences with khaki Campbell's being extremely high strung. It is also interesting that people say Welsh harlequins are good mothers, as I have also heard that khaki Campbell's are poor mothers.
I have five WH female ducks. They are wonderful. I don't have any experience with other duck breeds, but I have no desire to look further. I have fallen in love with this breed, so much so that I could not think of culling them out, but they do lay eggs very consistently. I feed them strictly organic food along side of what they forage, so that is important for egg quality, and healthy of the ducks (glyphosate in commercial feed fosters pathogenic bacteria and infection , from a recent report that I have seen). You can get WH ducks from several hatcheries like Meyers, Metzers, Cackle Hatchery, etc., who will ship them to you via mail (I got mine from Meyers). I predict this breed will be very popular in the future.
Hi Birage! I completely understand! We fell in love with them pretty quickly too. They are complete and total sweethearts and the fact that they are beautiful is just an added bonus. I also agree that they are great layers and the diet of all our birds is important to pay attention too, as different types of birds require different needs. Yes I was aware of the large American breeders that you can order from(which is great!) Its a bit harder to find the here in Canada though. I think you are right about them becoming more popular...what's not to love about them? Glad you enjoy your girls so much. Thanks for reaching out!
I’m interested in raising ducks, we have had 3 Pekín ducks. My question is how do you know when to take the eggs for eating and when to leave them for hatching?
I was thinking of getting Khaki Campbells for my first ducks, but since I haven't decided what they'll be used for I might get these instead. It seems like the birds bred for meat make the best mothers as well.
Hiya! I was wondering if you have tips for ‘quiet’ ducks? I am looking for a breed that won’t make too much noise, and enjoys foraging :) Do you have any tips for good breeds?
Hello Steffanie! The number one mistake id have to say is not doing your research. How much space will you need per bird for housing and yardage?( over crowding is a problem) What bird works well in your environment? What is the breed you have selected bread for? does this match what you want?. Another common mistake is not accounting for predators and proper protection for you flock. Hope this helps!
Very nice video. I also like welsh ducks. Although one thing I'm not sure about is... when you go to order them its hard to tell if you are going to get the gold or the silver coloring type for this breed, when you get them from hatcheries...? They sure are a lot of fun.
Hello Noah, I believe the reason that hatcheries will not tell you which colour variation you are getting is because they cannot guarantee which color will hatch. It all has to do will recessive or dominate genes based on the parents and which gender is which different color phase... as Silver parents can have Gold offspring and Gold phase can also have Silver offspring. The genetics are quite complicated but very interesting. hopefully this helps.
Also, do you have any issues with your ducks feet getting frostbite in winter? What have you done to protect your ducks from predators? From MInnesota, USA
Hello Vaughn Family! We have never had any issues with any of our waterfowl getting frostbite. We keep plenty of fresh straw down in the areas that they hang out in during the winter. WE also make sure that there is a thick layer of straw in their house. We protect our ducks form predators with Livestock guardian animals. We have Embden geese that live with the ducks and are quite protective of them. Some of the Welsh hens raised them from goslings so they feel they are one flock. We also have a LGD. Thanks for your questions!
The bigger female you have looks more like a silver appleyard or maybe a cross breed, I have owned both breeds and I'm almost 100% sure of this. She looks too big for a WH female and doesn't seem to have the right markings, eg the stripe on the head. Either way nice ducks I love both breeds.
Hello Zachery, I have always lived in a northern climate with them...that being said though the summer time here often can stay steady around +30 degrees celsius. They have always been fine. My birds do free range though, so they can choose to spend as much time as they like in the pond or a nice shady area. Hopefully this gives some insight to your question. Thanks!
Hello Oscar! We have our ducks free range on 4 acres with the geese so we don't really notice. Id say that the geese do the most damage, but if the ducks were confined to a small area they would likely eat it all and muck in up pretty good. They are great foragers though. Thanks!
We totally agree that ducks are an excellent choice for homesteads. We have 3 welsh harlequins and they are an exceptional breed to have. They are great foragers and relatively chill-tempered duck.
When I first got into raising ducks 2 years ago I started just collecting random breeds but I wanted a single good breed so I got welsh harlequins last year as ducklings and now I breed them and incubate them I’m hatching daily now and get 4-5 ducklings a day.
Do you ever sell hatching eggs? How do you find the Welsh Harlequin temperament? I think they are gorgeous birds and would like some, however I am a little wary since they come from khaki Campbell stock and I have had some poor experiences with khaki Campbell's being extremely high strung. It is also interesting that people say Welsh harlequins are good mothers, as I have also heard that khaki Campbell's are poor mothers.
As a Welsh man, I approve of your choice! Da iawn! Must get some myself.
I am getting some baby ducklings this spring, can’t wait to add them to our farm!
Thank you so much for this video! Very helpful and to the point
I have a sitting hen right now and cannot wait to have our first clutch! Thank you so much for your very informative video!
I really enjoy the information you give in your videos. Just stumbled across your videos.
That silver is amazing! ❤
Great video! We had it narrowed down to 3 types and wanted to get two now we are harlequin and some silver apple yard
Great video! Hoping for more.
I have five WH female ducks. They are wonderful. I don't have any experience with other duck breeds, but I have no desire to look further. I have fallen in love with this breed, so much so that I could not think of culling them out, but they do lay eggs very consistently. I feed them strictly organic food along side of what they forage, so that is important for egg quality, and healthy of the ducks (glyphosate in commercial feed fosters pathogenic bacteria and infection , from a recent report that I have seen). You can get WH ducks from several hatcheries like Meyers, Metzers, Cackle Hatchery, etc., who will ship them to you via mail (I got mine from Meyers). I predict this breed will be very popular in the future.
Hi Birage! I completely understand! We fell in love with them pretty quickly too. They are complete and total sweethearts and the fact that they are beautiful is just an added bonus. I also agree that they are great layers and the diet of all our birds is important to pay attention too, as different types of birds require different needs. Yes I was aware of the large American breeders that you can order from(which is great!) Its a bit harder to find the here in Canada though. I think you are right about them becoming more popular...what's not to love about them? Glad you enjoy your girls so much. Thanks for reaching out!
I’m interested in raising ducks, we have had 3 Pekín ducks. My question is how do you know when to take the eggs for eating and when to leave them for hatching?
I was thinking of getting Khaki Campbells for my first ducks, but since I haven't decided what they'll be used for I might get these instead. It seems like the birds bred for meat make the best mothers as well.
Hiya! I was wondering if you have tips for ‘quiet’ ducks? I am looking for a breed that won’t make too much noise, and enjoys foraging :) Do you have any tips for good breeds?
How good are they as mothers? How often do they go broody?
Hello Mark! They are Fantastic moms! Some of my girls even adopted and raised goslings. I find our girls go broody twice, usually during summer/ fall.
Hello @ Cedar Trail, I was Inquiring about what common mistakes that new farmer's make when raising birds?
Hello Steffanie! The number one mistake id have to say is not doing your research. How much space will you need per bird for housing and yardage?( over crowding is a problem) What bird works well in your environment? What is the breed you have selected bread for? does this match what you want?. Another common mistake is not accounting for predators and proper protection for you flock. Hope this helps!
Very nice video. I also like welsh ducks.
Although one thing I'm not sure about is... when you go to order them its hard to tell if you are going to get the gold or the silver coloring type for this breed, when you get them from hatcheries...?
They sure are a lot of fun.
I would think the hatchery should be able to tell based on what the parents are?
Hello Noah, I believe the reason that hatcheries will not tell you which colour variation you are getting is because they cannot guarantee which color will hatch. It all has to do will recessive or dominate genes based on the parents and which gender is which different color phase... as Silver parents can have Gold offspring and Gold phase can also have Silver offspring. The genetics are quite complicated but very interesting. hopefully this helps.
Thank you.
Also, do you have any issues with your ducks feet getting frostbite in winter? What have you done to protect your ducks from predators?
From MInnesota, USA
Hello Vaughn Family! We have never had any issues with any of our waterfowl getting frostbite. We keep plenty of fresh straw down in the areas that they hang out in during the winter. WE also make sure that there is a thick layer of straw in their house. We protect our ducks form predators with Livestock guardian animals. We have Embden geese that live with the ducks and are quite protective of them. Some of the Welsh hens raised them from goslings so they feel they are one flock. We also have a LGD. Thanks for your questions!
Thanks for the information. Now I’m gonna see if anyone is breeding in Mississippi. Maybe I’ll start
The bigger female you have looks more like a silver appleyard or maybe a cross breed, I have owned both breeds and I'm almost 100% sure of this. She looks too big for a WH female and doesn't seem to have the right markings, eg the stripe on the head. Either way nice ducks I love both breeds.
These ducks do well in southern climates?
Hello Zachery, I have always lived in a northern climate with them...that being said though the summer time here often can stay steady around +30 degrees celsius. They have always been fine. My birds do free range though, so they can choose to spend as much time as they like in the pond or a nice shady area. Hopefully this gives some insight to your question. Thanks!
Will welsh harlequins eat all your grass
Hello Oscar! We have our ducks free range on 4 acres with the geese so we don't really notice. Id say that the geese do the most damage, but if the ducks were confined to a small area they would likely eat it all and muck in up pretty good. They are great foragers though. Thanks!
So I clicked on this video thinking about buying one for a pet and I’m expecting her to tell me how to raise one . Then she said they taste good WTF
Too annoying listening to your voice going up at the end of every sentence - as though asking a question!!! Sorry, can't watch to the end.