I had two 'scovy mommas on a nest of eggs for MONTHS now. I've had to throw out their eggs multiple times because they were rotten - I think mainly because two hens on one nest just isn't that sucessful. I've mainly just let them be, instead of separating them as I should have.
Well, I had forgotten I had cleaned out their nest and laid 10 welsh Harlequin eggs under them oh... about 29 days ago now.
Yesterday I saw down by the feed pans that there was a chocolate pied scovy hen with a bunch of yellow ducklings. I have a chocolate pied duck with 5 older WH ducklings, but these were small. Confused, I walked down to find the chocolate barred pied hen and the blue fawn barred pied hen with their proud new brood of 8 ducklings. One of them - what I think is a male from color sexing - has a gimpy leg for an unknown reason. From beak sexing, it looks to be an even 4 females, 4 males.
Since I had two WH ducklings hatch in my 'bator the day before, I went ahead and put them out in a pen with the new proud mommas and their new siblings. That brings the numbers to 5 males, 5 females. The gimpy duckling is getting around well but it won't ever compete well and I think I'll put it down. It has NO control over one of it's legs at all.
Well, I think my flock of Welsh Harlequins will be big enough next year, and we should have LOTS of duck eggs to sell.
Here are the older 5 WH ducklings that my chocolate pied hen hatched. They are 3 weeks old.
