May 8, 2025 • 31 mins
In this episode of the Poultry Nerds Podcast, we're diving deep into the world of Welsh Harlequin ducks with returning guest Tyrel, a seasoned breeder and duck enthusiast. 🦆 From the breed's unique Tennessee import history to the auto-sexing traits, color phase differences (silver vs. gold), and the nuances of eclipse vs. nuptial plumage, this episode is packed with insight for both beginners and serious waterfowl breeders.
Tyrell shares stories from showing against legendary breeders, gives tips on selecting for correct bill and leg color, and explains why type matters more than color in sustainable breeding programs. We also break down how to tell a quality Harlequin from hatch, why mentorship in poultry breeding is invaluable, and the importance of staying a lifelong student of the hobby.
Whether you're a duck keeper, breeder, or just duck-curious—this episode is for you!
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Welsh Harlequin ducks, duck breeding tips, poultry podcast, auto-sexing ducks, duck color genetics, duck showing, waterfowl care, beginner duck breeding, poultry mentorship, exhibition ducks
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Jennifer (00:02):
Hey, poultry nerds.
We're back again with Tyrell.
He's joining us again to talkabout Welsh Harlequins, so
welcome back, Tyrell.
How are you?
Tyrel (00:12):
I'm good.
Good to be back.
Excited to talk about anotherduck.
Jennifer (00:16):
I know, and I'm excited about this one too,
because I have wel harlequinsmyself.
Tyrel (00:22):
They're they're a very popular duck.
I think a lot of people will bevery excited about this one.
Jennifer (00:28):
When I was reading the backstory on the welsh's did you
know that when they were firstimported it was to Tennessee?
Tyrel (00:36):
I didn't know that.
Jennifer (00:37):
Yeah, the first imports came to Tennessee and of
course that's where I am.
And so I was like, and it'sMiddle Tennessee too, so I'm
wondering if maybe I got somefrom the original import.
Who knows?
I don't know.
But wouldn't that be kind?
I'll never know, but it would becool to think about it
Tyrel (00:53):
just a little bit.
Yeah.
Jennifer (00:55):
Where did you get yours from?
Tyrel (00:58):
So I actually got mine from Claire Shire.
She was one of the first peopleshe worked with Dave Holder a
lot.
I.
She, she helped get themadmitted to the standard.
So she's been breedingharlequins, I think for 30
years.
And that's where I got my firstducks from.
She, I don't even remember how,I think I saw her name mentioned
(01:21):
somewhere, and then I went,she's not on Facebook, so I had
to go research and find out howto get ahold of her.
And she communicates onlythrough email unless you can get
her phone number.
So I emailed her and wecommunicated and told her I
really wanted to get someharlaquins.
And so that first year, my gosh,I think she sent me 40 hatching
(01:43):
eggs the first year, and that'swhere I got my start from.
And it's been fast and furioussince then.
Hatched a lot of them.
Jennifer (01:53):
Is she still breeding?
Tyrel (01:55):
She is actually, last year I went down, she's in
Colorado.
Last year I went down toColorado.
And it was a cool trip for me.
It was exciting because she hadbeen kinda my mentor in
Harlequins.
And I was always firing off,getting on the computer and
firing off emails with questionsand what about this and what
(02:16):
about that?
And she'd email me back and thenfinally we just, I'd call her
and so it was pretty cool.
I got to go down and meet herlast year and Colorado and show
against her and, yeah, it wasgreat.
But yeah, she's still, she'sgetting older and so I don't
think her and her husband aretraveling as much.
And she still shows in Coloradoevery year.
I saw her again this last fallwhen I was there.
(02:37):
And no, she's still doing good,still breeding them.
Jennifer (02:41):
How did your birds stack up against hers at that
show?
Tyrel (02:44):
I was fortunate enough that I won.
Best in breed the last two yearsthat I was there.
If memory serves me they run adouble show.
And if memory serves mecorrectly, last year when I was
there, I had a Har, a HarlequinYoung Drake that was Reserve of
Show or Third Best In Show.
(03:06):
I don't remember, but he was upthere.
I was fortunate for that.
And this year, I had one thatwas best of breed again and.
I think Best light, I don'tremember.
That was last fall.
I don't remember.
Jennifer (03:21):
They all just start running together.
Tyrel (03:23):
Oh my gosh, yes.
When you go to enough shows,they start to just blur
together.
Jennifer (03:27):
They do.
So I love the Welsh's becausethey don't fly.
They're sassy.
They chitter chatter back at meconstantly.
The Drakes laugh at all myjokes, no matter how corny they
are.
And they are like layingmachines.
(03:47):
They, I swear I get two andthree eggs a day sometimes, but
I they're really good at hidingtheir eggs.
Tyrel (03:54):
Oh, yes.
Oh yes.
My, my harlequins.
Definitely lay some eggs.
I've had, I've actually had somefarm people that wanted some and
I let'em know that they were outof exhibition stock and they
were concerned about getting'em,because they're like, oh,
exhibition birds, they don't layvery well.
They don't produce very well,and I'm like, oh no they lay
(04:16):
real well, I promise you.
I promise you.
But yeah, no they lay great.
They're they little layingmachines.
That's what they were, that'swhat they were bred to do.
They're I'm just going offmemory here.
At one point I knew it a lotbetter than I do now, but
they're a I might get thiswrong.
So any poultry genetic peopleout there don't crucify me for
this, but if memory serves mecorrectly, they were a, like a
(04:39):
sport color mutation from thekhaki Campbells.
And everybody knows the khakiCampbells as like one of the
premier laying ducks.
Coming from the khaki, and Imight get his name wrong, but
Leslie Bonnet was the one thatworked with them and developed
'em and, yeah, no they'relaying, they're little laying
machines.
And then it's actually it's afun, fun little fact about'em is
(05:02):
when Leslie created'em they weregold.
They were what's called orconsidered the gold variety.
Where here in the United States,a lot of people don't even know
that the gold variety ofHarlequins exist.
Where the US is the only countrythat recognizes a silver Walsh,
Harlequin Australia and the uk.
(05:22):
All those other countries, theyonly recognize the gold Walsh
Char Laquinn.
And if you talk to any of thosebreeders in other countries, a
silver Welsh Harlequin is anautomatic call for them.
They don't even have'em.
Jennifer (05:36):
So can you explain for our listeners what the
difference is?
Tyrel (05:39):
I can try.
Jennifer (05:41):
Okay.
Tyrel (05:42):
The gold we harlequin and again, all you poultry
geneticists out there don'tcrucify me to my knowledge and
my understanding.
The gold phase, Harlequin has abrown dilution gene.
Where there's no black pigment.
Black pigment, they have thatdilution gene.
So they come out and the goldharlequin is just shades of
(06:02):
different, shades of brown.
In the silver Harlequin, you'llhave a blue speculum.
And in the gold variety, it's adark brown.
It's a brown speculum.
And then all of the markings inthe female down through the
breast, in the gold variety.
There are a light, it's a light,just shades of brown, whereas
you get some of the blackmarkings or that, that dark
(06:25):
claret in in the silver.
And then the silvers willactually have the gray and the
black markings.
And then in, in the Drakesspecifically is where you see
the biggest difference really isthe Drakes.
Like we both know, your silverDrakes have that bright green
head.
And then down, down the centerof their back they've got the
gray and oh my gosh, I'm gonnaget, I should know this better
(06:49):
than I do, but visually I canlook at it.
But when I try to put put itinto words, I am, I'm cheating
right now a little bit and I'mlooking the pattern,
Jennifer (06:57):
is that what you're talking about?
The pattern?
Tyrel (06:59):
Yeah.
I'm cheating a little bit rightnow and I'm looking at my
standard to see what the colorof the, and that's what
Jennifer (07:07):
it's for.
Tyrel (07:08):
Yeah, it's it just says frosted laced with white.
But and then, yeah, the harloones, we've all seen the
silvers, they've got all thecolors in the Drake.
There's black, there's the bluespeculum there's the gray or
silver.
And then in, in those goldDrakes, they've got the brown
head, and then they'redifferent.
They're, like I say again,they're just different shades of
(07:30):
brown, which they're, myself anda few other people are working
on.
Raising those golds andhopefully we can, in the next
few years, we can work ongetting the golds admitted to
the standard.
Jennifer (07:49):
I was just looking at my standard and yeah, it's just
the silver I.
Tyrel (07:53):
Yep just the silver.
But hopefully we can get thatoriginal Harlequin admitted to
our standard here, and so maybethe rest of the world won't
laugh at us as too much.
Jennifer (08:04):
How in the world did there get to be two different
colors?
I wonder,
Tyrel (08:08):
That's a great question.
That's a great question forsomebody who has a lot more
knowledge of the breed than Ido.
So they climb
Jennifer (08:15):
over from Europe and the color just changes as it
crosses the Atlantic,
Tyrel (08:20):
Yeah.
I don't really understand.
I don, I don't really know thebackstory on the silver and how
the silver came about.
I just know that's what we havehere and what is recognized
here.
Jennifer (08:32):
Yeah, I am reading it really quickly and it doesn't
say, it just says that theoriginal was golden and, but the
silver's most common, it doesn'tactually say why it was changed.
Tyrel (08:44):
Yeah.
Yeah.
It, it just says that greatercontrast and brilliance in the
Plum was developed by Mr.
Bonnet in the 1960s, so I'm notsure.
I'm not sure where the silvercame from.
I really don't know.
Jennifer (08:59):
There's no telling.
Somebody in Tennessee justchanged it, rednecked it, and
then it went from there.
Tyrel (09:07):
Some redneck came up with a silver aloquin.
That's too funny.
Jennifer (09:13):
Okay, so here's my next question for you.
So when we talk about theplumage, we are always talking
about the phases.
So can you kinda explain thephases of the deck plumage?
Tyrel (09:28):
Sure.
And I always get thesebackwards.
So there's nuptial plumage, andthen there's eclipse plumage.
I hope I'm saying this right,'cause I always get them
backwards and I always have tocorrect myself.
Eclipse plumage is their summerplumage when Drake's molt and
they lose that brilliant colorand they look more like the
(09:49):
females do.
And then that nuptial plumage isgoing into fall.
They get their green heads backand they look brilliant and
bright and pretty again.
And in the harlequins I don't, Ishould have had some notes for
this, so I'm going off memory.
The female Harlequin, I believegoes through five different kind
(10:13):
of color phases where as theyget older, they'll get darker.
And so in that first year you'llsee, and you'll see'em in show
halls too, you'll have somepeople that'll show some young
females that are more white.
They don't have that fawn colorin'em.
And then you'll have some thathave more of that fawn color to
'em.
(10:34):
Excuse me.
And then as they get older, I'venoticed those lighter colored
females get more white.
I.
They get more and more white,whereas your females that have
font end up getting a little bitdarker and darker in their color
tones.
And that's one thing like, likejudges.
I don't even know if they'reaware of, but judges need to be
(10:55):
aware of is that those olderfemales will be a little bit
darker and that's just thenatural how the harlequins go.
And like I've got some femalesthat first year that I've shown
that had excellent type, butthey were just, they were a
little bit too dark.
I'm gonna use'em with specificDrakes that might not.
(11:17):
Have as great a color as I'dlike.
And I'm test breeding, I guessyou could say, and experimenting
with him just'cause I've onlybeen raising him for about four
years now.
Jake Wilson actually, he's beenraising him for 20 plus years.
He'd be the guy that might evenbe more deserving to talk about
him than I am.
He's been raising'em for yearsand years.
(11:37):
So he'd have more experienceexperiential, I don't know if
that's even a word, but he'dhave more experience in some of
the test breedings that I'mprobably playing with now on, on
the different color phases andbirds being too dark or too
light or, but I guess I, for thefirst few years I've just
selected more on type, and triedto get.
(11:59):
That good Harlequin type inthere.
Versus focus,
Jennifer (12:03):
do you like
Tyrel (12:03):
on color?
Do you like
Jennifer (12:04):
yours more upright or more down?
Tyrel (12:08):
In between.
I, the, the Harla Harlequinshould stand about 25 to 35
degrees.
I cheat, I totally just cheatedand looked at my standard.
Like I say I'm not a textperson.
I'm a visual.
I'm a visual person.
I'm a visual learner.
Show me what they're supposed tobe and I'm good with that.
(12:28):
But so for other people whomight learn differently, I'm
cheating a little bit and I'mlooking at the text, but yeah.
Standard calls for a carriageelevated 25% to 35%.
And I've seen both.
I've seen for the most part, ifanything, I've seen harlequins,
it'll stand a little taller anda little higher than they should
be.
I haven't seen too many of themthat have a lower carriage.
(12:49):
But I just, I don't know.
When I look at birds I look at'em and I say, Hey, that bird is
appealing to my eye.
Jennifer (12:55):
Or
Tyrel (12:56):
there's something about that bird that just looks off,
and then maybe then I go in andI dissect about what is it about
this bird I don't like?
And but yeah I like a Harlequinthat has that nice carriage to
'em.
Jennifer (13:08):
So one I don't show mine I just have them for fun.
But I do try to breed thecorrect characteristics.
And I have found that on theFacebook groups.
I suspect it's because there'speople from other countries that
their standards are verydifferent, and that's why I
asked that question is becausesome of them really want them
(13:30):
upright and then some of themseem to want them more down.
Tyrel (13:34):
Yeah.
And see that's exactly it iswith these Facebook groups.
Facebook groups, especiallybreed specific groups can be
very beneficial.
Or they can be very detrimentalbecause just like in groups of
people, sometimes you get peoplewho are quieter and sometimes
you get people who are louderand sometimes there's.
(13:54):
Real loud people on Facebook whodon't know what they're talking
about.
But then again, you get peoplefrom other countries who are in
these groups.
I have a friend of mine inAustralia and their standard is
very different than ours.
Their harlequins are a lotbigger and deeper bodied and
shorter bodied than what ourstandard calls for here in, I'll
(14:17):
call'em The American Harlequinis like in our American
Harlequin.
You want a real long, almostlike tubular shaped bird that's
flat across the shoulders andparallel, top and bottom lines.
And then I personally, when youlook over the top of the bird, I
wanna see parallel lines runningdown the side from their
shoulders, basically to theirstern.
(14:38):
I wanna see a straight line.
You'll see some harlequinsespecially in that stern.
For anyone that maybe doesn'tknow what the stern is, I'm
talking from the legs to thetail.
That's their stern, their butt,basically.
You'll see if you look over topof'em where they'll have good
lines through the shoulders inthe body, and then they get to
that stern and it's realpinched.
(14:59):
And those are birds.
I don't keep, I don't like tohave birds like that.
If I'm showing'em, I try tohave, I like to see nice lines
on all of'em.
Now, some people who arelistening to this who have maybe
seen my harlequins are gonnalaugh because I have a problem
with overfeeding and myharlequins tend to get a little
big, a little chubby.
Last year I raised them with theheavy ducks and they ate a
(15:22):
little too much and theyprobably were more medium
harlequins than they were lightducks.
Jennifer (15:27):
In your defense, I do not care how much you feed them.
They are always starving.
Tyrel (15:35):
Yes.
And I think a lot of otherpeople can attest to that in
waterfowl, in general, low pigs.
Waterfowl are little pigs.
They
Jennifer (15:44):
are I have some Facebook videos.
I called them my stalkers for along time.
I've since thinned them down.
But I had stalkers and I wouldgo across the property in my
gator and I could hold the phoneup and you could.
See, 60 of'em racing after me.
'cause they know there's feed inthe back of that gator and
(16:04):
they're gonna have some
Tyrel (16:06):
Oh yeah.
Yep.
If the feed, especially thisyear everyone teased me so much
last year.
I feel like I've gotten prettygood type on my harlequins, but
I definitely have a problem.
I need to learn to become abetter conditioner.
Especially with the light ducks.
I'm really good at making thingsbig and bulky and heavy.
(16:27):
Which is why I'm starting toenjoy the heavy ducks a little
more is they have be little andpetite.
So this year I'm learning on howto become a better conditioner
with these light ducks because Ilove this Harlequin breed.
And I feel like I've got my typethere.
But I need to learn to conditionand feed them differently.
So this year, I'm gonna try adifferent feeding regimen and
(16:48):
see if I can't keep'em on thesmaller, lighter end where
they're,
Jennifer (16:52):
well let's talk about the females coloring for just a
minute.
So the bills and the legs, arethey supposed to be black or is
it more like a smoky gray color?
Like when you select.
Tyrel (17:07):
So this is an area of contention sometimes.
There's a lot of people outthere that think the female's
bill is supposed to be black,and it's not supposed to be
black.
The standard calls for greenishblack.
So my females, when you, whenI'm selecting, I'm picking
females, I will, I'll breed froma female that has a solid black
(17:28):
bill.
I will that won't stop me, but.
I won't show a female with asolid black bill.
They're supposed to be a littlegreen in that bill.
And that's where a lot of peopleI know when I first started
showing'em, everyone saidFemales need black bill, dark
legs, black bill, dark legs.
And then I learned otherwisethat wasn't actually correct.
And those females are supposedto have the standard calls for a
(17:50):
greenish black with a blackbean.
And so when I'm selecting,that's something that I started
looking for and now those legsI.
They are supposed to be thestandard.
They are supposed to be darkernow.
Now, young duck, young duckswhen they're real young
obviously have orange legs andonce those females hit anywhere
(18:10):
from between four to six monthsis when I've really started to
notice those legs will darken upas they mature.
And hit that sexual maturitywhere they get ready to start
laying.
Like the standard calls for, I'mlooking at here the legs and
feet standard says for the duckis supposed to be orange shaded
with brown when young, and thena grayish brown with age, the
(18:31):
toenails should be black.
And you look at some of thesefemales and I've had'em, I've
had females that never diddarken up in the legs.
And I got rid of'em.
I didn't keep'em or breed from'em.
But yeah, they, those legsdefinitely should be darker.
Jennifer (18:47):
I just, I have a hard time with the greenish black
part.
I think I air to the two dark,honestly,
Tyrel (18:55):
which I think that's probably a safer bet than losing
that darkness in them.
I have noticed, and maybe that'sbecause I've been selecting
females that have a moregreenish tin to their bill.
But I've noticed that some ofthem are starting to get more
green and I'm losing some ofthat dark black color.
So I'm gonna, something thisyear I'm gonna definitely select
(19:19):
for and watch a little bitcloser in the young birds I
produce this year and see where,how those bills are coming out.
Jennifer (19:27):
So is your line auto sexing?
Tyrel (19:30):
Oh yes.
And I guess my personal opinionon it is anybody that wants to
maintain the integrity of thisbreed that's something that you
should, in my opinion, selectfor as ducklings or at least
make a note of, when they'reducklings, those females, the
males when they hatch theirbills will be dark.
(19:52):
They should be dark.
If you have a male that hatchesand he doesn't have a dark bill,
I wouldn't keep him.
Whereas the females will havemore of a dark bill and then the
sides of their bill will be moreof that paleish orangey color.
And so if they're not autosexing like that, I wouldn't
keep'em.
Personally and you can even asducklings anyone's that's raised
(20:13):
a few of'em I'm not even realgreat at it yet, but you can
actually pick out ducklingsthat'll have bill faults when
they get older.
I haven't seen it in any of mymales, but every year I get one
or two females that'll have abill fault where their bill will
be like just a pale color or apaleish orange color.
(20:34):
Which is something obviouslynot.
Desirable and harlequins, and Inever keep'em, I usually sell'em
off or give them to somebodylocally as a pet.
Jennifer (20:42):
And what would you be looking for as a duckling if you
think it's gonna be orangelater,
Tyrel (20:49):
You'll see ducklings that you're not sure about when they
hatched the female's bill won'thave that dark bean or the tip
of the bill won't be dark.
And those ones probably end up,will end up having a bill fault
when they get older.
That's one nice thing about theharle and breed is if you look
(21:09):
at a duckling in the first twodays and you can't clearly
distinguish Yep, that's a male,that's a female.
Me personally, those are birds.
I, I.
I call, or I, like I say, I giveaway to somebody as a pet, or I
sell'em as pets locally.
I only keep, to me that's phaseone of culling is same way with
people who raise mag pies.
(21:31):
The magpie ducks when theyhatch, you can see exactly what
their color pattern is, and youcan call'em as ducklings.
And that's to my, to me, tomaintain the integrity of the
Harlequin.
That's something that breedersshould be looking at or be aware
of.
Is the distinction of the autosexing in their day old
ducklings.
(21:51):
Now, once, one thing I see, andyou've probably seen it online,
this time of year, everybodystarts posting, is this a boy or
is this a girl?
Is this a boy or is this a girl?
And people who know what they'retalking about in the comments
will ask, how old is it?
Because at about three days old,those female bills will darken
up.
And then you can't tell anymore.
(22:12):
And that's normal.
That's good.
That's what they're supposed todo.
And then as they reach maturity,the male's bill will go from
being dark to that olive, greencolor.
Jennifer (22:21):
I.
I swear people think I'm crazywhen I tell them that, this is
only good for three days and I'mnot keeping two brooders.
So if you want these ducks, youhave to come right now.
Tyrel (22:33):
Yep.
Yeah.
And that's, there's so manypeople online.
They've got ducklings that arefour or five days old asking if
it's a boy or a girl, and noidea.
Jennifer (22:46):
I will say that last year.
I just hatched like.
Oh, I don't know.
I probably had at one point 80or 90 of'em running the property
'cause I called'em.
Yeah, you looking at me likethat?
Tyrel (23:00):
Oh my goodness.
I don't even, I don't even hatchthat many duck or I do hatch
that many ducks, but I don'thatch that many harlequins.
That's a lot of harlequins.
Jennifer (23:06):
We have a larger farm I guess, and we have a mosquito
problem.
So I didn't sell any, I justhatched them, just, I called
them Skeeter eaters, right?
And so they just fattened upeating all the mosquitoes and
they grew up, wild and free andferal.
And so this spring I captured'emall up, which is always
(23:27):
interesting capturing.
Feral ducks, and but I have asystem, I have, I have a system
to it, and it works every timeand they always act so shocked
that it worked.
The ducks, they just, they'rejust shocked.
But anyway, I rounded'em all upand I picked out the ones with
the best markings and I.
And I put'em up in a breederpen, just a group mating pen.
(23:51):
I kept two Drakes and probably,I think there's 10 hens in
there.
And I started selling'em theother ones, and then I was like,
man, I started backing off.
I was like, we're gonna getmosquitoes again.
So I ended up just keeping some.
But I will say that my, my autosexing this year has been spot
(24:13):
on and very clear with the malesand the females.
It does make a huge difference.
Tyrel (24:21):
Yes it does.
And that's, anybody who might belistening to this, who's just
starting out in Harle winds ormaybe they've been breeding for
a while and they're justdisgruntled'cause they aren't
getting what they want, and.
Type over color, always typeover color, and that's, those
harlequins should have a longerbody to'em.
And one of the things that Ireally look at is you'll have a
(24:43):
bird and a, when I say front,I'm talking from the legs
forward to their breast.
They'll have a good front on'em.
They'll have a nice long front,but then their stern will be
short and they'll have a kabistern.
And so that's as, as my birdsare growing up, I've gotten to a
point now I can almost pick outwhich ones are gonna have a
(25:03):
shorter cobi, stern.
But especially once they do getolder and I, I can see what I'm
working with.
I, anything that's got a shortcopy, stern is gone.
I don't keep them.
I try to keep.
Everything I have, I try to keepa nice long stern on'em just
because, in the poultry worldeveryone talks about balance,
(25:23):
like a bird has to be balancedand that to me is part of the
balance.
In a harlequin, you can't have abird with a nice long front and
a short little back end.
It's like a human with sky,high, long legs, and then they
got short little torso or theother way around.
They got a real long torso andshort little, tiny legs.
In the Harlequins.
It's the same thing.
Just I try to, everyone thatI'm, it's crazy to say that I'm
(25:47):
helping mentor people in them,but people that I've helped
mentor and have sold aches to,that's, they'll send me pictures
and videos and we all knowpictures and videos are the
hardest thing to try to judge abird.
But I just, I tell them the samething.
Try to find your nice, long,almost tubular shaped birds that
have a good long stern on'em.
Jennifer (26:07):
So you've mentioned it a couple times, and you actually
mentioned it when we talkedabout the Saxon Ease.
For people who are just wantingto dabble in breeding before
they decide that it's reallytheir thing can you explain how
invaluable a mentor is?
Tyrel (26:25):
Oh my gosh.
A mentor.
A mentor is everything.
When I started out doing this, Ididn't know what the heck I was
doing.
I was just some weird guy thatshowed up from Montana shows
that nobody had ever seen orheard of before and came in with
(26:46):
my ducks.
I didn't know what I was doing.
I didn't know what I was lookingfor, but I ran around and asked
people and.
I tried to learn and I talked tojudges and Hey, what am I, what
are you looking for?
What do you, and I talked toother breeders and now that I've
been in the hobby for a fewyears now I've made some great
connections with other breedersand other people and having a
mentor to me is in invaluable,having Claire to answer
(27:10):
questions was invaluable becauseI didn't know, every everybody
in this hobby, we all startedsomewhere.
I, I started in this hobby as anadult.
Some people grow up in the hobbybecause their parents did it.
We all started somewhere andwe've all had to learn, you know
what I mean?
None of us were born knowing howto breed a wels Harlequin duck.
We've all had to learn and theway I look at it is people gave
(27:33):
me a lot of grace and I want togive that grace back to people
who don't know or don'tunderstand and no there's no
stupid questions.
And just try to help otherpoultry hobbyists.
Learn in the breeds that they'reinterested in.
So anyone out there who doesn'thave a mentor, and they're feel
like they're just flounderingthrough whatever breed they're
(27:54):
raising, find somebody thatraises that breed, that's
willing to talk to you and ask'em questions.
There's a lot of good breedersout there who have done this a
very long time, who are morethan happy.
To just help new people.
They want to see the breedflourish.
They don't care about anythingelse.
They just wanna see the breedflourish.
And they're more than happy tohelp with breeding.
(28:17):
Breeding advice.
I just got off the phone, not awels, Harlequin breeder, but a
breeder of a different duck, butI just got off the phone with
him and.
Asking questions about thingsthat I wasn't sure about.
They, you never stop learning.
And so having someone that iswilling to mentor you is pretty
invaluable.
Jennifer (28:37):
I will say when you do find somebody, listen, stop
talking and just listen.
It may not make sense to youright that second, but
eventually it will make sensewhat they're saying.
Tyrel (28:50):
Absolutely.
I have, I've.
We've all been there, but I'vehad people that have come to me
and asked me a question and Igave them an answer and they
didn't like the answer, and sothey just wanted to argue.
If you're gonna go to somebodybecause you wanna learn and you
ask questions, just listen towhat they have to say, even if
it completely goes againsteverything you've ever thought
(29:14):
or learned or known.
Because maybe they knowsomething you don't or other
people don't know.
Jennifer (29:20):
So you
Tyrel (29:20):
have to, that's something in this hobby is you have to be
a student of the hobby is what Ilike to say all the time.
You have to always be learningand once you think you have
nothing else to learn, thenyou're gonna start regressing.
Jennifer (29:33):
Exactly.
As as much as I have enjoyedthis, we need to wrap it up
'cause I have to get back out tothe barn and I'm sure you have
chores to do.
Tyrel (29:43):
So I actually I am, I'm late this year on setting up my
indie breeding pens and Iactually have birds out there
right now in showcases that I amsorting and going through and
trying to get indie pens set up.
And so as soon as we get.
Get done here.
I'm headed right back out tostart sorting indies.
Jennifer (30:02):
It never ends.
Tyrel (30:04):
Always come.
I
Jennifer (30:04):
have enjoyed it.
Thank you so much for comingback.
Tyrel (30:07):
Yes, thank you for having me.
Jennifer (30:09):
All right.
Hey, poultry nerds.
We're back again with Tyrell.
He's joining us again to talkabout Welsh Harlequins, so
welcome back, Tyrell.
How are you?
Tyrel (00:12):
I'm good.
Good to be back.
Excited to talk about anotherduck.
Jennifer (00:16):
I know, and I'm excited about this one too,
because I have wel harlequinsmyself.
Tyrel (00:22):
They're they're a very popular duck.
I think a lot of people will bevery excited about this one.
Jennifer (00:28):
When I was reading the backstory on the welsh's did you
know that when they were firstimported it was to Tennessee?
Tyrel (00:36):
I didn't know that.
Jennifer (00:37):
Yeah, the first imports came to Tennessee and of
course that's where I am.
And so I was like, and it'sMiddle Tennessee too, so I'm
wondering if maybe I got somefrom the original import.
Who knows?
I don't know.
But wouldn't that be kind?
I'll never know, but it would becool to think about it
Tyrel (00:53):
just a little bit.
Yeah.
Jennifer (00:55):
Where did you get yours from?
Tyrel (00:58):
So I actually got mine from Claire Shire.
She was one of the first peopleshe worked with Dave Holder a
lot.
I.
She, she helped get themadmitted to the standard.
So she's been breedingharlequins, I think for 30
years.
And that's where I got my firstducks from.
She, I don't even remember how,I think I saw her name mentioned
(01:21):
somewhere, and then I went,she's not on Facebook, so I had
to go research and find out howto get ahold of her.
And she communicates onlythrough email unless you can get
her phone number.
So I emailed her and wecommunicated and told her I
really wanted to get someharlaquins.
And so that first year, my gosh,I think she sent me 40 hatching
(01:43):
eggs the first year, and that'swhere I got my start from.
And it's been fast and furioussince then.
Hatched a lot of them.
Jennifer (01:53):
Is she still breeding?
Tyrel (01:55):
She is actually, last year I went down, she's in
Colorado.
Last year I went down toColorado.
And it was a cool trip for me.
It was exciting because she hadbeen kinda my mentor in
Harlequins.
And I was always firing off,getting on the computer and
firing off emails with questionsand what about this and what
(02:16):
about that?
And she'd email me back and thenfinally we just, I'd call her
and so it was pretty cool.
I got to go down and meet herlast year and Colorado and show
against her and, yeah, it wasgreat.
But yeah, she's still, she'sgetting older and so I don't
think her and her husband aretraveling as much.
And she still shows in Coloradoevery year.
I saw her again this last fallwhen I was there.
(02:37):
And no, she's still doing good,still breeding them.
Jennifer (02:41):
How did your birds stack up against hers at that
show?
Tyrel (02:44):
I was fortunate enough that I won.
Best in breed the last two yearsthat I was there.
If memory serves me they run adouble show.
And if memory serves mecorrectly, last year when I was
there, I had a Har, a HarlequinYoung Drake that was Reserve of
Show or Third Best In Show.
(03:06):
I don't remember, but he was upthere.
I was fortunate for that.
And this year, I had one thatwas best of breed again and.
I think Best light, I don'tremember.
That was last fall.
I don't remember.
Jennifer (03:21):
They all just start running together.
Tyrel (03:23):
Oh my gosh, yes.
When you go to enough shows,they start to just blur
together.
Jennifer (03:27):
They do.
So I love the Welsh's becausethey don't fly.
They're sassy.
They chitter chatter back at meconstantly.
The Drakes laugh at all myjokes, no matter how corny they
are.
And they are like layingmachines.
(03:47):
They, I swear I get two andthree eggs a day sometimes, but
I they're really good at hidingtheir eggs.
Tyrel (03:54):
Oh, yes.
Oh yes.
My, my harlequins.
Definitely lay some eggs.
I've had, I've actually had somefarm people that wanted some and
I let'em know that they were outof exhibition stock and they
were concerned about getting'em,because they're like, oh,
exhibition birds, they don't layvery well.
They don't produce very well,and I'm like, oh no they lay
(04:16):
real well, I promise you.
I promise you.
But yeah, no they lay great.
They're they little layingmachines.
That's what they were, that'swhat they were bred to do.
They're I'm just going offmemory here.
At one point I knew it a lotbetter than I do now, but
they're a I might get thiswrong.
So any poultry genetic peopleout there don't crucify me for
this, but if memory serves mecorrectly, they were a, like a
(04:39):
sport color mutation from thekhaki Campbells.
And everybody knows the khakiCampbells as like one of the
premier laying ducks.
Coming from the khaki, and Imight get his name wrong, but
Leslie Bonnet was the one thatworked with them and developed
'em and, yeah, no they'relaying, they're little laying
machines.
And then it's actually it's afun, fun little fact about'em is
(05:02):
when Leslie created'em they weregold.
They were what's called orconsidered the gold variety.
Where here in the United States,a lot of people don't even know
that the gold variety ofHarlequins exist.
Where the US is the only countrythat recognizes a silver Walsh,
Harlequin Australia and the uk.
(05:22):
All those other countries, theyonly recognize the gold Walsh
Char Laquinn.
And if you talk to any of thosebreeders in other countries, a
silver Welsh Harlequin is anautomatic call for them.
They don't even have'em.
Jennifer (05:36):
So can you explain for our listeners what the
difference is?
Tyrel (05:39):
I can try.
Jennifer (05:41):
Okay.
Tyrel (05:42):
The gold we harlequin and again, all you poultry
geneticists out there don'tcrucify me to my knowledge and
my understanding.
The gold phase, Harlequin has abrown dilution gene.
Where there's no black pigment.
Black pigment, they have thatdilution gene.
So they come out and the goldharlequin is just shades of
(06:02):
different, shades of brown.
In the silver Harlequin, you'llhave a blue speculum.
And in the gold variety, it's adark brown.
It's a brown speculum.
And then all of the markings inthe female down through the
breast, in the gold variety.
There are a light, it's a light,just shades of brown, whereas
you get some of the blackmarkings or that, that dark
(06:25):
claret in in the silver.
And then the silvers willactually have the gray and the
black markings.
And then in, in the Drakesspecifically is where you see
the biggest difference really isthe Drakes.
Like we both know, your silverDrakes have that bright green
head.
And then down, down the centerof their back they've got the
gray and oh my gosh, I'm gonnaget, I should know this better
(06:49):
than I do, but visually I canlook at it.
But when I try to put put itinto words, I am, I'm cheating
right now a little bit and I'mlooking the pattern,
Jennifer (06:57):
is that what you're talking about?
The pattern?
Tyrel (06:59):
Yeah.
I'm cheating a little bit rightnow and I'm looking at my
standard to see what the colorof the, and that's what
Jennifer (07:07):
it's for.
Tyrel (07:08):
Yeah, it's it just says frosted laced with white.
But and then, yeah, the harloones, we've all seen the
silvers, they've got all thecolors in the Drake.
There's black, there's the bluespeculum there's the gray or
silver.
And then in, in those goldDrakes, they've got the brown
head, and then they'redifferent.
They're, like I say again,they're just different shades of
(07:30):
brown, which they're, myself anda few other people are working
on.
Raising those golds andhopefully we can, in the next
few years, we can work ongetting the golds admitted to
the standard.
Jennifer (07:49):
I was just looking at my standard and yeah, it's just
the silver I.
Tyrel (07:53):
Yep just the silver.
But hopefully we can get thatoriginal Harlequin admitted to
our standard here, and so maybethe rest of the world won't
laugh at us as too much.
Jennifer (08:04):
How in the world did there get to be two different
colors?
I wonder,
Tyrel (08:08):
That's a great question.
That's a great question forsomebody who has a lot more
knowledge of the breed than Ido.
So they climb
Jennifer (08:15):
over from Europe and the color just changes as it
crosses the Atlantic,
Tyrel (08:20):
Yeah.
I don't really understand.
I don, I don't really know thebackstory on the silver and how
the silver came about.
I just know that's what we havehere and what is recognized
here.
Jennifer (08:32):
Yeah, I am reading it really quickly and it doesn't
say, it just says that theoriginal was golden and, but the
silver's most common, it doesn'tactually say why it was changed.
Tyrel (08:44):
Yeah.
Yeah.
It, it just says that greatercontrast and brilliance in the
Plum was developed by Mr.
Bonnet in the 1960s, so I'm notsure.
I'm not sure where the silvercame from.
I really don't know.
Jennifer (08:59):
There's no telling.
Somebody in Tennessee justchanged it, rednecked it, and
then it went from there.
Tyrel (09:07):
Some redneck came up with a silver aloquin.
That's too funny.
Jennifer (09:13):
Okay, so here's my next question for you.
So when we talk about theplumage, we are always talking
about the phases.
So can you kinda explain thephases of the deck plumage?
Tyrel (09:28):
Sure.
And I always get thesebackwards.
So there's nuptial plumage, andthen there's eclipse plumage.
I hope I'm saying this right,'cause I always get them
backwards and I always have tocorrect myself.
Eclipse plumage is their summerplumage when Drake's molt and
they lose that brilliant colorand they look more like the
(09:49):
females do.
And then that nuptial plumage isgoing into fall.
They get their green heads backand they look brilliant and
bright and pretty again.
And in the harlequins I don't, Ishould have had some notes for
this, so I'm going off memory.
The female Harlequin, I believegoes through five different kind
(10:13):
of color phases where as theyget older, they'll get darker.
And so in that first year you'llsee, and you'll see'em in show
halls too, you'll have somepeople that'll show some young
females that are more white.
They don't have that fawn colorin'em.
And then you'll have some thathave more of that fawn color to
'em.
(10:34):
Excuse me.
And then as they get older, I'venoticed those lighter colored
females get more white.
I.
They get more and more white,whereas your females that have
font end up getting a little bitdarker and darker in their color
tones.
And that's one thing like, likejudges.
I don't even know if they'reaware of, but judges need to be
(10:55):
aware of is that those olderfemales will be a little bit
darker and that's just thenatural how the harlequins go.
And like I've got some femalesthat first year that I've shown
that had excellent type, butthey were just, they were a
little bit too dark.
I'm gonna use'em with specificDrakes that might not.
(11:17):
Have as great a color as I'dlike.
And I'm test breeding, I guessyou could say, and experimenting
with him just'cause I've onlybeen raising him for about four
years now.
Jake Wilson actually, he's beenraising him for 20 plus years.
He'd be the guy that might evenbe more deserving to talk about
him than I am.
He's been raising'em for yearsand years.
(11:37):
So he'd have more experienceexperiential, I don't know if
that's even a word, but he'dhave more experience in some of
the test breedings that I'mprobably playing with now on, on
the different color phases andbirds being too dark or too
light or, but I guess I, for thefirst few years I've just
selected more on type, and triedto get.
(11:59):
That good Harlequin type inthere.
Versus focus,
Jennifer (12:03):
do you like
Tyrel (12:03):
on color?
Do you like
Jennifer (12:04):
yours more upright or more down?
Tyrel (12:08):
In between.
I, the, the Harla Harlequinshould stand about 25 to 35
degrees.
I cheat, I totally just cheatedand looked at my standard.
Like I say I'm not a textperson.
I'm a visual.
I'm a visual person.
I'm a visual learner.
Show me what they're supposed tobe and I'm good with that.
(12:28):
But so for other people whomight learn differently, I'm
cheating a little bit and I'mlooking at the text, but yeah.
Standard calls for a carriageelevated 25% to 35%.
And I've seen both.
I've seen for the most part, ifanything, I've seen harlequins,
it'll stand a little taller anda little higher than they should
be.
I haven't seen too many of themthat have a lower carriage.
(12:49):
But I just, I don't know.
When I look at birds I look at'em and I say, Hey, that bird is
appealing to my eye.
Jennifer (12:55):
Or
Tyrel (12:56):
there's something about that bird that just looks off,
and then maybe then I go in andI dissect about what is it about
this bird I don't like?
And but yeah I like a Harlequinthat has that nice carriage to
'em.
Jennifer (13:08):
So one I don't show mine I just have them for fun.
But I do try to breed thecorrect characteristics.
And I have found that on theFacebook groups.
I suspect it's because there'speople from other countries that
their standards are verydifferent, and that's why I
asked that question is becausesome of them really want them
(13:30):
upright and then some of themseem to want them more down.
Tyrel (13:34):
Yeah.
And see that's exactly it iswith these Facebook groups.
Facebook groups, especiallybreed specific groups can be
very beneficial.
Or they can be very detrimentalbecause just like in groups of
people, sometimes you get peoplewho are quieter and sometimes
you get people who are louderand sometimes there's.
(13:54):
Real loud people on Facebook whodon't know what they're talking
about.
But then again, you get peoplefrom other countries who are in
these groups.
I have a friend of mine inAustralia and their standard is
very different than ours.
Their harlequins are a lotbigger and deeper bodied and
shorter bodied than what ourstandard calls for here in, I'll
(14:17):
call'em The American Harlequinis like in our American
Harlequin.
You want a real long, almostlike tubular shaped bird that's
flat across the shoulders andparallel, top and bottom lines.
And then I personally, when youlook over the top of the bird, I
wanna see parallel lines runningdown the side from their
shoulders, basically to theirstern.
(14:38):
I wanna see a straight line.
You'll see some harlequinsespecially in that stern.
For anyone that maybe doesn'tknow what the stern is, I'm
talking from the legs to thetail.
That's their stern, their butt,basically.
You'll see if you look over topof'em where they'll have good
lines through the shoulders inthe body, and then they get to
that stern and it's realpinched.
(14:59):
And those are birds.
I don't keep, I don't like tohave birds like that.
If I'm showing'em, I try tohave, I like to see nice lines
on all of'em.
Now, some people who arelistening to this who have maybe
seen my harlequins are gonnalaugh because I have a problem
with overfeeding and myharlequins tend to get a little
big, a little chubby.
Last year I raised them with theheavy ducks and they ate a
(15:22):
little too much and theyprobably were more medium
harlequins than they were lightducks.
Jennifer (15:27):
In your defense, I do not care how much you feed them.
They are always starving.
Tyrel (15:35):
Yes.
And I think a lot of otherpeople can attest to that in
waterfowl, in general, low pigs.
Waterfowl are little pigs.
They
Jennifer (15:44):
are I have some Facebook videos.
I called them my stalkers for along time.
I've since thinned them down.
But I had stalkers and I wouldgo across the property in my
gator and I could hold the phoneup and you could.
See, 60 of'em racing after me.
'cause they know there's feed inthe back of that gator and
(16:04):
they're gonna have some
Tyrel (16:06):
Oh yeah.
Yep.
If the feed, especially thisyear everyone teased me so much
last year.
I feel like I've gotten prettygood type on my harlequins, but
I definitely have a problem.
I need to learn to become abetter conditioner.
Especially with the light ducks.
I'm really good at making thingsbig and bulky and heavy.
(16:27):
Which is why I'm starting toenjoy the heavy ducks a little
more is they have be little andpetite.
So this year I'm learning on howto become a better conditioner
with these light ducks because Ilove this Harlequin breed.
And I feel like I've got my typethere.
But I need to learn to conditionand feed them differently.
So this year, I'm gonna try adifferent feeding regimen and
(16:48):
see if I can't keep'em on thesmaller, lighter end where
they're,
Jennifer (16:52):
well let's talk about the females coloring for just a
minute.
So the bills and the legs, arethey supposed to be black or is
it more like a smoky gray color?
Like when you select.
Tyrel (17:07):
So this is an area of contention sometimes.
There's a lot of people outthere that think the female's
bill is supposed to be black,and it's not supposed to be
black.
The standard calls for greenishblack.
So my females, when you, whenI'm selecting, I'm picking
females, I will, I'll breed froma female that has a solid black
(17:28):
bill.
I will that won't stop me, but.
I won't show a female with asolid black bill.
They're supposed to be a littlegreen in that bill.
And that's where a lot of peopleI know when I first started
showing'em, everyone saidFemales need black bill, dark
legs, black bill, dark legs.
And then I learned otherwisethat wasn't actually correct.
And those females are supposedto have the standard calls for a
(17:50):
greenish black with a blackbean.
And so when I'm selecting,that's something that I started
looking for and now those legsI.
They are supposed to be thestandard.
They are supposed to be darkernow.
Now, young duck, young duckswhen they're real young
obviously have orange legs andonce those females hit anywhere
(18:10):
from between four to six monthsis when I've really started to
notice those legs will darken upas they mature.
And hit that sexual maturitywhere they get ready to start
laying.
Like the standard calls for, I'mlooking at here the legs and
feet standard says for the duckis supposed to be orange shaded
with brown when young, and thena grayish brown with age, the
(18:31):
toenails should be black.
And you look at some of thesefemales and I've had'em, I've
had females that never diddarken up in the legs.
And I got rid of'em.
I didn't keep'em or breed from'em.
But yeah, they, those legsdefinitely should be darker.
Jennifer (18:47):
I just, I have a hard time with the greenish black
part.
I think I air to the two dark,honestly,
Tyrel (18:55):
which I think that's probably a safer bet than losing
that darkness in them.
I have noticed, and maybe that'sbecause I've been selecting
females that have a moregreenish tin to their bill.
But I've noticed that some ofthem are starting to get more
green and I'm losing some ofthat dark black color.
So I'm gonna, something thisyear I'm gonna definitely select
(19:19):
for and watch a little bitcloser in the young birds I
produce this year and see where,how those bills are coming out.
Jennifer (19:27):
So is your line auto sexing?
Tyrel (19:30):
Oh yes.
And I guess my personal opinionon it is anybody that wants to
maintain the integrity of thisbreed that's something that you
should, in my opinion, selectfor as ducklings or at least
make a note of, when they'reducklings, those females, the
males when they hatch theirbills will be dark.
(19:52):
They should be dark.
If you have a male that hatchesand he doesn't have a dark bill,
I wouldn't keep him.
Whereas the females will havemore of a dark bill and then the
sides of their bill will be moreof that paleish orangey color.
And so if they're not autosexing like that, I wouldn't
keep'em.
Personally and you can even asducklings anyone's that's raised
(20:13):
a few of'em I'm not even realgreat at it yet, but you can
actually pick out ducklingsthat'll have bill faults when
they get older.
I haven't seen it in any of mymales, but every year I get one
or two females that'll have abill fault where their bill will
be like just a pale color or apaleish orange color.
(20:34):
Which is something obviouslynot.
Desirable and harlequins, and Inever keep'em, I usually sell'em
off or give them to somebodylocally as a pet.
Jennifer (20:42):
And what would you be looking for as a duckling if you
think it's gonna be orangelater,
Tyrel (20:49):
You'll see ducklings that you're not sure about when they
hatched the female's bill won'thave that dark bean or the tip
of the bill won't be dark.
And those ones probably end up,will end up having a bill fault
when they get older.
That's one nice thing about theharle and breed is if you look
(21:09):
at a duckling in the first twodays and you can't clearly
distinguish Yep, that's a male,that's a female.
Me personally, those are birds.
I, I.
I call, or I, like I say, I giveaway to somebody as a pet, or I
sell'em as pets locally.
I only keep, to me that's phaseone of culling is same way with
people who raise mag pies.
(21:31):
The magpie ducks when theyhatch, you can see exactly what
their color pattern is, and youcan call'em as ducklings.
And that's to my, to me, tomaintain the integrity of the
Harlequin.
That's something that breedersshould be looking at or be aware
of.
Is the distinction of the autosexing in their day old
ducklings.
(21:51):
Now, once, one thing I see, andyou've probably seen it online,
this time of year, everybodystarts posting, is this a boy or
is this a girl?
Is this a boy or is this a girl?
And people who know what they'retalking about in the comments
will ask, how old is it?
Because at about three days old,those female bills will darken
up.
And then you can't tell anymore.
(22:12):
And that's normal.
That's good.
That's what they're supposed todo.
And then as they reach maturity,the male's bill will go from
being dark to that olive, greencolor.
Jennifer (22:21):
I.
I swear people think I'm crazywhen I tell them that, this is
only good for three days and I'mnot keeping two brooders.
So if you want these ducks, youhave to come right now.
Tyrel (22:33):
Yep.
Yeah.
And that's, there's so manypeople online.
They've got ducklings that arefour or five days old asking if
it's a boy or a girl, and noidea.
Jennifer (22:46):
I will say that last year.
I just hatched like.
Oh, I don't know.
I probably had at one point 80or 90 of'em running the property
'cause I called'em.
Yeah, you looking at me likethat?
Tyrel (23:00):
Oh my goodness.
I don't even, I don't even hatchthat many duck or I do hatch
that many ducks, but I don'thatch that many harlequins.
That's a lot of harlequins.
Jennifer (23:06):
We have a larger farm I guess, and we have a mosquito
problem.
So I didn't sell any, I justhatched them, just, I called
them Skeeter eaters, right?
And so they just fattened upeating all the mosquitoes and
they grew up, wild and free andferal.
And so this spring I captured'emall up, which is always
(23:27):
interesting capturing.
Feral ducks, and but I have asystem, I have, I have a system
to it, and it works every timeand they always act so shocked
that it worked.
The ducks, they just, they'rejust shocked.
But anyway, I rounded'em all upand I picked out the ones with
the best markings and I.
And I put'em up in a breederpen, just a group mating pen.
(23:51):
I kept two Drakes and probably,I think there's 10 hens in
there.
And I started selling'em theother ones, and then I was like,
man, I started backing off.
I was like, we're gonna getmosquitoes again.
So I ended up just keeping some.
But I will say that my, my autosexing this year has been spot
(24:13):
on and very clear with the malesand the females.
It does make a huge difference.
Tyrel (24:21):
Yes it does.
And that's, anybody who might belistening to this, who's just
starting out in Harle winds ormaybe they've been breeding for
a while and they're justdisgruntled'cause they aren't
getting what they want, and.
Type over color, always typeover color, and that's, those
harlequins should have a longerbody to'em.
And one of the things that Ireally look at is you'll have a
(24:43):
bird and a, when I say front,I'm talking from the legs
forward to their breast.
They'll have a good front on'em.
They'll have a nice long front,but then their stern will be
short and they'll have a kabistern.
And so that's as, as my birdsare growing up, I've gotten to a
point now I can almost pick outwhich ones are gonna have a
(25:03):
shorter cobi, stern.
But especially once they do getolder and I, I can see what I'm
working with.
I, anything that's got a shortcopy, stern is gone.
I don't keep them.
I try to keep.
Everything I have, I try to keepa nice long stern on'em just
because, in the poultry worldeveryone talks about balance,
(25:23):
like a bird has to be balancedand that to me is part of the
balance.
In a harlequin, you can't have abird with a nice long front and
a short little back end.
It's like a human with sky,high, long legs, and then they
got short little torso or theother way around.
They got a real long torso andshort little, tiny legs.
In the Harlequins.
It's the same thing.
Just I try to, everyone thatI'm, it's crazy to say that I'm
(25:47):
helping mentor people in them,but people that I've helped
mentor and have sold aches to,that's, they'll send me pictures
and videos and we all knowpictures and videos are the
hardest thing to try to judge abird.
But I just, I tell them the samething.
Try to find your nice, long,almost tubular shaped birds that
have a good long stern on'em.
Jennifer (26:07):
So you've mentioned it a couple times, and you actually
mentioned it when we talkedabout the Saxon Ease.
For people who are just wantingto dabble in breeding before
they decide that it's reallytheir thing can you explain how
invaluable a mentor is?
Tyrel (26:25):
Oh my gosh.
A mentor.
A mentor is everything.
When I started out doing this, Ididn't know what the heck I was
doing.
I was just some weird guy thatshowed up from Montana shows
that nobody had ever seen orheard of before and came in with
(26:46):
my ducks.
I didn't know what I was doing.
I didn't know what I was lookingfor, but I ran around and asked
people and.
I tried to learn and I talked tojudges and Hey, what am I, what
are you looking for?
What do you, and I talked toother breeders and now that I've
been in the hobby for a fewyears now I've made some great
connections with other breedersand other people and having a
mentor to me is in invaluable,having Claire to answer
(27:10):
questions was invaluable becauseI didn't know, every everybody
in this hobby, we all startedsomewhere.
I, I started in this hobby as anadult.
Some people grow up in the hobbybecause their parents did it.
We all started somewhere andwe've all had to learn, you know
what I mean?
None of us were born knowing howto breed a wels Harlequin duck.
We've all had to learn and theway I look at it is people gave
(27:33):
me a lot of grace and I want togive that grace back to people
who don't know or don'tunderstand and no there's no
stupid questions.
And just try to help otherpoultry hobbyists.
Learn in the breeds that they'reinterested in.
So anyone out there who doesn'thave a mentor, and they're feel
like they're just flounderingthrough whatever breed they're
(27:54):
raising, find somebody thatraises that breed, that's
willing to talk to you and ask'em questions.
There's a lot of good breedersout there who have done this a
very long time, who are morethan happy.
To just help new people.
They want to see the breedflourish.
They don't care about anythingelse.
They just wanna see the breedflourish.
And they're more than happy tohelp with breeding.
(28:17):
Breeding advice.
I just got off the phone, not awels, Harlequin breeder, but a
breeder of a different duck, butI just got off the phone with
him and.
Asking questions about thingsthat I wasn't sure about.
They, you never stop learning.
And so having someone that iswilling to mentor you is pretty
invaluable.
Jennifer (28:37):
I will say when you do find somebody, listen, stop
talking and just listen.
It may not make sense to youright that second, but
eventually it will make sensewhat they're saying.
Tyrel (28:50):
Absolutely.
I have, I've.
We've all been there, but I'vehad people that have come to me
and asked me a question and Igave them an answer and they
didn't like the answer, and sothey just wanted to argue.
If you're gonna go to somebodybecause you wanna learn and you
ask questions, just listen towhat they have to say, even if
it completely goes againsteverything you've ever thought
(29:14):
or learned or known.
Because maybe they knowsomething you don't or other
people don't know.
Jennifer (29:20):
So you
Tyrel (29:20):
have to, that's something in this hobby is you have to be
a student of the hobby is what Ilike to say all the time.
You have to always be learningand once you think you have
nothing else to learn, thenyou're gonna start regressing.
Jennifer (29:33):
Exactly.
As as much as I have enjoyedthis, we need to wrap it up
'cause I have to get back out tothe barn and I'm sure you have
chores to do.
Tyrel (29:43):
So I actually I am, I'm late this year on setting up my
indie breeding pens and Iactually have birds out there
right now in showcases that I amsorting and going through and
trying to get indie pens set up.
And so as soon as we get.
Get done here.
I'm headed right back out tostart sorting indies.
Jennifer (30:02):
It never ends.
Tyrel (30:04):
Always come.
I
Jennifer (30:04):
have enjoyed it.
Thank you so much for comingback.
Tyrel (30:07):
Yes, thank you for having me.
Jennifer (30:09):
All right.
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