The Welsummer Thread

Thanks. With chickens it really is a gamble who is going to be a winner. There are just so many factors that come into just breeding, raising, and culling, not to mention preference of judge and competition at each show. For instance, as I said before, the nicest birds don't often make the best offspring. It all depends on what genes they have hidden and what they can pass on to their offspring. An ugly roo or hen can surprise you by what they can potentially create. Thats why it is so hard to create a good bird, you never know what needs to be bred to what in order to make her. Also, you can't evaluate chicks until they are older. Like, much older. About a year. A good looking chick could molt and look like trash. A bad looking chick could molt and look stunning. Since it is a given rule of thumb that only 1 bird out of 10 will mature into something worth keeping, thats a year of feeding 10 birds just to get 1 bird in return. And what about the breeders who really want to go the extra mile and really advance their stock? How many do they have to raise? The answer is, really, 100-200 a season. Thats what it takes to get good birds. At the last show, I met someone who said they raised 300 buff orps this year. Thats true dedication to the breed. And his results at shows and the look of his birds will definitely show it.
 
I too love welsummer and have 8 eggs in my incubator now. I know it's late in the year but I have a good set up for the chicks when they hatch. I am new to the breed but would like to show them next year. If anyone has a good show line I can get eggs or chicks from in the spring pm me.
 
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I am new to chickens but knew that I wanted to have a couple of Welsummers in my flock. I ordered two and received three in my order. 99% sure the extra was a roo, but I am okay with it. He was free and we don’t have a no rooster rule where I live. We are on 10 acres outside of town. Whether he stays or not is up to him and his temperament. I have children so I have to play it on the safe side. “He” is the one towards the back of the picture.
 
That chick is precious, and your rooster is gorgeous! I'm going to try hatching some Welsummer eggs in the spring. Love those speckled eggs.

Edit: Sorry, just saw this was an older post.

Some pics of one of my girls. She is developing nicely. Way too early to tell for sure. Plus at that age they move so much it's hard to observe them. That being said, I have high hopes for her. The parents were all from good stock, and I trust that the breeder knows what she is doing. It is important to not only have good stock, but to know how and what to breed together. A nice male and nice female won't necessarily make the nicest offspring. Sometimes the ugly hen will make gourgeous kids. You never really know. It's just trial and error. Hopefully she has already raised a couple batches of chicks from these guys' parents to see how they turn out.
 
these look like welsummer to you experts?
 

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I have only one Welsummer hen, partridge color. She literally called to me as a pullet in a local feed store, and I brought her home.

I raised her with one of my Delaware boys. When she started setting, I removed him. None of the eggs hatched, and I have to say I was relieved, since I prefer to hatch purebreds. So I put a Sultan chick from my incubator under her, and the Welsummer has been a stellar mother.
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I didn't think I wanted to get into another breed, but what a great hen! And she keeps on laying those beautiful brown speckled eggs!

Some time back, someone asked for Welsummer breeders. I gave the name of a breeder, Ed Haworth, who had a Welsummer on Champion Row at the 2019 Tulsa State Fair. I surely do miss the shows for meeting good breeders!

Did somebody already mention that a partridge color Welsummer rooster was on the classic Kellogg's Corn Flakes box?
 

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