best foraging chicken breed

[ThatFarmerChick]

I took the advice of those proponents of Welsumers, and, so far, have been overwhelmingly disappointed!
I bought 4 pullets & 1 cockerel in Apr / May 2016, and have only been getting ONE egg every 3 days.  This being nearly Jan, that's pretty poor.  The brown eggs are speckled, not very dark.  The birds look at earthworms as if they are aliens.  I bought another 8 that were hatched in June from a different source, nothing out of them yet either.  Somebody, please tell me it gets much better??!!   Yes, I have lights on in the coop, 16 hrs.

. Oh no! I am terribly sorry to hear this. However, I notice that you keep a light on in the coop. That is one thing that I do not do. Actually, I do very little. Because I want my chickens to act natural, I do my best to give them a natural up bringing and life. I provide a coop, nest boxes, water, and feed in the winter when plants, insects, frogs, lizzards, etc. are not plentiful. Our stock are hatchery stock from Murray McMurray and Meyers hatcheries. So it may not be the best stock. We handle our birds as chicks to assure us that we will be able to handle them as hens and roosters. Everyday these birds face predators and the outside temperatures and elements. We get at least 5 eggs a week from each hen when they are not in a molt or broody. I do notice that egg production picks up in our overall production when they are fed sprouted beans and fermented feed versus dry milled food. We do have a mixed flock, but Welsummers and Langshans make up the majority. I pray that your egg production picks up. And soon!!!

 

[rSpriggs]

I do love welsummers. Their terra cotta colored eggs are speckled and you can use them to make olive eggers. I've fond the olive eggers made from from welsummers are also sexable just like the welsummer mothers and lay earlier and more than the pure welsummers. The problem I have with the breed is that of all the breeds I have ever had, the started laying at 8+ months which is the oldest any breed has ever laid first egg. Most start between 5 and 6.5 months old. They also aren't the most prolific layers, but the color of their eggs and what they can be used to create makes up for it
Considering the time of year it is, your welsummers may be a bit young to get into laying full swing.

Egads. I'd never read the part (although I've looked for it!!) about up to 9 months to lay!!! And, I've been spoiled by 5-month Delawares. I'm really looking at sustainability here, in N Idaho, so the only way they can justify their future existence is by being VERY steady egg layers for at least 3 years!

 

[rSpriggs]

Thanks for the reply . . . I provide light reluctantly, as I really strive toward sustainability. However, here in N Idaho, days are REALLY short in winter & I wanted to remove "light" as an excuse for not laying!

 

[SanCarlos6127]

I took the advice of those proponents of Welsumers, and, so far, have been overwhelmingly disappointed!
I bought 4 pullets & 1 cockerel in Apr / May 2016, and have only been getting ONE egg every 3 days. This being nearly Jan, that's pretty poor. The brown eggs are speckled, not very dark. The birds look at earthworms as if they are aliens. I bought another 8 that were hatched in June from a different source, nothing out of them yet either. Somebody, please tell me it gets much better??!! Yes, I have lights on in the coop, 16 hrs.

I gave up on Welsummers after 2 attempts. Not great layers, and took FOREVER to start laying. Roosters were super aggressive, and none of the birds seemed very predator savy. I ended my Welsummer experiment when the last hen got eaten by something. Other than the white eggs, I'll take Leghorns of Welsummers any day of the week.

 

[rSpriggs]

I gave up on Welsummers after 2 attempts. Not great layers, and took FOREVER to start laying. Roosters were super aggressive, and none of the birds seemed very predator savy. I ended my Welsummer experiment when the last hen got eaten by something. Other than the white eggs, I'll take Leghorns of Welsummers any day of the week.

Just as a couple folks were trying to woo me into keeping these MOST useless birds, along you come with a major reality check . . . I must say, I've had dozens of breeds, and I've never been as pi$$ed off at one like I am at these!

 

[ThatFarmerChick]

Where is everyone getting their Welsummers? I want to make sure that I do not get them from there. I was told that ours weren't good bc they didn't come from a reputable breeder. But I don't have those issues not do I need or want them. What breeds have worked for you all? Personally, I love our Rose Comb Brown Leghorn, but she is our only one. She is not flighty at all, but flies very well, lays an egg a day, and has survived hawk seasons and coyotes. I just want to know where these horrible birds are, and what else may work for us.

 

[rSpriggs]

First 4 came from a local feed store, next batch came from a local Vet Sci gal who had mixed birds, all purebred.
Strongly comparing Barred Rocks (which I've had) vs Dominiques (not) for replacement

 

[ThatFarmerChick]

I have never had any Barred Rocks, but plenty of people around us have them, and renew their stock annually. There is a guy about 10 miles from us that does keep his on covered pasture. He has about 200 hens and gets between 13 to 15 dozens of eggs a day.

I enjoyed our Dominiques. They foraged well and were friendly from the start. Our cockerels dressed out with a 5.47 average at a little under 5 months. One little roo went to freezer camp early due to bad behavior and still dressed over 5lbs.

The pullets weren't our best layers. 4 very light brown eggs a week. And those eggs were smaller than most of our other girls. I liked the way that they hit the pastures and woods even when feed was offered. I found that the Buckeye breed was similar to them, but gave us much more meat on the pullets and more eggs.

 

[rSpriggs]

Good comparative info on the Buckeyes - Thanks!

 

[ThatFarmerChick]

No problem. I think that all chicken keepers need to be happy with their flocks. Our first year we did a trial with over 30 breeds. Some breeds did as expected, some surprised us, and others didn't make the cut. At the end of the first year we looked to see who had survived, who laid well, which birds lived best with other birds, who gave us the most meat, and who tasted better. I figured that our study wasn't just for us, but for others trying to live sustainable lives similar to ours.
rSriggs, your run with the Welsummers sucked, and you have every right to be fed up with them. I want this to work well for you. Try connecting with others in your area, and see what's been working for them...see if it fits your needs.