I tried 3 hatchings of welsummers and ended up with 3 hens & 5 roosters.
2 hens got killed by wild animals within the year - my other birds are good at escaping predators so dont have this problem.
They make beautiful garden or protected farmyard chooks but they're not well suited to wilder areas.
They're smart and gentle but quite cumbersome - being heavier than most laying birds i've experienced. They produce more meat than other laying birds and good lean meat to.
since they have a gentle, quiet and relaxed manner, they'd be perfect companions to other livestock. esp cows, who its best not to spook and would offer them protection during the day from predators.
they were slow to mature and start laying and very quick to stop laying when nutrients ran a bit short in winter - I see this as a good sign that they prioritise keeping themselves healthy over laying themselves to death.
2 hens got killed by wild animals within the year - my other birds are good at escaping predators so dont have this problem.
They make beautiful garden or protected farmyard chooks but they're not well suited to wilder areas.
They're smart and gentle but quite cumbersome - being heavier than most laying birds i've experienced. They produce more meat than other laying birds and good lean meat to.
since they have a gentle, quiet and relaxed manner, they'd be perfect companions to other livestock. esp cows, who its best not to spook and would offer them protection during the day from predators.
they were slow to mature and start laying and very quick to stop laying when nutrients ran a bit short in winter - I see this as a good sign that they prioritise keeping themselves healthy over laying themselves to death.
