Patridge Rock or Welsummer?

[AlbionWood]

Okay, I thought I had this sorted, but now I've been looking at pics of Welsummers and am all confuzzled agin!

How do you tell Partridge Rocks from Welsummers? They sure look similar to me in the pics.

Here is my cockerel:

And here's the pullet:

I thought these were Partridge Rocks. But I have one very dark brown egg unaccounted for... maybe I got Welsummers instead?

 

[Cloverleaf Farm]

Looking at the SOP, the only difference I can find is the size. Rocks are alot bigger than Wels. The standard calls for Rock cocks to be 9 1/2 lbs, and Wels cocks are just 7 lbs. Rock hens = 7 1/2 lbs, Wels hens = 6lbs. I look at them and think "Wels" but I can't tell you why...

 

[Duramaxgirl]

That's a welsummer hen! She's purdy

 

[TheReidHomestead]

I agree. Welsummer hen. They do not have a true partridge pattern. Look up Plymouth Rocks on feathersite.com and you can see pics of partridge rocks there. Partridge rocks don't have such a golden/yellow neck or hackle feathers either.

 

[pinkchick]

How old is the pullet? She doesn't look old enough to be laying yet, but...is she? Her egg color should help you out.....Wellie's should lay a nice rich Terra Cotta colored egg, either with speckles or smooth.

 

[Nostalchic]

Partridge rock hens have a uniform bay and beetle-sheen black partridge pattern from head to tail - it's difficult to see that in a lot of photos of them but they are quite different in appearance from Welsummers and they lay a standard light to medium brown egg. She isn't one.

 

[Illia]

Definitely a Welsummer.


The two should not be mistaken, as one is partridge colored and the other is a straight gold duckwing/black breasted red. Completely different.

 

[AlbionWood]

Quote:
Both were hatched mid-June 2010. She is laying, but we have 24 pullets of different breeds all sharing 6 boxes, so it's tough getting eggs matched to hens - they are in there one-after-another, sometimes two to a box! Guess I need to build them some more nest boxes. Anyhoo, we do have one unidentified dark-brown egg layer; these eggs have a kind of coating on them, like they were rolled in cocoa powder and then partly scuffed up. We also are getting one lavender-pinkish egg; my wife thought that was coming from this mystery girl, but maybe she was laying one someone else's egg.

 

[lovinlife]

That's a Welsummer hen and she's the one laying the dark egg. If you're ever curious about which egg a hen is laying, isolate the hen for a few days. You'll know which egg is hers.

 

[donrae]

Agree on the welsummer. Also want to add, if you build more nest boxes they may not use them!