The Welsummer Thread!!!!

[kandya]

Thanks! I thought maybe that he'd stepped in something and had a dandelion silk between his toes, but they don't come loose from his webbing. These are our first chickens but we got them from My Pet Chicken, so we're assuming they're Welsummers since that's what we ordered lol. Is there anything else that it could be? I swear it looks like downy fluffy feathers! Thanks for not laughing at me

 

[Happy Chooks]

From the picture you posted, he looks like a wellie. Hatcheries breed for production, so it's not uncommon to get birds with flaws in any breed.

Oh and I forgot to welcome you to the wellie thread!

 

[EweSheep]

i agree with Happy Chooks. Any hatchery would be the luck of the draw. Many of them do start off somewhere as a breeder's flock, for example, Estes Hatchery bought all of Calicowoods Welsummers. Now it has been several years, guessing four years ago, and it may be three to four generations back to the original flock. I do not know honestly if they do cull to standards but I was not too please with the vigor on the chicks when it was second to third generation from the original flock they had. All of them died before they reached their laying age.

Stick with a breeder, they have better examples than the hatchery. If you want to take your chances, go ahead and make a backyard pet out of them. Most of the BYCers and WCNA members usually are the better ones out there. Do your research!

Welcome to the Welsummer thread...there is alot to learn from each other!

 

[kandya]

Thanks for the welcomes and the info! We got them for backyard pets more than to improve the breed. I guess we never even considered the "improve the breed" option. Wellington is beautiful and we don't care if he's got some little featheries on his feet. We love him in spite of his faults

Thanks again and I love this forum. I've learned so much already

 

[EweSheep]

I love his name, Wellington! Now eventually, a Remington may be lurking somewhere in the future LOL!

 

[beesong]

I'm so pleased to have gotten to meet Pink and pick up my Welliles from her -- she is GREAT, which I'm sure y'all have already figured out!

 

[Happy Chooks]

Attention Kim!!!!!! I finally managed to get a picture of my pullets from you! They are 18 weeks old and gaining size fast! I'm going to band them and move them (with my other pullet) in with Moose next week. We're going away this weekend and I don't want to worry about them integrating while we're gone.

And the darker girl didn't feel like cooperating, so I had to get her with the flash inside the coop. She is developing her comb and wattles faster than her sister. She is equally as dark as my pullet from Moose/Cleopatra.

Better late than never! They're tricky girls to photograph.

 

[tazcat70]

Does anyone have a picture of a chick that was a lighter color and what color they ended up being?

 

[Happy Chooks]

Both of my original girls were lighter - one ended up going to the layer flock for improper coloring:

As they grew:

And grew:

The improper colored one:

At 8 months, the improper colored one looked like this:

And Cleopatra now:

Her daughter with my rooster, Moose.

 

[Happy Chooks]

I wasn't able to get any wellie eggs from Fay for my broody. (she had another order to fill and the timing just didn't work out) But I set 2 wellie eggs from my flock under her and if Cleopatra lays another egg today, I'll add it in too.