The Welsummer Thread!!!!

[rsquared]

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Ahhhh Pinks, sorry to hear about Odin, the just standing thing doesn't sound real encouraging. Keep us posted.

Opa: sending you a PM

Good Morning to all the Wellie lovers

 

[pinkchick]

Thanks for the well wishes everyone, you guys and gals are truly awesome!

No change in Odin.... I think that I may have to make a very hard decision this weekend. Is it silly to cry over my boy? Gosh I'm such a sap.

 

[Happy Chooks]

Not silly at all. I've been thinking of you.

 

[pinkchick]

Thank you Kelly.

 

[pinkchick]

I'm not getting my hopes up.....but.....Odin was more than happy to eat tons of pumpkin inards and seeds yesterday afternoon!!!!!

I took out a 10oz. cup that was almost full and he ate over half of it. He hasn't wanted treats in a couple of days and would just turn his head. I took him out of his hospital room and took him outside with me for a little while and let him out on the grass, he followed me to the first coop, approx. 25 ft away, but then turned and went back toward his room, but did not go in. After a couple of minutes of standing there, he pecked at some grass and decided he had had enough and hopped up into his house. This morning he looks the same as he did yesterday.
All I can say is that he doesn't seem to be getting worse.....

 

[Saltcreek]

I went to the National Poultry Show today, Saturday at 1:00PM. I was disappointed to see that out of 1500 or so birds entered, there was only 2 Welsummer cockerels, and 1 Welsummer pullet entered. The pullet won best of breed, but it was the only one there. I thought from what I had heared here that my Meyers Hatchery Welsummers would never be considered, but next year I may enter 'cause I'm pretty proud of mine by comparison. By comparison, there were lots of supposed "rare" breeds like Buckeys and Dominiques.

 

[HogbackMtnChickns]

Here's a photo of a cockerel chick to contrast with the pullet photo Pink posted. Note the difference in the eyeliner and V that Pink mentioned. This little guy is a chick I got from Whitmore Farm. He is 22 weeks old now.

Cockerel Chick

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HI!

Yes and No. Some lines of Welsummers carry sex link traits that are reliable and their gender can be identified at hatch and with some lines the sex linking traits are not so reliable.

Usually the trick is that the pullets will have a nice line of eyeliner and a nice distinct "V" going from the top of the head back toward the neck and down. The males usually have a smudge of color next to the eye and their "V" is not so distinct.

I only have 24 hour old pullet for a photo to show what a girl looks like...hoping that someone has a cockerel photo.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/11170_wellie_pullet_1182011_hatch_odin_and_8_baby.jpg

 

[Tailfeathers]

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How did this just show up in my Inbox? Or is this another Nat'l show that I hadn't heard about?

Saltcreek, I wouldn't say that a hatchery bird "would never be considered" but when one looks at the probabilities of getting a nice SQ bird from a hatchery, they are pretty slim. Time doesn't permit me to go into a lot of detail on hatchery vs. breeder birds right now so I would suggest doing a search on here (BYC) and you should find some very informative and valid information on the subject. Suffice it for now to say that I think the crux of the matter is clearly evident when one looks at the goals of each provider. Also, many - if not all - hatcheries buy eggs from others to hatch and then sell the chicks. The ONLY way anyone can KNOW what they're getting is when they have been intimately involved in the process from picking out the specific parents, thru egg collection, and ultimately chick identification after hatching. With hatcheries, not only is there the lack of QA/QC but there is just too big of an "unknown" factor.

As for there being more "rare" breeds at the show, that's more than likely simply a matter of folks who're jumping on the bandwagon of the latest and greatest popularity trend. For those of us who breed and show Welsummers (or other breeds), including myself, we do so because we love the breed and enjoy working with them.

Almost every issue of the PP shows a brown Leghorn cock, cockerel, pullet, or hen receiving some high honor at a show. With the similarity of looks between them and a Welsummer, I have to ask myself why we don't see more Wellies on Champion Row. Could it be that it's because there just ain't enough "serious" breeders working with them and because we don't see them in the numbers at the shows that we do other breeds?

God Bless,

 

[Saltcreek]

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How did this just show up in my Inbox? Or is this another Nat'l show that I hadn't heard about?

,

This was the Ohio National Poultry Show in Columbus Ohio Sat Nov 12. Yes there quite a few were partridge Leghorns, but my real surprise was the almost total lack of Welsummers. I did get a kick out of the long legged bantam games that looked like tiny raptors from Jurrasic Park.

 

[EweSheep]

I wished more breeders and exhibitors would come and show their Welsummers.

If I had a trio to do with, I would have sent them there! So far no one has come forward in giving me the names of the winners and placings of the Welsummer catagory in the Nationals so I can post it on the WCNA and congratulating them.

Maybe that is something we need to look forward in pushing a few more folks to show their Welsummers there!