The Welsummer Thread!!!!

[Tanith BHH]

Some lovely girls.
I have one Welsummer, she used to lay nearly every day, and she also laid the same day I got her, beautiful brown eggs, but she's stopped now, she's just 3 and my other 3-year-old hens are still laying, is this normal? She has had a beak problem since I got her (I got her at POL) so she has to peck a couple of times before she actually gets up the food, but would that really affect her egg laying abilities?
She's quite flighty but if you do catch her she seems quite calm. I love her just the same

Her name is Teazel

 

[Happy Chooks]

My wellies start laying after 24 weeks. I've never had one start before then. They grow quickly, just like most large fowl breeds.

 

[Dr Bjorn Netland]

How fast do Welsummer hens grow? Also, when do they start laying? Both of these I've looked at the "official" numbers, but would like to get real numbers from some experienced breeders.

Back when, sometime in the 1980s, both Lowell Barber and I had birds that started laying around 21-22 weeks of age, but I don't think that's the case with my current ones (though, frankly, I haven't kept records of that in years). I believe several factors may be involved, such as month of hatch, artificial lighting, and feed. They do seem to increase egg size faster (from pullet eggs) than most other breeds.
The Welsummers back when we (Lowell, Ron Nelson, and I) started were better layers than their offspring that I have today, so the breeders of the past certainly were more careful about selecting for productivity than I (and maybe others) have been. I would say mine lay 3 - 4 eggs a week during their pullet year, whereas we used to have birds that laid 5 - 6 eggs a week. Other breeders with birds of a different origin may have better results.

 

[bigbama]

Hello all,

Can anyone tell me if a White Rock rooster over Welsummer hens make a good mix? thanks

 

[EweSheep]

Hello all,

Can anyone tell me if a White Rock rooster over Welsummer hens make a good mix? thanks

Welsummer girls don't really care what breed the rooster are unless you want a reliable table fowl, they certainly can! You probably get a weird colored lot of chicks LOL!

 

[Anamal25]

Has anyone bought Welly eggs/chicks from Chicken Scratch Poultry?

 

[Tailfeathers]

Is anybody besides me having problems with the Subscriptions Page? Looks like everything changed. I'm subscribed to several threads and under "Edit My Subscriptions" it shows me supposed to get immediate email notifications but under "Activity" is says I'm not subscribed to anything.

Anyone else having problems?

God Bless,

 

[Mac14]

Is anybody besides me having problems with the Subscriptions Page? Looks like everything changed. I'm subscribed to several threads and under "Edit My Subscriptions" it shows me supposed to get immediate email notifications but under "Activity" is says I'm not subscribed to anything.

Anyone else having problems?

God Bless,

I am. But I have that I don't have any email notifications and it doesn't work. So sometimes I just post "Now following this thread!"

 

[themenagerie]

I have five Wellies hatched on June 18th. The first of them started laying this week. I don't know how many weeks it is, but it's just about seven months exactly. My last year pullets laid at about 30 weeks, so in my case, that seems to be a trend.

 

[EweSheep]

Has anyone bought Welly eggs/chicks from Chicken Scratch Poultry?

No but let us know how you like them when you order them. He isn't too far from me and maybe one day I will take a look and see what his flock looks like if I ever go that direction.