The Welsummer Thread!!!!

[Faith Chick]

I'm so proud of my little Wellie Roo.
He started crowing at me last week at 8 weeks old.

 

[aart]

Question for the serious breeders about the white/gray fluff at base of tail:

Is that fluff not supposed to be there at all or are the feathers supposed to grow thick enough to cover it up?

What causes the fluff and why is it a no-no?

TIA

 

[tiffrosef]

One of my wellies is starting to get iridescent blue green feathers on its back, the other hasn't. Would take pics but its quite hard to capture the way the feathers colors change in the light with a cell camera. I am really hoping this means I have a roo! Anyone else raised a female that has these same iridescent feathers or is it for sure a boy?

 

[faykokoWV]

Question for the serious breeders about the white/gray fluff at base of tail:

Is that fluff not supposed to be there at all or are the feathers supposed to grow thick enough to cover it up?

What causes the fluff and why is it a no-no?

TIA

the white fluff is a no no - the undercoat on them should be grey, so grey fluff is ok, but should be minimal. What causes it I don't know, probably something in the history of the line the birds are from - very difficult to breed out. If you want it gone you need to cull the rooster heavy and keep track of which hens carry the trait as well. ( you do this by doing paired breeding and recording the outcome) I wish I had the space to grow out as many as I would like - truly you can't make a decision on how good a rooster is until he's well over a year old. You can cull for obvious faults before that point, but you need to do the final assessment after they are fully grown. White feather can pop up on the tail in those birds with white fluff as they get older, and this is a DQ in show. Its a no-no because the standard of the breed calls for no white

 

[tiffrosef]

2-3 months old, r

oo?

 

[Farmer Viola]

2-3 months old, r

oo?

that's a pullet.

this is a welsummer cockerel at 2-3mos old,

(pullets in the background)

 

[20736]

Question for the serious breeders about the white/gray fluff at base of tail:

Is that fluff not supposed to be there at all or are the feathers supposed to grow thick enough to cover it up?

What causes the fluff and why is it a no-no?

TIA

The fluff color is noted in the SOP for all birds. For wellies it is gray, other birds have a different fluff for their breed(s). This could be a dominate gene (I think gray is recessive) being introduced or mutating, either way would produce white fluff.
Fluff is a naturally occurring layer of feathers on chickens, quite pliable for the undersides of chickens.
Hope this helps.

 

[Johnn]

 

[loobyloo88]

My welsummer chick is now 2 weeks old, we unfortunately lost one at 4 days old, which I was convinced was a roo personally. But the one I just can't tell personally is still going....I'm sure she'll turn out to be a roo as many have predicted. But here it is now are you all still thinking roo or has my luck changed?

 

[estamets]

My welsummer chick is now 2 weeks old, we unfortunately lost one at 4 days old, which I was convinced was a roo personally. But the one I just can't tell personally is still going....I'm sure she'll turn out to be a roo as many have predicted. But here it is now are you all still thinking roo or has my luck changed?

Those markings are pretty blurry to be a pullet...