The Welsummer Thread!!!!

[Sylvester017]

Sylvester017 I can clearly see that your chickens are not spoiled one bit!

No more than my own birds are.

Seriously. Back when I was a city dweller, I kept finding dead sparrows and song birds in my yard with their breasts torn out. The birds were otherwise intact except for the missing breast meat. Some days I would find 5 or more little corpses but couldn't see any indication as to what was causing the carnage until one day a neighbor across the street called me up and announced that she had happened to look out her front door and saw a hawk swoop down and grab a bird out of my bird feed. Yep, it proved to be a Cooper's hawk. I immediately moved my feeder under a tree and near some bushes so the birds had cover to escape to and weren't out in the open.

So I really like your strategically placed dog houses for your chickens to escape to for cover. Well thought and and imaginative.

You're right about the Cooper's Hawks going after the smaller wild birds or after the Mourning Doves mid-flight. Neighbors around us are all cutting down their half-century-old backyard trees so there are no hiding places for wild birds any more - but the missing trees have certainly cut down on yard-to-yard traffic of raccoons, possums, squirrels, rats, feral cats, etc, so that's good. Dog houses are expensive so we've been locating used ones in thrift stores, yard sales, neighborhood trash, friends' donated old dog houses. I keep on taking them because there is never enough cover for our hens in my paranoid mind~

. We salvage plywood and scaffolding pieces on neighborhood trash days and use them to recycle as lean-to's for the hens. Our backyard got shaved this year, chainlink torn down, 2 new roofed patios built, and a blockwall erected so we have a lot of empty space to hurry and shelter-up for our little flock:

NEW YARD CONSTRUCTION IS MORE BARE THAN I CARE FOR IT TO BE SO WE QUICKLY ACQUIRED A BUNCH OF DOG HOUSES







PRIOR TO YARD REMODELING THE HENS HAD A LOT OF SHELTERS

 

[katatonic123]

Finally got a pic of my new wellie girl, Freya.

 

[Sylvester017]

Okay guys, I need your opinion. For a year I have been hoping to see a chick sired by my Lavender Orpington Rooster. Here he is in the middle with Bo, my junior Welsummer rooster who didn't have enough common bird sense to stick his head under his wing this winter and as a result, lost half of his beautiful comb on the left and one of the Welsummer, Buff O cockerels from my February hatch named Dos on the right.


At first I thought Dusti was a Lavender O/Buff O cross but here she is at 6 weeks and now I'm thinking she is LO over a Welsummer hen. I had only seen Larry cover a Welsummer hen in the past so now I'm thinking that this chick is a product of that union mainly because of the heavy lacing on her breast.


She is just 6 weeks old in these pics. What do you all think?

I think she is gorgeous. I call her my oversized baby Robin.

Next to Blue variety breeds of roos/hens, I think Lavender is becoming a 2nd favorite as I see all the beautiful Lavender breeds getting popular lately.
Dusti looks almost hawk-like in appearance. With the bluish tint to her feet in the photo I first thought she was an Easter Egger.

 

[caychris]

Okay guys, I need your opinion. For a year I have been hoping to see a chick sired by my Lavender Orpington Rooster. Here he is in the middle with Bo, my junior Welsummer rooster who didn't have enough common bird sense to stick his head under his wing this winter and as a result, lost half of his beautiful comb on the left and one of the Welsummer, Buff O cockerels from my February hatch named Dos on the right.


At first I thought Dusti was a Lavender O/Buff O cross but here she is at 6 weeks and now I'm thinking she is LO over a Welsummer hen. I had only seen Larry cover a Welsummer hen in the past so now I'm thinking that this chick is a product of that union mainly because of the heavy lacing on her breast.


She is just 6 weeks old in these pics. What do you all think?

I think she is gorgeous. I call her my oversized baby Robin.

I wonder if the lacing is a latent Orp trait. I have crossed my Buff Orp girls with a Pita Pinta (mottled breed) and Im getting some very interesting color and lacing patterns on these birds.

 

[MesMama]

Yesterday evening, I was in the front room watching cartoons with my grandson. Suddenly my wife runs through the kitchen and out of the house onto the back deck and starts yelling for everyone to come outside.

I ran outside through the open sliding glass door, while my 2 1/2 year old grandson used our dog door. (He truly believes that it is his door).

In the backyard, a Copper's Hawk had one of my Welsummer pullets by the rump and was flying across the yard with it. Except for my wife...everything was quiet...even the chicken in the talons of the hawk was quiet. My son grabbed the chicken and I made a grab for the hawk.

Welsummers must have loose spongy feathers, I could not find any puncture wounds in the pullet at all. The hawk flew up into the Black Walnut Tree and surveyed all the commotion before flying off.

Wow...that was close. I can only figure that the hawk has been picking off the Eurasion Doves that come into the chicken feed, and today decided to take a chicken.

Sorry no photos....wasn't enough time.

Wow :O Scary for sure!! Glad she's okay!

 

[MesMama]

Question for y'all

Welsummer roosters vs. Buff Orpington roosters, how do they rate size wise? Which tends to be bigger? Maybe I should start a new thread to ask? If so, let me know

 

[SeattleSelkie]

Question for y'all

Welsummer roosters vs. Buff Orpington roosters, how do they rate size wise? Which tends to be bigger? Maybe I should start a new thread to ask? If so, let me know

An Orpington is going to be much larger than a Welsummer. A hatchery buff orpington is normally around 8-9 lbs, I believe. Standard bred can be larger. Welsummers are 7 lbs mature.

 

[MesMama]

An Orpington is going to be much larger than a Welsummer. A hatchery buff orpington is normally around 8-9 lbs, I believe. Standard bred can be larger. Welsummers are 7 lbs mature.

Excellent! Thank you

 

[microchick]

I wonder if the lacing is a latent Orp trait. I have crossed my Buff Orp girls with a Pita Pinta (mottled breed) and Im getting some very interesting color and lacing patterns on these birds.

Well, that's what I wondered also. Her body is very round, like a Buff O pullet. If that is what is happening I wonder where the lacing figures in with the Lavender O background. I would love to see pictures of your crosses.

 

[caychris]

Well, that's what I wondered also. Her body is very round, like a Buff O pullet. If that is what is happening I wonder where the lacing figures in with the Lavender O background. I would love to see pictures of your crosses.

Here she is early on and the latest hatched one looks almost identical

Here is a pic of the father though Pita Pinta is a mottled bird and I have BO girls


Coudnt ask for 2 sweeter breeds though.