The Welsummer Thread!!!!

[coturnix2044]

I have a quick newb question.. I've heard there is also a duckwing pattern besides the partridge color... is this true? If so, does anybody have any?
Tyler

 

[SFIcelandics]

Quote:
It's a little easier to come across Welsummers here on the West Coast then it is Barnevelders and Heritage Delawares, IMO. They are pretty rare and their numbers are increasing

, but, I wouldn't say they are "extremely" rare, as the seller stated. $25.00 a bird is

pretty blippin' steep in my opinion, (sorry if to the seller if the seller is reading here with us, no offense meant in any way). WoW! I've never EVER sold a Welsummer for more than $20.00...EVER and that includes POL pullets, hens, eggs and chicks. For crying out loud.....for the first time EVER since having chickens.....just 2 short days ago, finally sold 1 bird and that was a Black Copper Marans hen 1.5 years.....AND she is currently laying and she was a cull, for $25.00.

Hugs to you and your family! She is a very loved girl and will be missed but you have done right by her thus far, know that my friend.

Depending on the quality of the pullets, $25 is not bad. I sell culls for $15 if they lay a lighter egg. $20.00 if the hens feather coloring is off, but lays a dark egg. If the hen has the correct color, and dark eggs - Anywhere from $25 and up to $50 per hen.

I only sell culls to backyard city people who use them for eggs. No roosters will be sold with any culls unless they are going for meat.

Nate

 

[pinkchick]

Nate~ That is great that you can get that for your birds and I understand exactly what you are saying. But we live in 2 totally different areas. Same as the seller that HH was talking about, we too live in different areas. I guess I should have rephrased my terminology and said that the price of $25.00 per bird normally wouldn't fly very well here in my area, but lol....folks will pay $4.00 a dozen for eating eggs from me.

(eating egg costs here are driven by feed prices....which are astronomical right now)
Here where I live, not all folks look at chickens like we do and in the town proper (and I have lived here all my life) no one has backyard chickens, it would be unheard of here to have a backyard chicken, even though the city does not have an ordinance on it, crazy huh? The city only states that all animals and birds within the city limits have proper housing and that dogs have tags and are current on shots......I would so jump on that if I still lived inside the city limits.

I could just see me now, running around and populating the neighborhoods with chickens galore. That would be a blast, and I have thought about it, even went in for a visit with our city manager, who didn't know that there was even such a thing as a backyard chicken "all chickens live on farms, they can't be raised in the city" he said. I laughed for probably 5 minutes before I told him that in Portland the city is making money off of backyard chicken licenses.....then I laughed some more. The mentality of the town in which I reside can only be explained like this in an open public forum......if you are slightly different or dare to be.....the effects are huge and often very hard for some. Sad to say, but very true. It has slowly started to change, but it is very slow going at best. When folks find out that I am a chicken breeder and that it is my hobby.......you wouldn't believe the looks on their faces. One man actually said to me........."You mean to tell me that you clean up after chickens because you love them?!?!" Since he was a dog owner, my response was this......."You mean to tell me that you clean up after your dog because you love him?" This is the what it is like to deal with alot of folks here in my town. I can a bit onery from time to time, so on occassions such as this, I will go a little further with chickenology for them and explain exactly where the eggs that they eat come from.....and I ain't talking about the town they came from either...

...yep, yep.....I tell them exactly where it comes from. The facial expressions are priceless. I find it amusing how many don't know where exactly on a chicken the egg does come from. (Sorry, just a little early morning humor.

)
Now... approx. 1 hour south in Southwest Washington and Portland Oregon, backyard chickens are a huge hit and lots of folks have them and I sell quite a few birds to folks that are willing to drive out to me to get one, and sell the majority of birds and hatching eggs to folks from those areas.
But on the other hand, I'm also a person believes that these "rarer" breed birds ("rarer" breed birds to me are not limited to Welsummers alone) should not be any more expensive then any other birds.....and perhaps out of reach for some, but that is just me. Don't get me wrong I have no problem with it, was just saying IMO that I thought it was a little steep.

 

[EweSheep]

Quote:
There ARE no Silver or Gold Duckwings in the United States except for bantams, only two breeders on opposite ends of the coast has them. As for large fowl, someone would have to import them in here. The Gold Duckwings (GDW) are not accepted in the UK standards yet.

 

[EweSheep]

Quote:
I guess it depends on the area you live in too....that is reasonable to me. If one wants his birds enough, they can pay his prices. If it was mine, I sell mine anywhere from $15 to 20 for a good pullet and $10 for a hen that is culled and the roos are free.

 

[pinkchick]

Congratulations Happy! But surely you know the rules..........where are the pictures?????????????

 

[SFIcelandics]

Quote:
I guess it depends on the area you live in too....that is reasonable to me. If one wants his birds enough, they can pay his prices. If it was mine, I sell mine anywhere from $15 to 20 for a good pullet and $10 for a hen that is culled and the roos are free.

Not bad. I havent ever had any TOP QUALITY welsummer pullets to sell, as I have kept them all for myself, but sold some that are not breeding quality($15 - $20.00). Up where I am by Minneapolis/St. Paul there is a HUGE Hmong community, and in the fall they need red roosters for ritual things, such as the Hmong New Year in November. So I cash in on that, and sell CULL roosters for $7.50 - $50.00 each. Younger are $7.50 each. 10 for $65.00. Anything bigger priced to quality and the closer to the New Year for them the higher the price. THEY NEVER WANT TO BUY CHICKS, so once the hard work us done, is when they want them. Roosters that are crowing are $50.00 each.

Also, some of the Hmongs will come and say $3 or $4 each. And I usually ask them if they would raise a chicked for 4-6 months and sell it to me for that little. Usually if I do not get $7.50 per chicken(unless they take 10 of the younger ones), I will eat them myself.

Nate

 

[EweSheep]

YOu are so lucky to have those people to take roos and culls off your hands. I can not find a better place for them than running the risk of polluting inferior birds.

 

[Buckguy20]

Hello, I am a long time BYCer but I am new to this thread. I have been raising Welsummes for a few years and they are one of my favorite breeds.
I have a question and I am sure it has probably been discussed here but I haven't fouund anything yet.
What is the standard leg color? I have some with yellow legs and some with white legs. They look the same in every other way.
If someone can discuss this or direct me to wnere there has already been discussion about this, I would greatly appreciate it.
Monty

 

[pinkchick]

Yes you are lucky to have folks that will take them, around here I have only found communities that fancy blue legged birds for certain reasons pertaining to their cultures and beliefs. I usually don't get rid of roosters though, but have from time to time, as rule the boys go in the freezer if they are not of breeding quality.