The Welsummer Thread!!!!

[NCSprout]

Quote:
Well said

x2

 

[EweSheep]

Quote:
I'm like you, I want to know all the faults on my chickens so I know what to watch for. If everyone is afraid of hurting my feelings and won't point out the negatives I won't learn, and I want to learn!! I ask questions and post pictures to get an honest answer. I'm prepared and want negative comments or I wouldn't ask.


Edited to add:

I will say its easier with this group than with some of the others. The Welsummer group here provides the feedback in a helpful manner and not as a personal attack. The group truly wants to improve the breed for all of us rather than seeing it as a competition as to who has the best birds.

Yes I have to agree with Opa, that the roo is a bit "narrow" not as wide chested as I like them to be. You don't want your roos look beefy or "Arnold S." built LOL! Almost like brick body but not so close like the RIR which the Wellies are a bit "upright" in stature.

I dont personally like 'beefy' type combs, those ones that have triangler shape points than "narrower triangler shape like fingers" If you can do some comparison, like Meditterrean type combs, those are not the ones you are the ones you really dont want. It is very distracting, IMO. The points are the tips of the comb like your fingers. Some have five to six points but five points are better. Four points are too few.

Take a look at the rooster section:
http://wcna.webs.com/cockeralsroosters.htm

Photo of Jesse: Beautiful rooster all around except for his comb, which has four points and a bit on the beefy side. His wattles are a bit large but with the RIGHT nick of pullets and hens of smaller combs and wattles, the offsprings would be goreous.

LauraLou's roo, either he is going thru a molt but he is more "brick shaped", not like Jesse's body.

L&S roo: Nice color, a bit of a Leghorn type....personally do not like his comb, look at the three skinny fingers or "fingerlings".....ugh!

Steve's rooster, now, I personally like his comb but his wattles are a bit long. His backline has a bit of an U, it might be due to his feathers and his body is a bit "light".

HappyChooks' roo, I love his body type. HIs wattles are very good and his comb could use another point but it is not beefy in stature. Got good size in him!

Len's roo, ACK! The comb, ugh! Now that is beefy and too "triangler" in the points but he does have good body and wattles. I see white fluff on his tail head so that would be a no no (something we all have work on!)

Rusty, he is a beefy in his comb and wattles but his beauty, color and size is very lovely and eye catching.

The last two pictures were self explained.

You can always work with what you got IF you know what you are aiming for. We do not want to get too beefy with combs and wattles that someone could mistaken them for Brown Leghorns or future generation would be having that flopped over combs or "weak, or tilted" combs on the male lines.

I am not sure if the pullets have a factor in it in bringing her sons some her traits.

 

[Happy Chooks]

Ewe......thank you so much for critiquing each rooster, it helps to visually see the good and the not so good.

 

[EweSheep]

Thank you but it is MY opinion as I judge chickens what I can see in the interpretations of the breed themselves. What one other person may NOT have the same viewpoint as mine but trying to "different" the Welsummers from the Brown Leghorns or some crossbred that appears to be Welsummers.

Sometimes with breeder birds, we have to work on what we want in our Welsummers like Nate and I really like smaller combs and wattles on the roosters due to different-ize the breed and weather factor that Opa's roo had to suffer badly. Poor guy but he got a good roo with beautiful egg colors that I adore. And keeping the line pure if he is able to do so. Harry Shaw had it good going there which my hen came from him.

I wished there are better examples of a show Welsummers but there isn't really a good one because there were too many variations which not all judges know what to look for in a Welsummer, honestly. The PURE lines, having NO outsource of new blood are usually consisent in type, color and size and egg colors. If your flock produced consisency, you do not need to add new blood. If there are too many variations ie. Leghorn to brick shaped offsprings, you would need to cull hard and keep aiming for that consisency. Weed out faults such like feather stubs totally or find the chicken that is responsible for any major inherited faults out of the breeding program.

I am sure pullets and hens have a factor in it too and I've been seeing some weird points on some hens that MIGHT be the factor in some part in the roo's comb make up. I have to talk to more breeders about it. If we are lax about the pullets and hens for some faults, all we are doing is repeating the flaw again in the next generation. Egg production is important too but not so much of Leghorns which most of them would meet their early demise by laying "burn-outs". We want our Welsummers to live a bit longer than production/hatchery stock and the vigour as well. Any bird that has not survived their first year in life would not go on, only the strongest will carry on the better genes to the next generation.

I, too, am still learning and won't stop learning!

 

[Orchid]

Can I join in here? I am a total Welsummer newbie. EweSheep gave me great advice via PM earlier this spring, to get some chicks from Nate, but I waited too long and they were all gone.

So I had to settle for a couple of Welp hatchery chicks from the local feed store. They only had straight run and I only got two, but as of right now I *think* they are both pullets at 7ish weeks old.

I am really hoping so as I would love to have some darker eggs in my egg basket!

My two are the least friendly out of the seven chicks I have right now - not aggressive at all, just don't want to be handled.

I'll be reading along and trying to learn what I can!

 

[Opa]

A rooster picture, possibly the current one, pre frost dubbed

Has anyone else noticed that the wattles tend to lengthen with age?

 

[EweSheep]

Opa, sometimes they do lose their elasticity of the wattles but if you get one that is overly pendulous, it's a no go on that one.

I like your roo's profile!!!!! May I use him on the WCNA website? That is just as good it can be expected from a roo! Goreous color! I can not believe he would age that fast in a few years. Maybe the girls ARE giving him a real work out!

Pleasant attitude, red eyes (not yellow), horn colored strong and short beak, no cross beak or abnormal structure of beak, no white earlobes, with balance and not coarse in features. THAT's my judgement, IMO!

 

[Happy Chooks]

Yes, I have noticed they have more of a saggy appearance than when they are young. Isn't that the same as with people?

Orchid.......Of course you can join! I have heard that hatchery welsummers do tend to be more flighty, but I can't say for sure, as I don't have any hatchery wellies.


I'm anxiously waiting for this pullet to start laying as she was a test mating. She hatched 1/1/11 and she is turning red in the comb/face. I know I still have a ways of a wait, but I can't help being excited. Please let her egg color be good.

 

[EweSheep]

Happy Chooks, she is dark colored or is it the camera flash? she is pretty as they can be!

I find alot of folks are saying hatchery Welsummers are a bit more flighty as well.

 

[Happy Chooks]

She is dark, not the flash. Her coloring is even more stunning in person. Her chest is a really rich salmon color. If her egg color is good, she'll be moving to the breeding pen with Kim's 2 pullets I hatched.