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- #6,161
Peaches Lee~
Pretty girls you have there!
Pretty girls you have there!
The Welsummer Thread!!!!
- Thread starter pinkchick
- Start date
Quote:
Yes I did notice it and salmon coloring does not always comes in. If you really want to go for the SOP, then that type of hen would be going to the EE flock or egg laying flock. Certain lines and/or hatchery stock seems to have that heavy black penciling. SOP is not very specific on how MUCH black penciling it should have. If you look at the pullet section of the WCNA, it would define the pencilings and feather patterns on them.
Head: Golden brown.
Neck: Hackle, golden brown or copper, the lower feathers with black stripings, and golden shaft.
Everyone's Welsummers are beautiful!
Yes I did notice it and salmon coloring does not always comes in. If you really want to go for the SOP, then that type of hen would be going to the EE flock or egg laying flock. Certain lines and/or hatchery stock seems to have that heavy black penciling. SOP is not very specific on how MUCH black penciling it should have. If you look at the pullet section of the WCNA, it would define the pencilings and feather patterns on them.
Head: Golden brown.
Neck: Hackle, golden brown or copper, the lower feathers with black stripings, and golden shaft.
Everyone's Welsummers are beautiful!
Quote:
Wendy, I would be interested in knowing where you got your Wellies from. It is possible, I suppose, to get a mean rooster from anywhere but I have not heard of any breeders who desire such a trait. I certainly do not and I can tell you that my males are sweethearts. One reason may be because I know where my line originated (I got them from the originator) AND, just as importantly, I do not tolerate any aggression in any of my breeds. I honestly do not recall the last time I had to put a Wellie cock down because of aggression.
If he's being mean toward you now, it won't get better. I'm convinced it's genetic. You can try to fix it if you want but my advice is... you can either wait until he actually hurts you or someone good to put him in the crockpot or you can eat him now before he does. I had ONE rooster in the past - a Barred Rock - that was not just aggressive but flat out right mean. He would wait until my back was turned or I was bend over and then WHAM! I'm not sure but your rooster may have an even sweeter taste after he's punched a good hole in your leg. That one of mine did but I wouldn't wait that long again.
God Bless,
Wendy, I would be interested in knowing where you got your Wellies from. It is possible, I suppose, to get a mean rooster from anywhere but I have not heard of any breeders who desire such a trait. I certainly do not and I can tell you that my males are sweethearts. One reason may be because I know where my line originated (I got them from the originator) AND, just as importantly, I do not tolerate any aggression in any of my breeds. I honestly do not recall the last time I had to put a Wellie cock down because of aggression.
If he's being mean toward you now, it won't get better. I'm convinced it's genetic. You can try to fix it if you want but my advice is... you can either wait until he actually hurts you or someone good to put him in the crockpot or you can eat him now before he does. I had ONE rooster in the past - a Barred Rock - that was not just aggressive but flat out right mean. He would wait until my back was turned or I was bend over and then WHAM! I'm not sure but your rooster may have an even sweeter taste after he's punched a good hole in your leg. That one of mine did but I wouldn't wait that long again.
God Bless,
Quote:
the hen in question is the believed result of an over zealous barnvelder rooster that jumped a fence and got to one of the breeders wellies. she does lay beautiful dark med to small eggs, so i am keeping her. she is dark all the way around and has some of the barnie lacing, beautiful in her own right, however i have no intention of using her to breed.
the hen in question is the believed result of an over zealous barnvelder rooster that jumped a fence and got to one of the breeders wellies. she does lay beautiful dark med to small eggs, so i am keeping her. she is dark all the way around and has some of the barnie lacing, beautiful in her own right, however i have no intention of using her to breed.
Kim, were you at the show this weekend?
There was a good number of Welsummers at the show this time. I was pleased to see that. Now before I go on, I'd like to say that if the person who had the Welummer pullet at the far right is on this thread, please know this is meant as no offense and that I would have really liked to have talked with you in person but wasn't able to locate you.
Having said that, the bird in mention I have to think was a hatchery bird. Without going into anymore details, let me just say that if anyone ever had any question about the difference between a hatchery bird and a good breeder bird... well, you know what they say - a picture is worth a thousand words. It was like night and day and a great testimony as to the difference between a breeder bird and a hatchery bird. I would've liked to have taken a picture of the bird along with others there as a visual aid but I didn't wish to offend. And if the person who had that bird is on this thread, please let me know as I would be happy to help you get started with some nice Wellies of your own. We all have to start somewhere and I am just glad to see you have an interest in this great breed. Please take no offense and please do contact me if you would like some of my Wellies.
Just for everyone's information, Erhard Weihs took Best of Breed (BB) and Champion Continental with a very nice Wellie pullet. Erhard and I went down the row and made our grades prior to the judge. We were not only in total agreement but we came pretty close to the judges actual grading. The only difference is that the bird we had as #1, the judge put #2 and the bird we had as #2, the judge put as #1. When I talked with the judge afterwards, in a nutshell she basically said that the bird she chose as #1 over the other was because there was "just a bit more too her". After quite a bit more discussion I was able to determine that the bird she picked was a little heavier and had a bit more body to her. Something Erhard and I hadn't considered because we didn't pick the birds up. I still think the bird we chose as #1 had a bit better overall type and definitely carried her tail better the majority of the time.
I don't recall now just how many birds total there was in the Continental Class but there was a bunch. I took 1st amongst the Barnevelder males and BB overall but there was only like a half dozen Barnies total. I think there was some Polish and other breeds but I just don't recall now. At any rate, there were quite a few in the class.
Back to the Welsummers, the females seemed to have been in better overall shape than the males at this show. One male I noticed had a dual-colored hackle, another had little to no mottling, one was DQ'd for leg-color, one had quite a bit of fluff at the tail, and the wattles on another were larger than what I would want on mine but that isn't saying anything as I believe it was still acceptable by the SOP. Both Erhard and my cockerels were just too small to be in the running although both should do well in March if they continue to develop without any unforeseen problems.
For what it's worth, I did have one nice, large male that I would've liked to have taken but somebody bit his middle point out on his comb several months ago.
If I had to make one comment from my critique of the Welsummers I saw at the show, it would be that we all MUST work on leg color. This is my #1 focus right now with my Wellies. And, just so you know, I say this with the utmost humility but even though I would say my birds had the best leg color of all the Wellies there, they were nothing more than slightly yellow. Erhard's Champion Pullet was a real dandy and a very fine looking bird and I would not take anything away from it but even though it made Champion Continental it still did not have the yellow legs that I would like to see on a Wellie female.
One last thing regarding leg color, I know that diet has an affect on leg color but I am absolutely convinced that genetics play a much greater role that what folks are allowing it to. I say this because of what I've seen in some Welsummers of my own and because of what I've seen in some Barnies and Buckeyes. I have one Buckeye female, for example, that has legs which are almost orange. And that is no exagerration. She gets the same exact feed as everyone else so it must be genetics. I read some time in the recent past the the yellow leg color is a recessive gene. That means it is even more important that both the male and the female are contributing the gene to their offspring. I have NO idea what kind of alleles or modifiers - or even how many - there may be that also have an affect. That is why I am just going to focus on only breeding the male and females with the deepest ochre color I get.
God Bless,
There was a good number of Welsummers at the show this time. I was pleased to see that. Now before I go on, I'd like to say that if the person who had the Welummer pullet at the far right is on this thread, please know this is meant as no offense and that I would have really liked to have talked with you in person but wasn't able to locate you.
Having said that, the bird in mention I have to think was a hatchery bird. Without going into anymore details, let me just say that if anyone ever had any question about the difference between a hatchery bird and a good breeder bird... well, you know what they say - a picture is worth a thousand words. It was like night and day and a great testimony as to the difference between a breeder bird and a hatchery bird. I would've liked to have taken a picture of the bird along with others there as a visual aid but I didn't wish to offend. And if the person who had that bird is on this thread, please let me know as I would be happy to help you get started with some nice Wellies of your own. We all have to start somewhere and I am just glad to see you have an interest in this great breed. Please take no offense and please do contact me if you would like some of my Wellies.
Just for everyone's information, Erhard Weihs took Best of Breed (BB) and Champion Continental with a very nice Wellie pullet. Erhard and I went down the row and made our grades prior to the judge. We were not only in total agreement but we came pretty close to the judges actual grading. The only difference is that the bird we had as #1, the judge put #2 and the bird we had as #2, the judge put as #1. When I talked with the judge afterwards, in a nutshell she basically said that the bird she chose as #1 over the other was because there was "just a bit more too her". After quite a bit more discussion I was able to determine that the bird she picked was a little heavier and had a bit more body to her. Something Erhard and I hadn't considered because we didn't pick the birds up. I still think the bird we chose as #1 had a bit better overall type and definitely carried her tail better the majority of the time.
I don't recall now just how many birds total there was in the Continental Class but there was a bunch. I took 1st amongst the Barnevelder males and BB overall but there was only like a half dozen Barnies total. I think there was some Polish and other breeds but I just don't recall now. At any rate, there were quite a few in the class.
Back to the Welsummers, the females seemed to have been in better overall shape than the males at this show. One male I noticed had a dual-colored hackle, another had little to no mottling, one was DQ'd for leg-color, one had quite a bit of fluff at the tail, and the wattles on another were larger than what I would want on mine but that isn't saying anything as I believe it was still acceptable by the SOP. Both Erhard and my cockerels were just too small to be in the running although both should do well in March if they continue to develop without any unforeseen problems.
For what it's worth, I did have one nice, large male that I would've liked to have taken but somebody bit his middle point out on his comb several months ago.
If I had to make one comment from my critique of the Welsummers I saw at the show, it would be that we all MUST work on leg color. This is my #1 focus right now with my Wellies. And, just so you know, I say this with the utmost humility but even though I would say my birds had the best leg color of all the Wellies there, they were nothing more than slightly yellow. Erhard's Champion Pullet was a real dandy and a very fine looking bird and I would not take anything away from it but even though it made Champion Continental it still did not have the yellow legs that I would like to see on a Wellie female.
One last thing regarding leg color, I know that diet has an affect on leg color but I am absolutely convinced that genetics play a much greater role that what folks are allowing it to. I say this because of what I've seen in some Welsummers of my own and because of what I've seen in some Barnies and Buckeyes. I have one Buckeye female, for example, that has legs which are almost orange. And that is no exagerration. She gets the same exact feed as everyone else so it must be genetics. I read some time in the recent past the the yellow leg color is a recessive gene. That means it is even more important that both the male and the female are contributing the gene to their offspring. I have NO idea what kind of alleles or modifiers - or even how many - there may be that also have an affect. That is why I am just going to focus on only breeding the male and females with the deepest ochre color I get.
God Bless,
- Thread starter
- #6,166
Hi Royce!
No. I was not at the show this weekend (never been to one either except my county fair and just walked through the barn and looked at the pretty birds) and neither were any birds that came from me, that I know of....Welsummers or Barnevelder.
No. I was not at the show this weekend (never been to one either except my county fair and just walked through the barn and looked at the pretty birds) and neither were any birds that came from me, that I know of....Welsummers or Barnevelder.
Last edited:
Oh Kim, I hope you KNOW that I never thought for a second that the birds I was mentioning could've been yours. I KNOW you know both breeds well.
God Bless,
God Bless,
- Thread starter
- #6,168
Quote:
Nope... knew full well you didnt' think they were my birds....was just puttin' it out there for all.
Nope... knew full well you didnt' think they were my birds....was just puttin' it out there for all.
Royce (and Erhard) please do accept my heartiest congratulations on the winnings and placings on your Welsummers. I wished you had taken photographs of the specimens and show it off on the WCNA! We certainly NEED show pictures, something we can all strive and aim for.
Yes the leg colors are being worked on. Its hard to maintain it when the pullet is in laying stage. I have found that Nate's birds all have yellow, I mean YELLOW, leaning more to orange colors...say yellow orange color? and I hope his lines do keep on keeping that color. However my Calicowoods hen, she had yellow legs but bleached out when she started laying and has not really gone back to the original color she had, more in a paler yellow instead of white yellow I've seen in some Welsummers. She is now 6 years old and a grand lady! She is really showing her age and I hope I can get some daughters out of her but if I should lose her, well, let's say I've enjoyed her and appreciated her more in the time I've had her.
I wished someone could have taken some pictures of the Welsummers at the Crossroads in Indiana, that would be something to see! I don't know who won or what has happened or anyone giving me names, location and what winnings they had on their birds.
Yes the leg colors are being worked on. Its hard to maintain it when the pullet is in laying stage. I have found that Nate's birds all have yellow, I mean YELLOW, leaning more to orange colors...say yellow orange color? and I hope his lines do keep on keeping that color. However my Calicowoods hen, she had yellow legs but bleached out when she started laying and has not really gone back to the original color she had, more in a paler yellow instead of white yellow I've seen in some Welsummers. She is now 6 years old and a grand lady! She is really showing her age and I hope I can get some daughters out of her but if I should lose her, well, let's say I've enjoyed her and appreciated her more in the time I've had her.
I wished someone could have taken some pictures of the Welsummers at the Crossroads in Indiana, that would be something to see! I don't know who won or what has happened or anyone giving me names, location and what winnings they had on their birds.
I have 3 that the legs are sooooo yellow on when they were chicks. I haven't looked at them closely lately, but I was shocked at how they stood out. The breeder is a guy from NE KS who said he got them from the local feed store that buys chicks from the Amish. So far to my (very) untrained eye they are looking pretty good. But remember the VERY untrained eye.
In the Spring I will take some pics, they are all still pretty young (7 mos.)
I have 1 pullet from Nate's line via Diane and she is looking good too.
I had a roo that was mean. I need to add here, that I had been selling a lot of young pullets when he started chasing and trying to flog. The only time he would act that way was if his girls were throwing a ruckus. I probably would have still kept him, except he went after my 3 yr old when one of the girls started throwing a fit. So I found him a nice home in the country with lots of girls to protect and no small children. He was special to me, the last roo from my Wellies that were killed by dogs.
You know, if I had to choose just one breed, I truly believe that it would be the Welsummers. They are just so regal.
I have 1 pullet from Nate's line via Diane and she is looking good too.
I had a roo that was mean. I need to add here, that I had been selling a lot of young pullets when he started chasing and trying to flog. The only time he would act that way was if his girls were throwing a ruckus. I probably would have still kept him, except he went after my 3 yr old when one of the girls started throwing a fit. So I found him a nice home in the country with lots of girls to protect and no small children. He was special to me, the last roo from my Wellies that were killed by dogs.
You know, if I had to choose just one breed, I truly believe that it would be the Welsummers. They are just so regal.
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