The Welsummer Thread!!!!

[eggdd]

is this proper coloring for a welsummer pullet? not the legs, but the feathers. i see some with lighter necks and some with darker. which one is correct?

Now THOSE are some nice yellow legs!

The girls are loooking like "birds of prey" these days more than chickens.

 

[Happy Chooks]

They are young yet, but they look good so far.

 

[Mudsow]

Yes, they do have some nice yellow legs ;-) These are bantams, so not sure if that makes a difference in their coloring. I got these at mypetchicken. They are looking much nicer than I thought they would. One had more lacing on the wings at first, but those feathers have fallen out and been replaced with a nice rich color. I'm happy with them. We'll see what their eggs look like in a few months.

Mudsow

 

[soldier]

I have several Welsummers that I purchased last summer. I would like you to evaluate/judge my Welsummer stock. I purchased them from three sources last summer. I purchased two chicks from Orshelins which I just found out is supplied by Estes Hatchery. The second source was from a gal selling chicks at the poultry swab. I am not sure what the line is but she said she purchased them from a breeder in MO. The third source again was the poultry swap but as I walked away I saw he had purchased his stock from hatchery stock. He had boxes a hatchery name on it so I assume they are hatchery stock.
At first my Welsummers started to lay and the eggs did not seem so great but now they have really darkened and I am so pleased with them. Some are as dark as Marans eggs. The younger hatchery pullet stock has not started laying yet. I do not like these hens as well. They are smaller and do not have much substance or size to them. Also the wing coloring is in my opinion not good but I am not sure so I hope you guys can evaluate these younger birds. They are also more timid then the two hens I got from Orchelins or the stock that came from a breeder in MO. I will post my two roosters first. They are from the stock that came from a breeder in MO. I like these roosters. They have good size and excellent substance. Nice bone and really wide between the chest. Not sure if these are good qualities or not. One is light and one is dark. That is my other question. What color is the ideal coloring for a Welsummer rooster. The lighter rooster is called Kellogg and the darker on is Cornelius. These roosters are about 8 months old.

 

[eggdd]

first, let me say i like your welsummer. i like the breed. it's one of my top favorites (along with araucanas).

now, things i notice (in the context of the apa standard): it appears the leg color is too light (but that could be due to the picture). should be yellow. it also appears his comb has six points (?) - - should be five. finally, his tail should be carried high at a 60 degree angle from the horizontal.

color: i am not sure. i'm confused on the apa correct coloring. i see welsummers with differences that, well, again, confuse me. maybe someone has something to offer on that front.

all of that said, he's awesome (imo). did you breed him? i really like the first picture.

 

[soldier]

Thank you for your reply. The photos are actually of two different roosters.
The first rooster is the lighter one Kellogg and the second photo, darker one, is of my other rooster Cornelius.
Cornelius, the dark one, does have 5 spikes on his comb but Kellogg has more then 5. They both have yellow legs, the photo is bleaching the coloring out, although they are not bright yellow.
I will probably raise some chicks in the future if I have good enough stock that produces a good sized egg that real dark.
I did order some more Welsummers for this spring. They are coming from Whitmore Farms. I ordered 30 Welsummers but I figure 1/2 will be roosters.
Attached is another photo of Cornelius, the darker rooster. It shows his comb. It has 5 spikes and I thought his comb was correct. What do you think. I never thought about the two roosters having to low of a tail set. Interesting.

 

[eggdd]

photos are tricky mainly due to lighting. like in this picture, he looks even darker than the one posted above. but, again, i'm welsummer color confused.

how old are they?

here's a link to the standard which is posted on the welsummer club of north america's site:

http://wcna.webs.com/apastandard.htm

 

[soldier]

They are 8 months old. Just young yet, I do not think they are fully mature as yet. Their longer tail feathers are still growing in

 

[Happy Chooks]

The first one his hackles/saddle feathers are too light. Hard to tell body type with the way he's standing.

The 2nd one is nice, but should have some red leakage in his chest/thighs. My rooster is darker than most but he still has some red leakage in his thigh area. (not much in his chest) But I don't see any in your rooster, but that could be the photo. SOP states no more than 20% red leakage, but it doesn't say anything about too little.

He's young yet so he will fill in more - you want more of a blocky chest. Yellow legs are always something to work on with welsummers. Even hens with yellow legs turn white when they start laying. Yellow is recessive, so it can be easily lost when breeding.

His comb looks fine now, but if when he matures it gets too leghorn looking, then you'd want to breed that out. (pictures of this are on the WCNA website) They shouldn't have the large leghorn type comb.

 

[Tailfeathers]

Please know that I am not criticizing your birds but rather critiquing your birds because you requested such. Both are nice looking birds.

That being said, I would work on getting better leg color, there appears to be an absence of mottling in the chest and there should be some, there is also some fluff visibility at the base of the tail and I would work to eradicate that. Beak color on the second male is better. Eye color appears to be very good. Thus far I like the combs and wattles. Tail carriage appears to be good in both. Overall Type appears to be ok but pictures are hard to judge that by. If I had to pick one for Type over the other, I'd go with the second from the pics.

I prefer the darker coloration in the hackles and saddles but both are within the Standard and probably much more a matter of personal preference - both by you and the particular judge. I would tend to believe the darker hackles on the male will lend itself to darker hackles in the females which is what I'm after.

One thing I will point out is that there may be a hint of white in the sickles of the second male. Keep an eye on that. If any white develops, cull it.

That's all I can see from a quick glance. Having said that, I'd keep them both if you plan on breeding. Getting to where you want them to be is a long road and a methodical process. Lose your only remaining male and it can set you back big time. Besides that, they're both still young and more changes are to come.

God Bless,