The Welsummer Thread!!!!

[ruth]

Very gorgeous birds I would take that rooster you don't want with the funky comb .........how handsome he is even with an imperfect comb.........I don't show and as far as SOP I'm not really fussy, my chickens will do what they will I will always keep the best ones but as far as doing the whole line breeding thing and culling so many I just can't do it I love my chickens tooooo much.
They are gorgeous tho...Kim

Thanks Kim. I wouldn't say I "cull" much because the females all tend to look identical so most all of them go back into the pens but the roos vary in comb-appeal (I just made up that word) and how much red is scattered on their body and I only use one roo at a time so I pick my best and the one closest to SOP and the rest run free on the farm.

 

[tazcat70]

What does PP stand for? Is it online and it this something anyone can read or is it a members only type of information?

Poultry Press.

 

[Tailfeathers]

What does PP stand for? Is it online and it this something anyone can read or is it a members only type of information?

Sorry, I thought I mentioned that in a previous post. "PP" is short for "Poultry Press". Check it out! It's well worth it.

And to the rest of y'all, my apologies. I didn't realize that my comments didn't apply to 99.9% of you.

God Bless,

 

[Tailfeathers]

Hi Everyone - I've been gone from BYC for a long time - most of this past year - because I've been so busy on my farm and taming and training the 16 wild Appaloosa horses I bought in May - what an "adventure". In any event, I'm back and trying to focus on my various breeds of chickens. I have Welsummers but really have no idea how they rate/compare to SOP so I thought I'd post a few pics and see what you experts have to say. I can honestly say I have not followed this thread and when I tried to catch up, I got a tad overwhelmed. I'm still barely figuring out the SOP for the Black Copper Marans and I've been working on that for four years. I started out with stock from Whitmore Farms and then after reading the SOP and based on my own interpretation/visualization of same and what I personally like in my stock - I've been breeding the "best of the best" with consistent results. I think from the recent conversation there are those that say this is the "wrong" way to do it but so far it has worked for me.Feel free to let me know what I need to work on in my Bethel Line of Welsummers.

Ruth, email me and I'll get back with you on some specifics when I have more time. It's almost 2200 and I still ain't made my rounds yet or ate supper! Overall, I see some nice birds but I do see some things I'd focus on.

God Bless,

 

[Tailfeathers]

I am planning on getting a few Welsummers...was on the Meyer Hatchery site...having problems registering..any of you know what they cost to ship? thanks. love the pics of the birds..

Hi, my advice is to stay away from hatcheries. You can find more info by doing a search on here about hatcheries vs. breeders and other stuff I've written on what I've seen in hatchery Welsummers. Don't have more time now so suffice it for now to say that if you had seen the Welsummers at the last show, there was one that was obviously a hatchery bird and NOBODY could mistake the difference.

God Bless,

 

[McSpin]

McSpin, it makes a whole LOTTA sense!

Its hard to do that with chickens when you CAN do it with horses which they all have certain lines for certain traits but having different Arabian language names of strains that can benefit Arabian horse breeders. Some strains "click" better than others.

I like the last sentences on how we need to work on it...going to take time getting there and be consisent as well.

Thank you Ewe Sheep,

The number one reason to make an outcross is because the prevention of immune system depression demands it. Here is a copy of an article about immune system genetics that explains it. This knowledgeable person bred cats, but it applies to all animals.


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[Zanna]

Could I get some critiques on this Roo? I don't know what line he originated from and he is approx. 7 1/2 months old. That is about all I know, he was a Craigslist buy a month and a 1/2 ago Is the black/green in the lower part of his neck hackle an issue? If you would like some different angles, etc. let me know and I will take more pics. He has really bright yellow legs although the pics don't really show that and is quite a big boy and I know not done growing yet............

Nothing will hurt my feelings, please tell it how you see it. Is he show/breeding quality (to the right hens of course) or just pet/nice eggs/breeding quality? Thanks so much!!!

 

[EweSheep]

Thanks to the friend of mine who decided to sell me back Nate Vanwey hen back to me when she decided she HAD to downsize the flock to spend more time with her family. She also threw in an EE which she is lovely but boy, was she the top dog LOL! She butchered the roo and the predator got the other hen late last winter. She had ALL the chickens into the garage so they will be safe from predators. From 75 to 15 is her goal and I'm glad she is cutting back since they want to move into town. They love being out in the country but the cons outweigh the pros at this point in their lives. So they are selling off alot of their animals, mini ponies are all spoken for, all is left are the red sex links and Flemish Giants (which they are young but I was about to fall off my chair in the sheer size of them!).

A bit of groceries, they will fatten up quickly. The EE looked good but the Welsummer girl is a bit light weight and noticed she did have some lighter colored comb and wattles and earlobes, must be the stress and fighting for food, her back looked like she has been rode to death by the roo. I was glad to get her out of there since she was the fav of the roo's harem. A bit of a vacation, she will be on the mend. Her leg colors are yellow, corn yellow as it could be!

The Ee girl looked like a Faverolle cross, no fifth toe that I could see but her legs are light pink and the beard looks alot like the Faverolles than the Ameraucanas. Lovely girl and hope she will lay me some GREEN eggs! Now if her disposition would be a bit mellow, we would be good to go but man, she climbed the pecking order really fast.

My orp banty girl started laying about five days ago, found eggs under her, thinking she is not laying...sneaky girl!

So now I have three LF Welsummers, one EE, one Welsummer Bantam (Erhard lines), and one black orp banty hen...do I need more? YOU BET!

Zanna, he does not look like a bad looking roo despite of the huge back blade of his comb and the black penciling can be improved with the girls that has less. I don't know enough how bad it would be but I think Royce would be a better judge or McSpin would chime in. In the SOP, none is being said about how much black penciling is required in the roosters.

 

[Zanna]

Zanna, he does not look like a bad looking roo despite of the huge back blade of his comb and the black penciling can be improved with the girls that has less. I don't know enough how bad it would be but I think Royce would be a better judge or McSpin would chime in. In the SOP, none is being said about how much black penciling is required in the roosters.

Thanks Ewe Sheep for your input! Hopefully someone else will chime in.

 

[Dr Bjorn Netland]

Not a bad rooster, and the black in the lower hackle feathers is not a fault (cf. the SOP) although I once saw a judge's comment marking it as a fault. Leg color is great, overall plumage color looks good, and the mottling of brown in the breast backwards is good. Concerns: Comb a bit large, especially growing too far over the beak; backline could be a bit more level (hard to tell, though, from the picture); and the tail angle is too low for our SOP and also the Dutch/UK standard (probably correct'for the German/Scandinavian standard) [the UK and Dutch standards state "high tail carriage" --ours states 60 degrees. You may have hens that should be a good match.