The Welsummer Thread!!!!

[EweSheep]

Just sign yourself on the WCNA and join in. It may not be as active as BYC's Welsummer threads or FB's Welsummers pages but it would give many folks to look at the site for anything they have in mind to research for. Many requests are the Breeder's List which it promotes the breed and people that wanted non hatchery (unless the breeder does raise hatchery stock for egg production only and it will be listed as so). It is up to the buyers/customers to do research and take it from there.

Wellie crossbreds don't always show their sex upon hatching. I find it rather 98% reliable to determine sex so I would like to gamble as a 50/50 chance for either a pullet or cockeral and wait for them to feather out around two months of age, some would show their combs a bit MORE pinker and larger than the others sooner and you can figure out they are cockerals. Some breeders lines they have much better luck in sexing by following the marking patterns. Solid lines, pullets....fuzzy lines, cockerals (and they are bit lighter in the V's on top of their heads).

I got my first Pure Wellie chick out of my quad today. More are pipping. I did hatch some Wellie x NN eggs just for something to hatch. I wonder how they will feather out? They are 5 weeks old now. Do any of you determine gender based on the markings? I thought Pink mentioned that she did but I'm not sure if I remember what she said.
EweSheep, how do I get on the list?
Thanks,
Jim

 

[enggass]

Last year I hatched 8 chicks form Kim's eggs and sexed them 100% successfully. Girls had very pronounced V's on the tops of there heads where the boys had 'smudgier' markings... Girls had very defined 'eyeliner'(striped behind the eyes), whereas the boys had minimal.
Good luck!
Steve

Wellie Girl...

 

[Happy Chooks]

Robin - I would like to stay on the WCNA. Thanks!

I hatched a wellie/light brahma mix, and at 3 weeks I'm still not positive on the sex. Funny thing is though, it's colored in a similar manner to a wellie pullet, only with buff highlights. (chest is all buff with buff/dark on the back) Obviously the pea comb makes it a bit more tricky. My brahma is an excellent layer, so I wanted a daughter of hers for my eating egg customers.

My pure wellie that hatched is a cockerel. He had the thick eyeliner at hatch, but the V on his head wasn't as defined as in females. So it's not 100% on markings.

 

[CSWolffe]

I just ordered some Wellies from a hatchery, and I can't wait till they get here!
Ok, so I started out looking for just about any chocolate egger and some EEs to add color to my basket, and the first breed that showed up were Copper Marans, but those are so **** hard to come by. And then I found Wellsummers, and I tell you, they are a much better looking bird, IMHO.
I don't need the absolute darkest brown eggs, Wellies seem be plenty dark, and I understand they are sometimes speckled? I think that is far more interesting then a little extra dark coloration.
So, in a few short weeks I will be the proud owner of a few beautiful Wellsummers! Not that I'm any less proud of my other dork-butt girls...

 

[Happy Chooks]

Congrats! And yes, their eggs can be speckled.

 

[CSWolffe]

Thank you.
May I ask, what causes the speckles? And is that a trait that can be selectively bred for?

 

[Hens and Roos]

Thank you.
May I ask, what causes the speckles? And is that a trait that can be selectively bred for?

the speckles could possible be from how the egg passes through the chute on it's way to being laid. We have a couple hens that lay eggs with speckles and even then the speckles differ from egg to egg. Not sure if this is something that can be selected for

 

[Opa]

I think the splotchy speckled occurs when the hen has a defective ink jet.

 

[EweSheep]

I would like the idea if the speckles are inherited. To me, it seems like the majority seems to keep the trait of the egg it was hatched out of.

Some breeders are breeding Welsummers with speckling machines while others like the "smooth" look without the big blotches.

 

[ruth]

Almost all of mine lay speckled or spotted eggs. One or two lay a very dark solid egg that rivals my Marans but all the rest, over a dozen birds, lay speckled eggs. I think they are gorgeous. I've got the solid brown Black Copper Marans eggs but the speckled eggs my Welsummers lay are each so different and interesting. They always get lots of compliments and questions when people see them.

Some that went out last week in an assorted order. Wellies are on the left (like you didn't know that):