The Welsummer Thread!!!!

[faykokoWV]

I'm just doing the darkest ones because I know some of the girls have 'some' hatchery bloodlines' in them. That has to account for the terra cotta eggs that look like poured clay and no tiny spots even. Since they bit off their colored zip bands I now have to sort by egg color and see what hatches.

This one may have some White Silky roo contamination as well. But it is a good bunch of eggs to see if I have the bator working correctly at the correct temps. Once they hatch and dry out I will move them to a brooder. I did find my 2nd brooder (18x18 or so) cubes with single light bulbs and thermostats as seen on my 'cat tv' photo...

So what do you all think about incubating at 45% humidity until day 18, turning off the turners at that time and letting the chicks hatch in them. I'll bump up humidity to what, 65%?

I don't plan on opening that door and doing any rescues cause I've seen too many shrinkwrapped ones from last year's dismal attempts....I'm going to be away for day 21!!

Anybody here do any special plants that you raise for your chickens? I expect them to spend a lot of time free ranging this year and there will be lots of places to tuck in special plants that they can eat?

I plant cucumbers for my chickens, I have them trail up a fence and over a the chicken run (which is 5 ft high) they like to jump up and grab the cucumbers off the vine. If you're free ranging, you can do this, but don't allow them access until the cucumbers get going.

I think its great that you and Opa are both going for spotted eggs. I actually like the non spotted dark terracotta eggs the best. Going for different traits in the eggs can help us to develop different distict lines, which I think is good for the breed.

when I first started hatching I think I caused more harm than good trying to rescue, I've learned patience now and I'm better able to leave them alone. Its so hard sometimes though

 

[vanalpaca]

Hey Kim, big time "in rememberence" of Odin hatchin vibes. Hope you get a boy as good if not better than your beloved Roo.

Kelly, hope you still have me on your list!

Opa, you will have to let the Wellie group know when you get your birds sorted in their respective breeding groups...would like to have some of your birds also.

Pretty much have given up on my Wellies here as I believe them to be mixed from the breeder. They demonstrate both Barnie and Wellie mix characteristics. Sooooo am going to have to start over as my pure Wellie girls are at least 3 years old and had gotten rid of my pure Roo for the newer Roo who, in my conclusion mixed. Ahh well upwards and onwards!

Royce/Tailfeathers does Welsummers and he is just north of you, Washington state......

 

[vanalpaca]

Quote, "I think its great that you and Opa are both going for spotted eggs. I actually like the non spotted dark terracotta eggs the best. Going for different traits in the eggs can help us to develop different distict lines, which I think is good for the breed."

Faye, I am not doing the large spotted eggs and I am not doing a solid colored terra cotta egg that looks like the poured out clay.

The egg is terra cotta colored as a base color and has the very fine inkjet spots covering the entire egg. The spots are so dense and close together that from the least distance they look like a darker reddish brown egg. Far darker than any terra cotta clay pot.

The bottom row of my hen's eggs shows what I am talking about. These are not solid colored brown, but like the middle egg shows, inkjet paintsprayed dots so tiny and close together over the terra cotta base to make a really dark egg. They are the ones I set in the bator. The one in the upper right hand corner is dark but with larger splots/spots. I didn't set any like that this time. I am trying to see what this color (dark ) egg will hatch out (despite the silkie roo ) and despite the fact that I don't know which of the 3 roos. So I really have TOO MANY variables at this point for a good test. The 3 on the bottom left are my FAVORITES and I will be working on getting more of these when I set up cages to figure out which of the 15 hens lay these eggs!! There are probably 6 of the super dark ones in the bator and the rest are like the others in the bottom row.

Cheers all,
Bonnie

 

[Tailfeathers]

I'm just doing the darkest ones because I know some of the girls have 'some' hatchery bloodlines' in them. That has to account for the terra cotta eggs that look like poured clay and no tiny spots even. Since they bit off their colored zip bands I now have to sort by egg color and see what hatches.

I'm not sure why you would say that. I've been breeding my Welsummers for years to NOT have any spots - and NONE of my birds are hatchery birds.

God Bless,

 

[vanalpaca]

Royce, pick an egg in the photo above and tell me which one you are 'breeding for'.

When I say Large splotches, it is the upper right one. I'm breeding for the fine even spray of dense spots, or the pigment ink is completely covering the egg......?

The ones without any overlay of pigment ink are what I am calling 'poured clay.'

I believe that this whole overlay of pigment ink is a significant Welsummer Trait that makes the egg color 'dark'?

Or have I completely misunderstood everything I have read about this Dutch Breed?

I do have 3 hens that are KNOWN to be from Ideal Hatchery lines and 1 of them is ALL RED and came from that BLONDE WELSUMMER CHICK that I hatched.

I also have some stock that is split to WELP HATCHERY STOCK, I believe, crossed with the Whitmore Farms Lowell Barber lines by 1/2, and 1/4 Hatchery blood.

Those plain terra cotta eggs are looking just like common brown egg layers to me, nothing significantly pointing to the dark Welsummer Eggs that are in the egg photos on the Dutch Breed Club?

I have noticed on many of the hens that their THIGH feathers are the same as their chest feathers and not partridge. Those hens have more brown ground feathers in their butt feathers. The hens that have PARTRIDGE feathers on their THIGHS have grey ground feathers in their butt feathers. But no one here has answered my query as to which is preferred.

Since I haven't set up my hens to see who is laying which egg, and 'dark eggs' appear to be the desired trait in this bird, I'm hatching those out to see if I get the right color in the offspring or I get white down feathers on the chest or butt?

I appreciate your comments cause I know you have been working with the breed a long time and this is just my first year and first experience. I do have Harry Shaw and Lowell Barber pure birds and I'd know which ones they were if they hadn't all pecked off their color bands...ERGH!!
Cheers, photos please!
Bonnie

 

[pinkchick]

I'm getting so excited......getting ready for eggs from Happy Chooks. Can't wait to have a rooster again!!!!!!!!



Rsquared~ Hey do you still have birds from me? Can't remember if you have Wellies or Marans? Sorry feeble mind syndrome.

Vanalpaca~ Lovely Eggs!!!

 

[vanalpaca]

Kim, I didn't follow the thread over the winter and am saddened to hear the loss of Odin!

Hope you've conquered the predators in your area....I have yet to deal with them as so far the hawk and the cat in the area haven't bothered the roos. Worrying about roving dogs and coyotes being attracted in once I have free ranging chickens and put my own dogs out at the mini farm.

Glad you are getting more Wellies. Thanks for the egg complements, had a LOT of help from Opa and Harold in Michigan to actually get the numbers in the flock of Wellies up to something I can get eggs from and start seeing differences to learn about 'culling'. My roos all got frost bit about 3 weeks ago and it wasn't even very cold out. I'm thinking it was from dipping their wattles into the water and chilling winds........but they were really pretty before that.

Bonnie

 

[Beka123]

Hey everyone! I got some 6 week old welsummers from a local man, they are missing back and neck and some wing baby down feathers, all in varying degrees of loss... The guy said that is just them feathering in, and where they are missing the baby down feathers I can see the new "adult" feathers coming in under the skin, and poking out, and I checked them over extremely meticulously: no lice, no lice eggs at the base of any feathers, no mites, no tiny bugs of any kind. Is this something that happens to welsummers? I have red sex links and silkies that I got when they were each just days old, and they never completely lost all their baby down b4 their adult feathers came in. I want to make sure these little guys are healthy, and that there is nothing I can do for them. I just want to hear from others that this is normal and ok. I brought one up to my local feed store, he agreed they had no bugs, and suggested that I give them a tub of dirt for dirt baths, I've mixed some diatomaceous earth in with the dirt that I gave them but no one's used it yet. Also the day after I got them home I had to separate one bc she was bleeding on her tail and the others were chasing and pecking her mercilessly, if that information means anything... Thanks so much for any help/info!

 

[Happy Chooks]

Hey everyone! I got some 6 week old welsummers from a local man, they are missing back and neck and some wing baby down feathers, all in varying degrees of loss... The guy said that is just them feathering in, and where they are missing the baby down feathers I can see the new "adult" feathers coming in under the skin, and poking out, and I checked them over extremely meticulously: no lice, no lice eggs at the base of any feathers, no mites, no tiny bugs of any kind. Is this something that happens to welsummers? I have red sex links and silkies that I got when they were each just days old, and they never completely lost all their baby down b4 their adult feathers came in. I want to make sure these little guys are healthy, and that there is nothing I can do for them. I just want to hear from others that this is normal and ok. I brought one up to my local feed store, he agreed they had no bugs, and suggested that I give them a tub of dirt for dirt baths, I've mixed some diatomaceous earth in with the dirt that I gave them but no one's used it yet. Also the day after I got them home I had to separate one bc she was bleeding on her tail and the others were chasing and pecking her mercilessly, if that information means anything... Thanks so much for any help/info!

No that's not normal. Sounds like they may have been overcrowded and picking at each other. You can apply some Blu Kote or No pick to them to keep the others from picking at them until the feathers grow back in.

 

[vanalpaca]

I didn't see anything at TSC called No Pick, but they do have Blu Kote.

They have Bitter Apple stuff, I'm sure, too.

What should I put on the back of the rooster's head/neck to reduce picking due to long periods of confinement in their coop. They all seem to gang up on a particular rooster. I now have 4 roosters back at home and this 5th one has a nicer 5 point comb and I'd like to see if anything is at TSC for anti picking that is safe for chickens as I didn't find anything in the chicken aisle.

I really just want to dash in there, grab what I need and dash out cause CHICK DAYS has started again and I'm a chicken addict and do NOT want their chicks this year.........