Kimi BK
Songster
7 weeks ago we got 24 chicks including a straight run of 7 Welsummers: our first experience with Welsummers and first experience with males.
Trying to sex them as day/week olds, we thought we had 3 male (very blonde heads, almost no eye stripe), 3 female (darker heads and dark eye stripes), and one uncertain (medium colored head and vague eye stripe). Unfortunately we didn't take many pics of the chicks and I can't even remember which we thought were which... I think the chick pics show one that we pegged as female, and maybe the other one was the uncertain one -- or maybe it was one we thought was female. I don't have any close ups of the blondies that we pegged as male.
Now our kiddos are 7 weeks old. A few weeks back their feathers clearly indicated (I think??) that we have only two Welsummer pullets and 5 cockerels. The pullets have an evenly partridge body behind their reddish head & neck, and the males have more solid reddish brown feathers on their back, a dark feathered collar, darker chest, and darker/fuller tail. (Not to mention their larger comb and wattles.). The 7-week pic shows a pullet on the left and cockerel on the right.
We might keep a couple of the boys... we hope eventually to have a next generation, and we'd want to breed the Welsummers, but also maybe breed Welsummers with our easter eggers. On the other hand, we only have 2 female Welsummers and 3 easter egger pullets, so probably one cockerel is enough for that!
Trying to sex them as day/week olds, we thought we had 3 male (very blonde heads, almost no eye stripe), 3 female (darker heads and dark eye stripes), and one uncertain (medium colored head and vague eye stripe). Unfortunately we didn't take many pics of the chicks and I can't even remember which we thought were which... I think the chick pics show one that we pegged as female, and maybe the other one was the uncertain one -- or maybe it was one we thought was female. I don't have any close ups of the blondies that we pegged as male.
Now our kiddos are 7 weeks old. A few weeks back their feathers clearly indicated (I think??) that we have only two Welsummer pullets and 5 cockerels. The pullets have an evenly partridge body behind their reddish head & neck, and the males have more solid reddish brown feathers on their back, a dark feathered collar, darker chest, and darker/fuller tail. (Not to mention their larger comb and wattles.). The 7-week pic shows a pullet on the left and cockerel on the right.
We might keep a couple of the boys... we hope eventually to have a next generation, and we'd want to breed the Welsummers, but also maybe breed Welsummers with our easter eggers. On the other hand, we only have 2 female Welsummers and 3 easter egger pullets, so probably one cockerel is enough for that!
