A Welsummer shouldn't have leg feathers should he? Mine has a distinct line of feathers showing on the outside of each leg. He's about 13 weeks old. I bought a pair of chicks this spring and hoped to have them breed. So is he a cull from a reproductive standpoint?
Thanks Ewesheep and Amazondoc, I forgot to get back to this thread. I figured I knew the answer, was just looking for confirmation. Luckily he is not a particular favorite of ours. We will rehome or eat him.
If you're not going to show him, or sell eggs he sired as show birds with clean legs, I see no reason you can't use him as a breeder. If you have better choices, by all means use another. Keep in mind, there are few if any birds without problems. It's up to you to determine if the problem is something you consider serious. A cosmetic flaw on a production bird is a frivolous thing. However, if you want to show the bird or offspring, it may be better to use a different roo. If it's difficult to get another, then you can always cull the offspring that don't meet your goals. Good luck,
I asked a Welsummer breeder about the slight feather stubs on the legs I've seen. She said that it's actually quite common in the breed due to the ancestry, like single combs on Wyandottes. The ones I've had were almost unnoticable, not true leg feathering, just a bit of stubble.
I've asked around after I found out about your 'stubbles" on your Welsummer, I got alot of the breeders say to cull them because it can pop up more often. I know it had some of the Langshan blood, its a good throwback! If I had some in my flock, I would cull them rather than work thru them because I can always get more easily.
Yes, if I was a serious breeder, I'd not use those. Only some of mine had it and some didn't, but I'm not breeding them, so it wasn't an issue. Good to know that it is common, though. I've heard that some Wyandottes have feather stubs due to their Cochin ancestry, too.
Thanks all, I just learned about the "show your posts" button in the discussion of the new show topics feature. Until now, I didn't always remember what I had posted where. So thanks for letting me know that this does show up in Welsummers. Mine is like stubble, just as you've described. I'm not any kind of serious breeder but I don't want to perpetuate a bad trait, either.
