Welsummers and Anconas

[Easter eggers]

I'm getting 4 Welsummers 3 pullets and 1 cockrel and 3 Ancona pullets does any one have these breed and can tell me a little about them if you could it would be so appreciated. Thanks they wil be here april 17.

 

[debid]

I have Welsummer pullets in my mixed flock. They are pretty birds that lay pretty eggs. Other pluses, they seem hardy/vigorous, very good foragers, and are easily sexed at an early age. The thing that surprised me was the thick legs with spurs! These girls have bigger spurs than an EE cockerel of the same age. They aren't lap chickens. They were flighty as chicks and are aloof now but they'll come to me for food now and will tolerate being picked up (good luck catching them as teens, though!)

They were very late to begin laying (the earliest was ~32 weeks) but once they finally started, they have produced reasonably well.

 

[EweSheep]

Debid, I bet you have hatchery Welsummers. They should not have thick legs with spurs unless you have scaley leg mites or one of the unfortunate Welsummers. If they are hatchery or have hatchery lines to them, I am not surprised.

The spurs in hens are usually comes from a mother that is dominant in having leg spurs herself. She will pass most of that to her female offsprings.

The breeder/show exhibition lines of Welsummers are not that flightly, more like aloof in most cases and not really too afraid of humans. I find them gentle particuarly the roos which it is very highly desirable and trademark of the breed. If you got a mean one in both males and females, I would NOT ever breed them. With hatchery Welsummers, its crap shoot to get the type, disposition and egg color.

I don't know how many times I've heard people going to order Welsummers from hatcheries ended up being disappointed, just too many when they found out WHY the faults, flaws and not what they predict it expecting it to be a Welsummer. Even one ordered a Welsummer, got a Brown Leghorn instead.

If you want eye candy, lay lots of eggs, and don't expect too much out of the Welsummer's traits true to form, then hatcheries are the way to go.

I've had Anconas when I was living on the farm, they are bigger than Leghorns but just as flighty. Good for heat but in the winter, their combs would be frostbitten.

 

[debid]

I meant thick for a female -- they have roostery legs compared to the other breeds, not leg mites. It could also be that my EE rooster has Leghorn blood in him so he has skinny little legs. Their body coloration is correct and the eggs are dark terracotta with speckles but yeah, spurs on those Wellie girls. 1:3 also has a few stubs. No, they aren't show birds but they aren't from a big hatchery either.

 

[EweSheep]

Are they aged? Usually I see spurs on the females around age 3 or so.

 

[debid]

Nope, 10 months.

This is Violet (please excuse her muddy feet). Eleanor has slightly smaller spurs, Wilhelmina (unfortunately, deceased) had about 50% longer spurs and even thicker legs than Violet. She was also a moose of a girl -- noticeably bigger than the others.

 

[Chickety Charcoal]

I love my Welsummer. She has such pretty colors and seems the most 'Roostery' of my birds (In fact that is what my son calls her). I find her to be a tough, hardy bird who is our 'hawk-alert' siren. She's always on the lookout and spots them first, warning the others. She's a steady layer of the larger eggs of my flock and is very kind and gentle with my young children. I wouldn't consider her a lap bird but she's not flighty either.

I recommend them.

 

[Renee']

Anocoas are pretty but very skittish. Unfortunatley, my ancona broke her neck in the chain link fence so I never got any eggs from her. They are supposed to be good layers of white eggs.