- Purpose:Dual-Purpose
- Eggs:Dark Brown
- Egg Size:Large
- Color:Blue, Blue-Grey, Black
- Comb Type:Large Single Comb
With an affable personality, long lifespan, and, most notably, beautifully dark brown, speckled eggs, the Welsummer is a darling of many a backyard chicken coop.
Developed within the past century from such noteworthy breeds as theRhode Island Red,Barnevelder,Leghorn, andWyandotte, this popular Dutch breed is a great choice for the beginner chicken-keeper!
Welsummers hardly go broody, are easily handled, and can bear confinement without complaining.
Those looking for an entertaining, active chicken as a pet might do well to enjoy the company of a russet-brown Welsummer hen.
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Characteristics
One of the few auto-sexing breeds, hatchling Welsummers will be easy to sort. Female chicks will have amuch darker headand back markings than males. The markings on female chicks are also much more clean-edged and defined, making distinguishing the egg-layers from the future roasts quite easy.
This breed is also happy to save you money on feed by foraging for most its food if allowed to free-range. Chicken keepers looking to maximize output from their flocks would certainly appreciate these characteristics!
They usually live for around 9 years, and will consistently lay eggs for the first three years. And what could be better than a pet who lays you chocolate-brown eggs for breakfast?
Welsummers Aren’t The Mothers Of The Year
那些想要繁殖这些美丽鸟类的人,将不得不把他们的蛋交给比韦夏更爱孵蛋的鸟类来饲养。它们不仅对坐着不感兴趣,而且也不擅长照顾任何可能被它们孵化出来的小鸡。
Silkies, the surrogate mothers of any egg you let them care for, will be a far better mother.
Additionally, though they arerelatively cold-hardy像大多数北欧品种一样,它们的大而单一的梳子需要一双警惕的眼睛以防冻伤。
What’s The Yield?
Welsummers grow to a decent size and weight, making them a gooddual-purposebreed. Hens will usually grow to 5.5 pounds and roosters will reach at least 7 pounds.
Though they were originally bred as a table bird, there’s no missing those eggs! A healthy hen can produce around160 large, dark-brown eggs一年。当然也有一些品种在一年内产的蛋比这个多,比如里霍恩和澳大利亚人,但小型后院宅地可能一开始就不需要那么多。
Interestingly, each hen will lay eggs with thesame general patterningthroughout her life, so if you like the characteristics of a certain hen with an intention to continue the breed, isolating her eggs should be relatively easy!
Welsummer Facts
韦夏可爱的鸡蛋的深色色素沉淀是在产蛋后期添加的。如果你在产下蛋后不久就抓住它,它实际上可以被擦掉!
Even though he looks nothing like the actual rooster, Cornelius, therooster logoof Kellogg’s corn flakes was reportedly based on a Welsummer.
Pictures Of Welsummer Chickens
Resources
- Welsummer, Omlet
- Welsummer: A Comprehensive Guide, Backyard Chicken Coops
- Welsummer, Whitmore Farm
- Welsummer Chickens, Purely Poultry
- Welsummer Chickens, Roy’s Farm
- Welsummers, Dare 2 Dream Farms
- Welsummer, Henderson’s Handy Dandy Chicken Chart
- Welsummers, Chicken Addicts Anonymous
- Welsummer, My Pet Chicken