Welsummer Chickens are a popular breed sought after for their rustic appearance and egg-laying capabilities. This breed is well loved for their dark brown eggs, on-top of that Welsummers will typically begin laying at around five to six months of age, making them relatively early bloomers compared to other breeds.
Table of Contents
- Naked Neck Chicken Origin
- What Do Naked Neck Chickens Look Like?
- How Big Are Naked Neck Chicken Eggs?
- How Many Eggs Do Naked Neck Chickens Lay
- Naked Neck Temperament
Welsummer Chicken Origin
The Welsummer chicken originates from the small village of Welsum, in Netherlands. In the early 20th century, some poultry lovers began breeding local chickens, merging together the qualities of breeds like Rhode Island Reds, Barnevelders, Partridge Leghorns, Cochins, and Wyandottes. Their prime reason for cross breeding these chickens was the search of dark brown eggs. Which the Welsummer so beautifully delivered. Originally, these eggs had only been planned to be used in the commercial market.
However in the early 1920s, the breed started showing remarkable consistency in their features, so the steps were taken to establish and fix a breed standard. By 1930, the British Poultry Standard recognized the Welsummer as an official breed. And the Bantam version was created in the 1930s also, a petite and charming variation of the original.
What Do Welsummer Chickens Look Like?
Welsummers, are not just chickens; they’re walking art pieces! With their regal bearing, they’re bound to make any backyard look like a poultry palace.
- Size: The Roosters weigh around 7 pounds, while the Hens weigh around 6 pounds.
- Comb: A single comb, In a bright red coloring
- Head: Medium-sized wattles, with red almond-shaped earlobes
- Body: A strong broad back, full breast, and a plush tail
- Legs: Long yellow legs, which take on a pale, hue during the summer.
- Eyes: Red, beautifully red
- Plumage: The hens are partridge patterned, with hints of gold around their neck, and medium brown color splatters painted across their body. Their tail feathers are tipped with a shade of rich brown. The roosters, are absolutely beautiful with their fiery burnt orange and scarlet hackles and saddles, combined with black tails that shine with an iridescent green, akin to the bars on their wings.
The Red Partridge may be the star, but let’s not ignore the Silver Duckwing and Gold Duckwing variations of the Welsummer. The Silver comes with contrasting black markings, and Gold, as you guessed it comes in as a gold with black markings.
How Big Are Welsummer Chicken Eggs?
Their eggs are a deep terra-cotta color often speckled as if kissed by the morning dew. These eggs are the “royal-size” – meaning their very large! Weighing in at a good 2.3–2.5 oz (65.2–70.9 g). As the hens age, the eggs maintain their grandeur, consistently hitting the USDA extra-large category.
How Many Eggs Do Welsummer Chickens Lay
These hens can produce between 160 to a staggering 250 eggs per year. The average however is somewhere around 160-180 large dark brown eggs. This is an important thing to note however, unlike some of the other breeds that may exist in your flock, come winter Welsummer Chickens will likely slow down in egg production. They tend to be overall a little less active in the colder weather.
Welsummer Chicken Temperament
Welsummers are calm, friendly, and affable. This breed is not known to start drama with other breeds of chicken, and prefer to mind their own business whenever given the chance.
- Calm and docile: These chickens won’t be the culprit of starting any drama.
- Backyard Treasure Hunters: Whether you have a large amount of land or a small urban yard, as long as they have some room to forage these birds will be beyond happy.
- Voiced but not noisy: They aren’t the most vocal, but they’re not mute either.
Though they aren’t constantly noisy I wouldn’t recommend adding the Welsummer to your flock if you have neighbors immediately next door. That’s because this breed is known to get pretty noisy when they have an opinion they feel you need to listen to.
Raising Welsummer Chickens
They’re curious and for the most part adaptable to your environment, but like any breed they have their needs. Those needs consist of protection, clean water, good feed. It’s recommended that you add health checks as a part of their routine, especially during the winter as they have a larger than average comb which is increasingly susceptible to frostbite. Other than frostbite they don’t have any other sicknesses that are specific to the Welsummer Breed.
If you’re thinking about getting a Welsummer, they prefer to free range due to the before-mentioned love of foraging, however if you can only offer them a coop and a run, it’ll work just fine.
Lifespan of Welsummer Chicken
Finally, let’s talk life expectancy. These feathery wonders can grace your yard from anywhere between 5 and 12 years. With love, care, and maybe some classical music (okay, the music is optional), they will thrive. Expect eggs to roll in when the hens are about 20-24 weeks old and enjoy your regal Welsummers!