Image Credit: Sponner, Shutterstock Are Welsummer Chickens Good for Small-Scale Farming? The long combs and wattles on the roosters can be sensitive to frostbite though, so it’s important to keep them well-protected against extreme cold conditions. This breed is built to be cold hardy, a trait needed during the wintertime in the Netherlands. Most people in America don’t realize that the Kellogg’s Corn Flake rooster is actually a depiction of the Welsummer. Though not quite as popular among keepers in the United States, this breed is still common and easy to find. The breed is extremely popular throughout Europe and Australia. Image Credit: M Huston, ShutterstockĪfter being developed in Welsummer, a village near Deventer, Netherlands, the Welsummer Chicken has since gained quite a bit of popularity. They typically lay anywhere from 160 to 200 eggs per year, but well-fed hens may produce up to 250. They do make decent layers and have longer laying seasons than some other breeds, but their egg production significantly decreases during the wintertime.Įach hen will steadily produce for about 3 years if kept under appropriate conditions. They are very productive birds, and the hens are known for laying colorful eggs. The Welsummer is a dual-purpose breed that is used for both meat and eggs. The hens are dark reddish-brown partridge. The roosters are very colorful with their mix of chestnut brown and beetle green. They can tolerate confinement and runs but much prefer to be out in the open. The breed are great foragers and love to wander around the yard. They are cold-tolerant and hardy but the roosters risk frostbite with their long wattles and combs. Welsummers are a sturdy and healthy breed that tends to be about 9 years of age. The chicks can be auto-sexed upon hatching, as the males are much lighter with a fuzzier patterning and the females are darker with a more distinct pattern. The eggs of the Welsummer are a rich brown that is commonly speckled with dark brown spots.
If you plan to see a fertilized clutch through to hatching, you best find another broody hen. Broodiness is not their strong point and they don’t make very good mothers. They do stop laying during the winter months but pick right back up once spring comes around. Hens can lay anywhere from 160 to 250 eggs per year. They tend to be a much noisier breed than others. They are sturdy, large chickens but don’t get too domineering over other breeds. They don’t particularly enjoy being held but they do tolerate it well. They are very intelligent, docile, friendly, and easy to handle. The Welsummer Chicken has a great temperament. Image Credit: Lonny Garris, Shutterstock Welsummer Chicken Characteristics The breed was exported to the United States in 1928 and was eventually admitted into the American Poultry Association in 1991. The Welsummer won the British Best Utility Breed award in 1935. By 1927 The Dutch Welsummer’s Breeder Club was established, and the new breed first arrived in England. The Welsummer first made its debut as a breed in 1921 at the Hauge’s World Poultry Conference where it was well-received by poultry keepers throughout the Netherlands and Europe. With the Netherlands being home to many landrace varieties of chicken, some of these chickens were crossbred with other breeds such as Partridge Leghorns, Cochins, and Rhode Island Reds. The Welsummer Chicken was developed near the village of Welsum in the Netherlands during the early 1900s.
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