The Welsummer
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The Welsummer was created at the beginning of the twentieth
century in the countryside around the village of Welsum in the Netherlands,
it's ancestors included the Partridge Cochin, Partridge Wyandotte, and
Partridge Leghorn, plus the Barnvelder and the Rhode Island Red. The Welsummer
was first brought into the United Kingdom in 1928 as a commercial laying breed.
In the 1930's strains capable of producing in excess of 250 eggs a year were
well known, but unfortunately today the best strains seem to have difficulty
achieving 160 a year. They do not go broody and lay for long periods, but fail
to lay on a daily basis!
The Breed Standard approved by the Poultry Club of Great
Britain classifies the Welsummer as a Soft Feather Light Breed, however it is
Holland it as classified as 'Medium' and in the UK the present day birds are
nearer to a Heavy breed rather than a Light Breed. The black red partridge
colouring has not been highly developed and retains much of its natural form,
the Cock is a very bright, colourful bird and seems to be everyone's idea of a
'Kelloggs Cornflakes' or what a 'farmyard cock' should be. He is a bit of a
dandy with a brilliant golden cape, rich chestnut back, chestnut & black
chest and high curving iridescent black tail. The hen is a pretty partridge
coloured bird, though far removed from the highly developed partridge colouring
of many other breeds. However whilst she may be somewhat drab in comparison to
the cock it is the hen that has made the breed famous, laying the most
wonderful large matt eggs in richest flower-pot red brown colour, with or
without some chocolate spots!
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It is a straight forward, no nonsense breed being well suited to
free-range and loves grubbing around in the undergrowth! They are very
inquisitive birds, and generally placid breed, but unfortunately they become
easily bored and prone to vices such as feather pecking ...... and unless they
are kept busy foraging they quickly become bored! Because of the importance of
the egg qualities of the breed the Welsummer Club has an Egg Standard to be used when judging eggs of the
breed. The ideal sized egg for showing is about 2½oz (70gr); it
therefore follows that eggs for hatching are also not less than this weight and
have the same excellent shape and pigmentation as those for the show-bench. The
first few eggs laid by a pullet will be about 1½oz which will increases
with each successive egg and after about a month she should be laying a good
sized deeply coloured egg. The largest eggs will be laid by mature old hens
though in many instances they will lack the intensity of colour of those laid
by the younger hen.
It is noticeable that as Welsummer grow older the
depth of colour of the eggs she lays become paler, with the eggs at the
beginning of the first laying season being the best coloured. Older breeders
will advise that stock cocks should always be from hens laying the most deeply
pigmented eggs, and especially from older birds still laying eggs of excellent
colour; the cock will greatly influence the egg colour of his daughters.
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| . | The Poultry Club of Great
Britain Breed Standard for the Welsummer |
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GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS : MALE Carriage: Upright, alert and active. Type: Body well built on good constitutional lines. Back broad and long. Breast full, well rounded and broad. Wings moderately long, carried closely to the sides. Tail fairly large and full, carried high but not squirrel. Abdomen long, deep and wide. Head: Symmetrical, well balanced, of fine quality without coarseness, excesses or exaggeration. Skull refined, especially at the back. Beak strong, short and deep. Eyes keen in expression, bold, full, highly placed in the skull and standing out prominently when viewed from the front or back; pupils large and free from defective shape. Comb single, of medium size, firm, upright, free from any twists or excess around the nostrils, clear of nostrils and of fine, silky texture, five to seven broad and even serrations, the back following closely but not touching the line of the skull and neck. Face smooth, open and of silky texture, free from wrinkles or surfeit of flesh and without overhanging eyebrows. Ear-lobes small and almond shaped. Wattles of medium size, fine and silky texture and close together. Neck: Fairly long, slender at top but finishing with abundant hackle. Legs and feet: Thighs to show clear of body without loss of breast. Shanks of medium length, medium bone and well set apart, free from feathers and with soft pliable sinews, free from coarseness. Toes, four, long, straight and well spread out, back toe to follow in straight line, free from feathers between toes. Plumage: Tight, silky and waxy, free from excess or coarseness, silky at the abdomen and free from bagginess at thighs. Handling : Compact, firm and neat bone throughout. FEMALE The general characteristics are similar to those of the male allowing for natural sexual differences. Handling : Pelvic bones fine and pliable, flesh and skin of fine texture and free from coarseness. Plumage sleek. Abdomen capacious, but well supported by long breastbone and not drooping; general handling of a fit, keen and active layer. COLOUR Plumage, Male: Head and neck rich golden brown. Hackles rich golden brown as uniform as possible, free from black striping. Back, shoulder coverts and wing bow bright red-brown. Wing coverts black with green sheen forming a broad bar across primaries (out of sight when wing is closed), inner web black, outer web brown; secondaries outer web brown, inner web black with brown peppering. Tail (main) black with a beetle-green sheen; coverts, upper black, lower black edged with brown. Breast black with red mottling. Abdominal and thigh fluff black and red mottled. Plumage, Female : Head golden brown. Hackle golden brown or copper, the lower feathers with black striping and golden shaft. Breast rich chestnut red going well down to the lower parts. Back and wing bow reddish-brown, each feather stippled or peppered with black specks (i.e. partridge marking), shaft of feather showing lighter and very distinct. Wing bar chestnut brown, inner web black, outer brown; Secondaries, outer web brown coarsely stippled with black; inner web black, slightly peppered brown. Abdomen and thighs brown with grey shading. Tail black, outer feathers pencilled with brown. In both sexes: Beak yellow or horn. Eyes red. Comb, face, ear-lobes and wattles bright red. Legs and feet yellow. Under-colour dark slate grey. Standard Weights : Cock: 7 lb; Cockerel 6lb . Hen: 6lb; Pullet 4½ to 5lb These weights should be taken as minimum standards. |
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Serious Defects : Comb other than single or with side sprigs. White in lobe. Other than four toes. Excessive white in plumage. Striping in neck hackle or saddle of male. Salmon breast in female. Legs other than yellow. Badly crooked or duck toes. Any body deformity. Coarseness, beefiness or anything which interferes with the productiveness and general utility of the breed. |
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| . | The Welsummer Club EGG STANDARD |
The Welsummer Club adheres to the Poultry Club Standard and Scale of Points for judging eggs. Size: Exhibition Welsummer eggs should be of a good size. Colour: a rich, deep red/brown as dark as possible. Some products are speckled and occasionally blotched. Glossy eggs are produced but the matt egg is the preferred. |