Welsummer Hens

The Welsummer is named after the village of Welsum in Holland, in the east of the country, although the breed was originally developed in the area along the river Ysel to the north of Deventer, Holland at about the same time as the Barnevelders (1900-1913). The Dutch bred it from the partridge Cochin, partridge Wyandotte and partridge Leghorn, the Barnevelder and Rhode Island Red. The Welsummer is a reasonable placid breed that is well suited to the small-scale, domestic environment.

It is a light, docile breed, with rustic-red and orange colour. Representations of cockerels in the media are often based upon the "classic" Welsummer look. The most common example of this would be the Kelloggs Cornflakes rooster. Its eggs are dark-brown and spotty. There are three variations of the standard Welsummer, these are the Partrige, Silver Duckwing and the Gold Duckwing. There is also a Bantam Welsummer breed which is similar but lays light brown eggs. Bantams exist in both Partrige and Silver Duckwing colours.

Sexing Welsummer Chicks

It is possible to sex a Welsummer at day-old because the chicks are marked like a partridge, with a stripe on the top of the head. The stripe is darker on the female so the difference can be seen by comparison. After four to six weeks there is no doubt, as the comb of the male becomes obvious first.

See also: Dutch Chicken Breeds