The Welsummer Chicken is a Dutch breed developed in the 1900’s and it was named after the village of Welsum in Holland. It is a large size dual purpose chicken breed.
But the Welsummer chicken breed was originally developed in the area along the river Ysel to the north of Deventer, Holland. Dutch breeders developed this breed from the partridge Cochin, partridge Wyandotte and partridge Leghorn, the Barnevelder and Rhode Island Red.
It is a large domestic chicken breed and was admitted to the American Standard of Perfection in 1991.
The Welsummer chicken is mainly popular for colorful eggs production. It is a friendly, light and very intelligent chicken breed with orange and rustic-red color.
Gold Duckwing, Silver Duckwing and Partridge are the three variations of the standard Welsummer chicken breed. There is also a Bantam variety of this breed which lay light brown eggs.
Welsummer Chicken Characteristics
Welsummer chickens have their own distinctive physical characteristics and color, and fit nicely into the light breed category, although it has good body-size. They are very colorful and they have upright stance with a strong, short beak, broad back, full breast and large full tail.
The standard color of this breed is red partridge. The wattles of Welsummer chickens are medium in size and they have a small single comb. They have yellow color skin and shanks and red color almond shaped earlobes. The eyes of Welsummer chicken are reddish bay.
The rooster’s plumage is quite different from the plumage of the hens. Welsummer roosters have golden brown colored saddle, head and neck and the color of the back, wing front and wing bows are bright reddish brown.
But the hen’s feathers have a distinctly lighter shaft, and each back feather is reddish brown, dotted with black. There are no feathers in the legs of Welsummer chicken.
This chicken breed is considered as one of the top free-range foragers of all the layer breeds. Hens are pretty good layers. Hens lay large rich brown terra cota colored eggs. Welsummer chicks are strong compared to other breeds.
Female chicks of this breed have much darker head and back markings than males. So the female chicks are easily recognizable from the flock. On an average, an adult Welsummer rooster weights about 2.75-3.25kg and a hen weights about 2.0-2.5kg.
Behavior/Temperament
Welsummer chickens are very friendly in nature and very easy to handle. Hens lay large dark brown eggs, often with dark spots. But the hens lay quiet less eggs during the winter season.
This chicken breed love to free range and forage for food. But they are also suitable for keeping in runs. The hens hardly go broody and are not good mothers.
| Breed Name | Welsummer |
| Other Name | Welsumer |
| Breed Purpose | Dual Purpose |
| Breed Temperament | Calm, Friendly, Bears Confinement well, Easily Handled, Quite |
| Breed Size | Large (2.0 – 3.25 kg) |
| Broodiness | Seldom |
| Comb | Single |
| Climate Tolerance | All Climates (Cold Hardy) |
| Egg Color | Dark Brown |
| Egg Size | Large |
| Egg Productivity | Medium |
| Feathered Legs | No |
| Rarity | Common |
| Varieties | Gold Duckwing, Silver Duckwing and Partridge |
The Good
- Colorful chickens
- Lay beautiful eggs
- Good for meat production
- Very hardy birds
- Friendly and calm
- Long laying season
- Good forager
- Not aggressive
- Good for free range
The Bad
- Sometimes can be loud
- As they prefer to free range, so sometimes you may need to search eggs around the pasture.
Is Welsummer Chicken Good for You?
Yes, Welsummer chickens are good for you if you…….
- Are in need of dual purpose chicken breeds.
- Want to raise cold hardy chickens.
- Are willing to have some hens that lay colored eggs.
- Are looking for beautiful chickens for your small farm or backyard.
- Are looking for calm, friendly and such a chicken breed which have good temperament.
- Have pasture and want to raise some chickens which are vary suitable for free range.
- Have time and space for raising dual purpose, beautiful chickens in your backyard or small farm.
