Welsummer Chickens

We were very excited to find our Partridge Welsummers – they come from an almost-autosexing line and we are working to strengthen that feature. A Dutch breed, they are friendly and great foragers. They lay gorgeous speckled dark brown eggs – some get almost as dark as our Marans. We breed more for SOP than egg color with this line because we want to keep our beloved autosexing trait. It’s so convenient! Our stock came from Deer Run Farm, who purchased the line from Will Morrow & Kent Ozkum at Whitmore Farm when they retired in 2017.

Deer Run is one of the last remaining large Welsummer breeders in the country. When we started looking for non-hatchery ones, literally the only place anyone recommended consistently was their farm. We are so excited to have gotten some from them!

Quick Facts

Eggs
Welsummers lay on average 200 medium-large dark brown eggs per year. Some are almost as dark as our Black Copper Marans eggs and some are lighter with chocolate speckles. We love both!
Weight
Welsummer hens weigh about 5.5bs and roosters weigh about 7.5lbs.
Cold Hardiness
Welsummers are very cold hardy, but their giant, glorious combs are VERY prone to frostbite. They and the Black Copper Marans are always the first to get hit with it, no matter how clean & dry & ventilated our coops are.

Broodiness
Some say that Welsummer hens are prone to broodiness, but we haven't really seen it ourselves yet.
Captivity Tolerance
Welsummers prefer to free range and are excellent at it, but they are also content locked in a run. They're very calm and easygoing birds!
Personality
So far, all of our Welsummer roosters have been calm. Not super friendly, but also not aggressive towards us or other roosters. Our hens have been kinda standoffish, but not afraid or mean. They just like to do their own thing.