Welsummer Chicken
The Welsummer Chicken originated in Holland in the early 20th century, and is part of the elite class of Dark Brown Egg Laying Chickens. The breed was originally created by crossing many popular varieties of dual purpose chicken breeds like Cochins, Wyandottes, Leghorns, Barnvelders, and Rhode Island Reds.
Welsummer Chickens have similar characteristics to many other popular heavy breed egg laying chickens - hardiness, excellent egg laying ability, dual purpose meat utility, and beautiful plumage - but what sets this breed apart are the beautiful chocolate colored eggs. These excellent egg layers are fairly early maturing, and they can be extremely cold hardy, laying fairly regularly throughout winter during their prime laying years. They are not dependable brooders or setters, but will sometimes hatch out a nest of their own without need of an incubator.
Both male and female Weslummer Chickens are beautifully colored. The males have rich golden brown head, neck, and saddle feathers with a small to average sized single comb. The tail, sickles and wing covert feathers are an iridescent black and the back feathers between neck and saddle are a deep bronze or reddish color. The female has a similarly colored golden brown head with copper colored hackles. The covert feathers are a black edged brown that fade to black toward the tail, and the breast and thigh plumage is a a deep orangish red color.
