Is Eliza...A WELSUMMER?!?!?!

Is Eliza...A WELSUMMER?!?!?! 

January 31, 2021


(Eliza's beautifully speckled Welsummer egg on the kitchen counter!)

Is Eliza...A WELSUMMER?!?!?! I sure think so. Ever since Eliza started laying eggs, she's always laid speckled eggs, which only Welsummers and Cuckoo Marans lay. (Eliza can only be part Welsummer, because her egg has to be chocolate brown for her to be part Cuckoo Maran.) Now we suspect she may be a cross breed of Buff Orpinton and Welsummer!

In the eastern Netherlands lies a small town called Welsum. In this town, Welsummers were bred from various native chickens about the beginning of the 20th century. Some of the breeds in Welsummers background include Barnevelders, Partridge Leghorns, Cochins, and Wyandottes. Welsummer chickens are a well-known breed in the United Kingdom and Australia, but are still somewhat uncommon in the United States.

Nothing accents a beautiful egg basket quite like a dark brown, speckled egg. Few birds lay such pretty speckled eggs, and they sure do catch the eye. Welsummer chickens have decent egg production. You can expect 160-180 large and beautiful eggs from a single hen annually.

Did you know- For a breed that isn’t incredibly popular in the average backyard flock, they’re probably pretty popular in your kitchen cabinet. That chicken on the front of the Kellogg’s cornflake box? He’s apparently a Welsummer that goes by the name of Cornelius, or Corny for short.

We suspect Eliza is a Welsummer because she also has black on her golden tail feather, which Welsummers have. Her parents may have been either both Welsummer Orpingtons, or one was a Buff Orpington, and the other was a Welsummer. All this being said, Welsummer hen + speckled egg = Eliza, our crazy Welsummer Orpington hen!

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