Pullet Eggs

Photo: Gold Duckwing Welsummer eggs

Today the first of the two Maran pullets came into lay. Her egg a glossy version of the lightest of my Welsummer eggs. Other than the remaining maran, all of last years birds are now in lay.

The Welsummers are laying well, their eggs lovely and dark, some speckled, all matt. Almost from the start the eggs have been a good size, large enough to sell in the 'big' egg box rather than with the pullet eggs.

The Exchequer Leghorn eggs have taken a little longer to reach a good size but the birds have now started to produce larger eggs.

The little crossbred hens are also doing well, being crossed with an Indian Game cockerel their eggs are never going to be huge but they are of good shell quality and the birds themselves are extremely friendly.

Egg sales at the gate are far greater than I could have hoped for, most selling within an hour or so of going out, buying more layers is so tempting.

Photo: Top left egg 1st Maran egg, top far right Exchequer Leghorn, others Welsummer



Photo: A mix of eggs from last years hatch of pullets

Hens at home

Most of my livestock is kept on land in a neighbouring village but I do have room at home for a small number of poultry and the occasional orphan lamb. The poultry numbers and 'type' vary according to the time of year. Throughout the summer months it is mostly broodies and young chicks. This time of the year I have any of the birds left over when putting together the breeding groups, collectively they are referred to as the laying flock. Possibly not the most apt label, as the Dorkings have yet to come into lay this season, a Light Sussex is just going into moult and although very close, the young Maran pullets have yet to produce an egg.


Photos: Sheltering from the cold wind. Silver Dorking and Marans.


The two breeds do appear to have teamed up together



The Marans act as guardians of the pen, always ready to see off any intruder

Planning for the breeding season

Despite many weeks of freezing temperatures, ice and snow at the end of 2010 and the New Year starting dull and wet, the cockerels are in fine form and raring to go. Most of last year's pullets are now in lay and the older birds have finished their moult and are looking neat and tidy.

We still have an excess of cockerels. We never managed to deal with all the table birds before Christmas and kept several of the young breeding cockerels back, waiting until they had matured more before making a decision on which to keep.

One of the Exchequer Leghorn cockerels stood out from the rest, making our choice easy. His colouring is good, he matured earlier than the others, is treading the hens frequently and is quite spell bounding, strutting around with an air of confidence and arrogance

Photo: Exchequer Leghorn cockerel 2010 hatch.

The Gold Duckwing Welsummers are proving to be everything I could wish for. The pullets are laying large dark eggs on an almost daily basis. The birds themselves are quiet and friendly, crouching as I enter the pen and happy to be handled. The cockerel I kept from last year's hatch is stunning and despite not using him as this year's breeding cock I am reluctant to part with him and am considering developing a second line.

Photo: Gold Duckwing Welsummer cockerel 2010 hatch with an Indian Game pullet and a crossbred pullet.



I will use the same Indian game cockerel as last year. He is still very young and produced many good birds. We are keeping two of his pullets, the young cockerel will either be advertised for sale along with other birds or put into the freezer.

Photo: Indian Game cockerel in full cry. 2010 hatch.

Pullet Eggs

This year's pullets are steadily coming into lay. The Exchequer Leghorns started to produce at 22 weeks old and lay most days. For a small bird their eggs are a good size and will get bigger as the birds get older.
At 30 weeks old the Welsummers were a little later than the Exchequer Leghorns but from the start the size of their eggs have amazed me.

Photo: Pullet eggs: White -Exchequer Leghorn; Tinted/cream - Indian Game cross breeds; Brown - Welsummer


I am hoping to breed from the Gold Duckwing Welsummers and will keep a record of each of the birds in the aim of producing a healthy, strong egg laying line. As I only have a small flock and each bird lays slightly different coloured eggs I should soon be able to differentiate between them without trap nesting. However I think the birds have already cottoned on and are sabotaging my plans. They enter the nest box two at a time but only one lays, they then both come out calling with pride. It may take a little longer than I first thought.

Photo: Welsummer pullet eggs. (so much darker than they appear in the photo)

Gold Duckwing Welsummer - photos

Dave .. a few photos of this years cockerel.

Dave said...

Your one of the very few people in the UK with Gold duckwing Welsommers. I lost my cockerel and sold on the hens..Gold Duckwing on Partridge will produce GD and Partridge split for GD.

20 October 2010 17:24

New flock members

As of today my flock number has increased by two. The laying flock now boasts the addition of two beautiful Cuckoo Maran pullets, layers of lovely dark brown eggs.
I have been thinking of getting a couple of marans for a while now. The eggs will be a valued addition to sales and I am interested to see how any off spring from crossing with the Indian Game cockerel compare to other crosses as table birds

For now the birds are in quarantine, in a movable ark on the lawn. After a week or so I will place them in a separate run within the layers pen before letting them run free with the rest of the flock.
They are smashing looking birds, confident, healthy and alert, settling in well to their new surroundings.

Chicks 3 weeks old

The latest hatch are now 3 weeks old and are beginning to show their individual personalities.

The young Barnvelder X cockerel is the most independent, preferring to scavenge for his own food and rarely coming to the call of food from his mother. Although he does respond instinctively to any warning cry from her.

Photo: Mr. Independent


The little Cream Legbar cockerel is quiet but adventurous. The other morning I found him on the outside of the run, having found and squeezed under the tiniest of gaps. When I opened the door he simply walked back in as if he had done it a dozen times before.

The remaining four Barnvelder and Barnebars stick together and are more often found close to the mother hen, either riding on her back or brooding amongst her feathers.

Photo: Discovering the delight of an apple


All six are extremely confident and friendly, happy to climb into the palm of any hand that offers food.

Although the weather has turned quite cold, it remains on the whole dry. The wet is much harder for the chicks to cope with than the cold and the mother hen is doing a fine job of brooding them.

Photo: Fluffed up for warmth, protection from the cold wind.

All is not well...

....with the Welsh Black hen.

Yesterday she twice came out from the hay bales, within an hour, announcing to the world she had laid an egg. There was not an egg in sight. Concerned she maybe be egg bound I kept a close eye on her all day. She appeared fine going about her daily business as usual and then mid afternoon she dropped a shelless egg in the middle of the paddock. Surprised she turned to have a quick look and then wondered off to join the others. Thank goodness she wasn't egg bound after all.

This morning she was behaving strangely, dropping her wing and circling an Indian Game hen in the same manner as the cockerel.

The Welsh Black came to us at the start of the year on a clutch of eggs. She proved to be a fantastic mum and is a very friendly bird. She has however, never been a very reliable layer, unusual for her breed and the eggs she did lay had poor quality shells.

I have only set and hatched one egg from her, due to the quality of the eggs. The chick hatched with very little down on it's back and is small in comparison to the other chicks from the same hatch and also from expectation of the breed.

She is a fine looking bird, with glossy feathers, a red comb and always active. Looking at her she is a good representative of her kind but something is not right with her.

I will keep her for now, as she is well but will watch her carefully and I certainly won't breed from her.

Chicks - photos

The chicks have hatched.
Mid morning on Saturday the hen had taken her chicks off the nest. She had left behind a pipped but unhatched egg. It is unusual for a hen to leave the nest if an egg is actually pipping so I guess she knew, for whatever reason the chick had died.
Although the photo only shows five chicks we do have six, a little Cream Legbar boy is just out of shot.
So from the nine set we have six lovely sturdy chicks. 2 Barnevelders, 2 Barnebars, 1 Barnevelder over Barred Rock and 1 Cream Legbar.
The mother hen is very attentive to her chicks but more than happy for us to handle them and already a couple are feeding from my hand.
For now they are still in the poultry shed as the forecast for the next few days is heavy rain. As soon as the weather improves they can go into the A framed ark on the grass.

Photo: On the right the little Cream Legbar boy, so small in comparison to his hatch mates


All six

Gold Duckwing Welsummer - For sale

For sale: Trio of Gold Duckwing Welsummer. - sorry no longer available

The, April hatched, Gold Duckwing Welsummer are now 17 weeks old. The cockerel is developing well and is bigger than the Partridge Welsummer cockerels of the same age. They are constantly on the go foraging for bugs. I am expecting the pullets to come into lay around 24 weeks of age. Their eggs will be the typical colouring for Welsummers, terracotta, plain through to speckled. The cockerel has yet to crow and develop his fine feathering fully but should mature at a similar age to the pullets.

Sorry this trio is no longer available - but please contact me if you are interested in either young birds or hatching eggs, as I do sometimes have a few for sale. Dated: 10 Jan. 2011


Difficult to photo as they are always on the go. Gold Duckwing Welsummer trio, April hatch.
(click on images to enlarge)

Cockerel: Pullets: Not a very good photo but shows the trio:

Teenage boys

The 13 week old cockerels have turned into teenagers. In the past week they have shot up becoming tall, leggy and ungainly. Their voices have changed. They are chasing the girls, but are not quite sure why. Several squabbles break out throughout the day when one misinterprets a look by another and they are always hungry.

Photo: Indian Game /Ixworth cross:


Gold Duckwing Welsummer:


Partridge Welsummer:

Indian Game cross chicks 7- 8 weeks photos

The second hatch of 'table birds' are 7 - 8 weeks old. They have been separated from the hen for a few days and are coping fine. They are still in an enclosed run, which is moved daily, for their own protection. I am feeding them a corn mix. Cod liver oil is added approximately three times a week to give them extra vitamins etc. Cider vinegar is added to their drinking water daily. Grit is always available. They also enjoy the occasional lettuce and greens from the vegetable patch.

A Dark Laced Indian Game cockerel was put to an Ixworth, an Australorp, a Welsh Black and a Dark and Light Laced Indian Game hen.

At this stage the Ixworth cross is looking the most promising, confident, strong chicks, quick to feather and solid. The Australorp crosses follow a close second, they have just been a little slower to feather up.
Time will tell. There is still a long way to go. How quick they are to mature, final dressed weights and meat to bone ratio will all be taken into account when deciding which cross I feel is best suited to our needs.

The pure Indian game, if pullets we will keep.

Photo: Foreground: Australorp cross. Centre back: Welsh Black cross - so far the smallest.



Photo: Comparing the Australorp and Ixworth Cross



Photo: Ixworth Crosses



Photo: Foreground: Pure Indian game. Far back: Welsh Black cross. Left: Australorp cross

Chicks and poults - photo update

The turkey poults are now just over a week old. I am so pleased the hen took to them, it is so much nicer than an artificial brooder. The poults are very bold and friendly and trying to clean the pen and feed them without any escaping is becoming more challenging by the day. Another week and they will probably be big enough to move to the stable


The Exchequer Leghorn chicks are 3 weeks old. They are feathering up well but are still very dependent on the mother hen for guidance and are still brooded by her for a surprising amount of time considering the warm weather. They frequently ride on her back. In a couple of weeks time they will go into a bigger pen, when we have yet another poultry 'move around'.



The mixed group of chicks hatched by the Indian Game, at 6 weeks are at the 'scruffy' stage, looking at times like little vultures. The cock birds amongst them are beginning to spar and although still attentive I feel the mother hen wouldn't object too strongly if I separated her from them. I am just waiting for the chicks to grow a little more so they are less likely to fall prey to any corvid.


At 10 weeks old the mixed flock of table birds and Welsummers are doing really well, lively, bright and everything I could ask for. A couple are already standing out to be promising birds. As soon as the new area at the yard is fenced and their new home renovated they will be moved on. The table birds amongst them will be moved at a later date into their own pen. I will select between four and six of the Welsummer pullets to add to my flock, the rest I will try to sell.



Photo: 10 week old Gold Duckwing Welsummer


Finally the very first chick of this year to hatch, back in February, a Exchequer Leghorn pullet now 18 weeks old and not too far off laying.