TRADITIONAL BREEDS TRADITIONAL WAYS

Showing posts with label Gold Duckwing Welsummer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gold Duckwing Welsummer. Show all posts

Sunday, 18 August 2013

FOR SALE: Gold Duckwing Welsummer Cockerels and Others


 As I have mentioned before, this season many of the hatches have been cockerel heavy
. We have culled many but it is such a shame to see strong, healthy birds go to waste.

All have been bred from my own breeding stock and meet breed standards and are good birds fit for purpose  i.e egg laying or table whichever the breed dictates.


So I have decided to advertise them for sale with all proceeds going to The Dartmoor Search and Rescue Team ( Ashburton)

I would be happy to use any of the cockerels advertised for sale in my breeding programme.

Please take a look at the album of photos in the link and contact me if you are interested in any. More will be added at a later date.

Thank you.

Photos of Cockerels for Sale



Saturday, 17 August 2013

In a blink of an eye...

........yet another month has past by.

Autumn is fast approaching. There is a definite nip in the morning air and the evenings are drawing in. Everything is beginning to wind down. The hens are beginning to go into their annual moult and are laying fewer eggs. They are going to roost earlier each night and waking later each morning.

A few birds however are hanging onto the hope of an Indian summer and are broody. Despite my intention of ending this years breeding season with the hatch due in a couple of days I have decided to take advantage of one of the broody hens and do 'just one more hatch'.  - Welsummers.

The chicks hatched from the incubator a week ago are strong, healthy and full of life. Four have already gone to a new home to be cared for by a broody hen.


Photo: Latest arrivals one day old
 




 The 'Twenty Good Layers' have also been delivered to their new owner. They were the largest single 'hatch to order' of hens I have done this year. It proved to be quite a challenge as many of the early hatches were cockerel heavy but I was pleased with the finished flock and more importantly so was the customer.



Thoughts now are turning to plans for next year. As this years cockerels mature those showing promise are being selected as possible stock birds. Decisions are being made for new housing and new pens.


My biggest decision of all is whether to buy in a flock of utility laying hens to help meet the demand for fresh eggs. At present I keep a closed flock and have only traditional pure breed hens.
The hybrid flock would be kept separate from all the other groups and kept for laying purposes only.

A decision I have come to, somewhat reluctantly, is to sell my Gold Duckwing Welsumm
er stock cock. He is a smashing bird and has proved his worth over the last two breeding seasons producing many strong, healthy chicks with good markings and dark egg laying pullets. However next year I intend to use one of his sons and just don't have the room to keep too many cockerels.

Photo: Gold Duckwing Welsummer cock. 2011 hatch.


1st photo: Late 2011
2nd photo: August 2013






Tuesday, 16 April 2013

First broody hatch of 2013


The Indian Game hen has hatched 8 of the 9 eggs placed under her 21 days ago.The 9th chick sadly failed to hatch despite having pipped all around the shell.

The hen is one, if not the best of my broody flock. 

At the end of November last year, she hatched and raised 17 chicks from 19 eggs, despite the dreadful winter and she is the first and so far only bird to have gone broody this season.

I have four of her November pullets for sale, but as she is now 'getting on' in years I think I may keep a couple, hoping they will be as good a broody as their mother.

However for now a photo of 2013's first chicks to be hatched naturally - for me the best way. There is nothing like a mother hen and her chicks.


Photo: Indian Game hen and 3 of 8 Gold Duckwing Welsummer chicks

 





Tuesday, 20 November 2012

Surprise late hatch in photos - for Dad

Latest chicks  - from an Indian Game hen X Gold Duckwing Welsummer cock.  17/19 hatched

 Day 1:


 Day 2-3 :






Day 4 :







Monday, 3 September 2012

2012's breeding season has come to an end.


This week will see the final 'sort out' of the seasons growers and chicks. The last of the mother hens are ready to move back to their flock, their chicks now fully feathered. The male chicks will be culled and the females grouped together in one large pen.
 

 The oldest of the Welsummer growers, being kept as future breeding birds are close to POL and will be moved into large grass pens at the yard. Leaving just the last few, younger Welsummer pullets at home.

 The Exchequer Leghorns are still waiting for their new house to be put into place and then they too will be moved on.

All the broody arks will be scrubbed and the wood treated, ready for next season. The 'nursery' area left empty to rest over winter.


2012's breeding season has come to an end.


Sunday, 10 June 2012

So far so good


We are now into the second week of June and despite the awful, changeable, unpredictable weather the birds are coping well. Egg numbers are high and the chicks and growers are - growing.

Sales have been amazing with the young birds selling as soon as they are ready and a waiting list for more. I have been hatching all the eggs I can only selling the odd dozen hatching eggs here and there.

There has been a lull in broodies recently so I have had to resort to using the incubator for the turkey eggs. They are due in a couple of weeks along with a few Exchequer Leghorn eggs. It is the first time I have set a mixed hatch a week apart in the incubator, so I hope all goes well.

 It will be the last hatching of Exchequer Leghorns this season as I have broken up the breeding pen. I have swapped my breeding cock for a younger cockerel.He is a little younger than I was expecting but if he grows well I may do a late test hatch.


My latest hatch was this weekend  - 10 very lively, strong  Gold Duckwing Welsummers. They were hatched and will be reared by a Speckled Sussex. From the clutch I hope to keep, possibly 4, of the Silver pullets for myself. I also intend to keep a few of the Exchequer Leghorns that are now 3 weeks old as replacements and a couple of Partridge Welsummer pullets too.


The Light Sussex I hatched from eggs I bought in are now 9 weeks old.I couldn't be more pleased with them, 6 very nice pullets who will become valued members of my laying flock.


I have also kept a pen of different breed cockerels. When they have matured a little I will select a few to keep back, the rest to sell or to put in the freezer.

So - so far so good.

Wednesday, 25 April 2012

Time for a catch up


My posts are becoming few and far between and at a time when so much is happening, mostly hatching, so time to update the records.

The Indian Game hatched 6 out of the 7 viable Light Sussex eggs over the Easter weekend. A result I am more than pleased with, considering the problems with the air sacs. The chicks are adorable, true little yellow and white 'Easter chicks'. Now 2 1/2 weeks old they are growing strong and feathering up nicely with the black showing through on the wings and hackle, their black eyes quite striking. As ever the Indian Game hen is proving to be a doting mother.

Over the weekend the eggs in the incubator hatched.Numbers were much lower than expected as when I candled the eggs at 7 days many of the Gold Duckwing Welsummer eggs were clear. It seems the senior cockerel is feeling his age.He has now been moved to head my 'broody' flock a mix of heavy breed hens who at this time of year are my star birds and a younger cock has replaced him in the breeding pen. From the incubator 12 of the 15 Exchequer Leghorns hatched and there were 7 Welsummer chicks so still a good result and the chicks now in the shed under a lamp are growing at an alarming rate. It never fails to amaze me just how quickly their wing feathers develop and how instinctively they find food and water, scratch, preen and dust bath.Already they are sparring with one another.

The first hatch of the year are now 10 weeks old and are free ranging the grass pen at home. The young cockerels are finding their voice and one of the Leghorns has taken role as head of the group calling the pullets to him when he finds food.
The cross between the Welsummer cockerel and the Barnevelder hens looks as if it is going to be successful, the pullet is a pretty, friendly hen who hopefully will be a good layer of brown eggs, the cockerels are very strong, solid looking birds and worth growing on for the table.
The Exchequer Leghorn pullets are nicely marked, a good shape, inquisitive and active.and having bred only from the largest eggs hopefully this trait will be passed onto the pullets. They are proving  (rightly so) a very popular breed for poultry keepers this year and I have had many enquiries.

The second hatch are 6 weeks old and yesterday the mother hen was moved back into the 'broody' flock and the chicks/growers left to fend for themselves. They don't appear to have noticed her absence, although they are squabbling amongst themselves a little more now she isn't there to intervene. Unfortunately most are cockerels, although I do need a replacement cockerel myself this year and have a couple ordered so not so bad and there are a few nice pullets amongst them. In a couple of weeks time they too can free range.

Finally  news on the broody Barnevelder, she has been sitting on 8 eggs; 4 Partridge Welsummer and 4 Maran X Welsummer. They are due to hatch tomorrow and today they have started to pip. At the weekend she will be moved to an ark along with her chicks and the pen in the shed disinfected for the immediate occupation of a Maran and a setting of Exchequer Leghorn eggs.


Monday, 2 April 2012

The incubator is set


If I was superstitious maybe April 1st wasn't the best day to set the incubator but I did. 37 eggs - 15 Exchequer Leghorn and 22 Gold Duckwing Welsummer due to hatch, all being well on St. George's Day, April 23rd.
The incubator is again in the garage, hopefully this time the temperature will remain stable. I think it is running a little cold but I am reluctant to 'fiddle' with the thermostat. The digital thermometer is showing 37 C, the mercury thermometer just on / below the 100F and the strip thermometer is all over the place (I think it got wet last time). One of the many reasons I prefer using broody hens !

The mother hen is doing a sterling  job rearing her 3 week old chicks.  A challenge last night when temperatures dipped below freezing, turning the grass crisp and white and the drinking water to ice.

The Indian Game broody has only a few more days to go before her eggs are due to hatch but I fear she maybe disappointed. She now only has 7 eggs and I'm still not happy with the air sacs. We will just have to wait and see.

Another hen has gone broody, this time an untried young Barnevelder. She seems determined and has remained settled even after her move to the broody pen. I am trying to order a clutch of Silver Laced Wyandotte eggs to hatch for a friend but with the Easter Bank holidays looming and therefore several days without post I will probably set her on a clutch of Welsummer/Maran eggs of my own.

It looks as if the Silver Grey Dorking is also considering motherhood. If she does go broody I may sell her either with eggs or with chicks. She is a favourite of mine so maybe not, only space is limited.

Sunday, 15 January 2012

One Gold Duckwing Welsummer down


Yesterday was a beautiful winter's day, sunny, dry and cold. I spent the day dismantling the muck heap, removing the rotting wooden frames, starting a new heap with the unrotted
layer and spreading the rest lightly over the unused poultry pen. All the time accompanied by the 'paddock flock' who took full advantage of a free meal, so many worms.

At 12.30pm I went home for lunch and to do a few chores before returning at 2.00pm. I noticed straight away one of the three Gold Duckwing Welsummer hens was missing. They were only moved to the paddock last weekend and always hung out together. I assumed she was in the house laying and not wanting to disturbed her, resisted the temptation to look. After an hour and with no sign of her emerging from the house I went to check. She wasn't there. I checked all the usual secret hide aways, all the hedgerows and the apiary, nothing.

The birds in the 'paddock flock' have free range of the paddock (hence their name) and the yard. Although they rarely do, they can also get into the churchyard, the adjoining field and the lane leading to the woods.

Guessing she had wander a little far a field to lay I waited until dark hoping she would return to roost, she didn't. Against all the odds I looked out for her this morning, hoping she had survived the night but there is no sign.

I am now down to two of the gold coloured Duckwing Welsummers, having just sold all last years pullets. I will put them in a fenced grass run to avoid any more losses and will set more eggs very soon.

Monday, 9 January 2012

The chicken shuffle

On Saturday, after the birds had gone to roost we set about re organising their groupings ready for this years breeding season. The birds are quite use to being moved between flocks and adapt readily.

The three Gold Duckwing Welsummer hens (hopefully this years new breeding line) were placed in the paddock flock
This flock is headed by the younger of the Gold Duckwing Welsummer cockerels . The cockerel took to the new hens immediately and spent Sunday 'showing' them their new patch..The other hens making up the flock are a variety of heavy, traditional breeds (my broodies).


To balance the numbers, the two Marans from the paddock flock were placed in the house the Gold Duckwing Welsummers came from. This house now consists of the senior Gold Duckwing Welsummer cockerel and three Welsummer hens of partridge colouring but spilt for gold (the original breeding line), plus the aforementioned Marans.


The young trio of Partridge Welsummer and the Barnevelders, making up the third flock, were moved on mass to home.This group will remain together, the Barnevelders are my layers and the Welsummer trio are still quite young to breed from..They were moved as their grass run at the yard was becoming a little worn, where as at home the run is still in good condition., also I miss not having any birds at home, so if the truth be known this move was possibly more for my benefit.

Now all the birds are organised into their new groupings I can start to look forward to the new breeding season.

Sunday, 11 December 2011

Coming into lay


This year's Gold Duckwing Welsummer pullets have just started to come into lay. It is an event I have been eagerly awaiting, as a few breeders of Gold Duckwing Welsummers have experienced disappointing egg colouring from their birds.


My 1st generation of GDW Welsummers have been exceptional, laying lovely matt terracotta plain or speckled eggs, of a very good size.

It now looks as if the second generation are going to follow suit. With the first egg weighing in at 50g and the promise of
a good colour, I am more than pleased. Within a few weeks colour and size will improve.

The fact the pullet laid her first egg in the nest box is an added bonus.




Gold Duckwing Welsummer cockerel


Yesterday I noticed the young Gold Duckwing Welsummer cockerel was limping a little. This morning more so. He appears in fine fettle and is still eagerly chasing and treading the hens. Tonight once he has gone to roost I'll check under his feet for any sores, although I have a feeling the injury is more muscular. If so I will probably house him for a few days, along with a couple of hens, to restrict him and also to keep a closer eye on him. I am hoping to use him next season as the breeding cockerel of my second line of Gold Duckwing Welsummers.


Monday, 21 November 2011

A mixed bag

A month has passed since my last post, so just a few snippets of poultry news.

The Gold Duckwing Welsummer flock are slowly coming out of moult, new feathers are emerging
daily and in a few weeks they should all be showing off their glossy new plumage. They have yet to come back into lay.

The Exchequer Leghorns have already started laying again, having only stopped for a week or two. Their feather drop, apart from one hen was far less dramatic than the Welsummers. They are now in their 2nd year of laying and egg size has noticeably increased.

The broody flock are also coming back into lay, although frustratingly a couple of the hens are laying away. Two lay in the feed store amongst the straw and hay but I have yet to find where the Maran is laying despite many hours wasted scouring the hedge banks and all other likely spots.

The young Partridge Welsummer trio are looking fine. The pullets are laying, albeit sporadically, as are the Barnevelder pullets. The Welsummer cockerel is proving to be friendly to us and a true gentleman to the hens.

The sun at the weekend glistened on his plumage.



The young birds at home have been having the time of their lives, being allowed free range of the garden. They have done a sterling job of grubbing up weeds and bugs amongst the flower border, steps and veg patch.

Their numbers are gradually decreasing as more are sold. I have my eye on a couple of the Leghorn pullets I am debating on keeping, they are such friendly birds and their markings are very good.



At the weekend we weighed the turkeys. As they are more slender than previous years and so much lighter on their feet we were concerned they weren't making good weight. Looks however are deceptive as they are pretty much on par with previous years. The stags are weighing in at approx. 11- 12 kg, the hens 6 - 7 kg. and we still have four weeks to go.

Monday, 17 October 2011

Quick catch up


Photo: Young Gold Duckwing Welsummer pullets

With so much else happening just lately, posts have been few and far between. Life and routine, in the poultry world, however continues.


Most of the laying hens are now in moult and eggs are at a minimum. The cockerels have lost their grandeur and the hens resemble prickly pin cushions. The Welsummer flock have synchronized their moult, simultaneously dropping the majority of their feathers and all completely off lay. Hopefully it will be a short, sharp moult - the sign of a good layer.

All the 'spare' cockerels are now in the freezer, leaving us with just a couple of young Exchequer Leghorns. These will probably be carried through the winter and assessed early in the New Year, when they have matured a little.

All the growers are now running together in a large grass pen at home. The Gold Duckwing Welsummers, at 13 and 18 weeks old are looking good and are ready to find new homes. I would
expect the older ones, at least to come into lay this year.


Photo: Gold Duckwing Welsummer Pullet



A couple of the Indian Game have recently been broody but this has been discouraged as I feel it is too late in the year to rear chicks.

Fianlly - the turkeys. They are growing very quickly and never fail to keep everyone entertained. A bird I thoroughly enjoy keeping and hope to breed one day, rather than just rearing for Christmas.

Friday, 2 September 2011

Winding down for Autumn

Autumn has come early this year. There is a nip in the air, the leaves are beginning to turn, hedgerow fruits are ripening and dawn breaks with a low mist and pink sky.

The poultry are winding down for a well deserved rest. Many of the older birds are already in moult and egg production has slowed a little. Although egg numbers remain the same, as this years pullets have started to come into lay.

I still have a pen of 9 -10 week old Welsummer chicks and a pen of 7-8 week old Exchequer Leghorn chicks. The mother hens will be removed tomorrow to join the small flock I keep as broody hens. This year they have done me proud, rearing many clutches between them. One Indian Game is still broody but it is too late in the year to rear any more chicks. So for now she sits on a bale of straw in the feed shed on imaginary eggs.

This years cockerels are growing fast, a couple have been sold, the rest are slowly being placed in the freezer.

It has been a good year, with fertility high and many healthy strong chicks hatching. Admittedly the first few hatches were mainly cockerels but subsequent hatches balanced it out.

We have avoided red mite and all illnesses. I'd like to think through careful management and not over stocking but I think luck also plays a part.

It is now time for houses to be treated to help withstand the winter weather and for fences to be repaired or replaced. Also for plans to be put into action for next years breeding season.


Thursday, 18 August 2011

Young stock - For Sale - Photos updated

Now I have decided on next year's breeding groups I have a few young stock hatched this year available for sale.

Turkey Poults - White double breasted 9 weeks old . £10 each SOLD


Gold Duckwing Welsummer:
1 Partridge colour - ( split for Gold Duckwing) pullet 23 weeks old. £18 SOLD


6 pullets 12 weeks old - 5 of which are Gold in colour 1 Partridge (split for Gold ) £15 each

Photos: 11 week old Gold Duckwing Welsummers. 5 Gold
1 Partridge split for Gold
(Partridge pullet - sold )



Exchequer Leghorn:

9 chicks unsexed available in a few weeks - hatched 23 July 2011

Monday, 15 August 2011

Next years plan - Breeding flocks

Anyone who has read my blog will know my favourite breed above all else is the Welsummer - a breed that offers all that is required of a hen. Beautiful to look at, friendly, prolific layers of lovely, large dark or speckled brown eggs. Birds happy either free ranging or in a back garden setting. What more could you ask for?

Next year I plan to run 3 breeding flocks.

Flock 1 will be the same group as this year - a 2009 Gold Duckwing Welsummer cockerel with 3 of his daughters. This time however I will use all Partridge (spilt for gold ) in colour or all Gold in colour as I am interested in noting any difference in the offspring of the two colours e.g higher percentage of gold chicks, size of birds, colour of eggs laid by the resulting pullets etc.

Flock 2 will be the son of the 2009 Gold Duckwing Welsummer cockerel hatched in 2010 and as yet untried. I will run him with the hens not used in the above flock i.e the 3 Partridge or the 3 Gold hens. This will be a sibling mating and will more than likely throw up any genetic faults, so careful records will need to be kept and any undesirable birds kept out of any future breeding programme.

Flock 3 will be a trio of Partridge Welsummers.

The Gold Duckwing Welsummer pullets hatched this year I'll keep for a year before adding to any breeding group. I am eargerly awaiting for them to come into lay as there has been mention of Gold Duckwing Welsummer eggs lacking in colour. So far, with the 1st generation hens,(pullets from a Gold Duckwing cockerel to Partridge hens) it is not something I have noticed. The eggs produced have been a good colour, a very good size for 1st year hens and very good in number.
Fertility and hatch rate has been extremely high. The chicks produced, strong and healthy.

The only other breeding flock I will now keep, having decided not to run a 'table bird ' flock will be the Exchequer Leghorns.
My main aim with these is to try to increase egg size. All other traits of the breed I am extremely happy with. Despite their reputation my birds are not at all flighty, they lay well and have good markings, but their eggs are smaller than I would expect from a Leghorn. They are however only 1st year birds so I may be judging them a little unfairly.Once again fertility and hatch rate has been very high and the chicks are adorable.

Next years plan - Table birds

It has been a busy weekend of bird moving, processing and decision making.

I have decided to scrap all plans of keeping a separate 'Table bird' flock. So far the results have been fairly disappointing and unless I go down the quick to fatten hybrid route I feel I don't have the space or can justify the expense.

I had planned to run a flock of Barnevelders, the pullets for layers and the cockerels for fattening. The pullets are wonderful but the cockerels have been a problem. In previous years I have run young Indian Game or Indian Game cross cockerels together without incident, maybe the odd challenge lasting a couple of minutes but nothing more. The Barnevelders on the other hand don't get on well together, there has been no fighting as such, just much intimidating and bullying causing nervousness amongst the flock.

As the 'spare' Welsummer cockerels reach a reasonable weight with a fair meat to bone carcass and are so easy going with both humans and their own kind I think they will be our future.


Thursday, 14 July 2011

Gold Duckwing Welsummer - successful hatch

I can't help but be pleased with the performance of the Gold Duckwing Welsummers this year. The hens have laid extremely well, they have exceeded the Leghorns both in egg number and size and the shell colour has been good. Fertility has been high - often 100%. The latest setting of 13 eggs under a broody resulted in 12 strong, lively chicks. Earlier hatches have grown and feathered quickly.

Photos:

The latest hatch
. Day olds - 'called to order'


'feed time'


'one missing'




The previous hatch of Gold Duckwing Welsummers are now 5-6 weeks old. All six chicks turned out to be pullets, a pleasant change from earlier hatches.Only one has the partridge colouring.

At 6 weeks the mother hen is ready to leave them and return to the flock, The young are fully feathered and at the not quite chick nor adult stage.




Saturday, 2 July 2011

Poultry catch up


Photo: (click on image to enlarge) Young Gold Duckwing Welsummer cockerel - next year's second line.
( his legs are yellow !! )

The last couple of weeks have seen quite a few changes amongst the poultry.

Despite trying various different tactics the Indian Game cockerel remained infertile or at least disinterested. He was young and fit and would chase the girls around the paddock for as long as they would run but as soon as they stopped he walked away. So he is no longer with us.

Next year in his place as head of the table bird flock we will have a Barnevelder cockerel. I have the
pick of 5 from this year's hatch but have already marked out the one I think the best.

I am also going to replace the mix of heavy breed layers but am keeping the Marans, Speckled Sussex and Indian Game as they have been star broodies this year. The other layers have already been sold and have gone to a very good home. I will make the numbers up with half a dozen Barnevelder pullets.

All of this year's Exchequer Leghorn pullets have sold and I am still getting enquires for them. Today I set another clutch of eggs under a broody Speckled Sussex. This will probably be my last hatch of the year.

The Gold Duckwing Welsummers have been amazing, they have been laying daily and the egg size and colour is very good. In the past week or so two have gone broody but it is not a breed I would use to sit, especially as this year I have been overwhelmed with broody hens.

The cockerel I kept back from last year is looking good and I have two nice looking pullets amongst the Partridge Welsummer eggs I hatched, so hopefully the makings of a quality second line.


All the rest of the chicks are thriving and as each batch grow and more hatch they are moved along the line of different size runs.

The turkey eggs hatched last Friday 12 out of 13 being shared amongst two hens ..but more about that later along with photos.

The old gander, thankfully, has settled down and seems reasonably happy pottering about with the sheep and hens. He is in full moult and looks a little dishevelled but otherwise none the worse for his ordeal.