Welsummer

Looks how to spot one

Soft feather, partridge pattern

A neat, upright, medium-sized bird with a single comb. The classic red partridge colouring gives cocks a rich red-gold neck and back over a black breast, while hens are softly pencilled in warm browns. Hens lay large, dark terracotta eggs that are often freckled with darker spots.1432

Personality what they are like

Bright, curious and friendly. Welsummers are busy, alert birds that usually get on well with people, though they tend to be more interested in exploring than in being carried around.43

Daily activity how busy a day looks

An active breed that loves to forage, so it does best with daily access to a run or garden to explore.34

Grooming and care the hands-on bits

Chickens keep their own feathers in order by preening and dust bathing, so the main jobs are a dry dust-bath area, clean dry bedding, daily flock checks and regular egg collection. Hens lay roughly 160 to 200 eggs a year, about four a week.341

Home where they are happiest

A secure, dry, well-ventilated but draught-free coop with perches and nest boxes, plus a fenced run with a patch of dry soil for dust bathing. The RSPCA suggests about 1 m² of indoor space per bird where possible.56

Food basics what goes in the bowl

A complete commercial poultry ration is the base: chick starter, then grower, then layer feed once hens begin laying. Provide insoluble grit, oyster shell as extra calcium for laying hens, and constant clean water.56

Company who they like around

Chickens are flock animals that forage, roost and dust bathe together, so keep at least three birds that get along.5

The story where it all began

The Welsummer was developed around the start of the 20th century near Welsum from a mix including Partridge Cochin, Partridge Wyandotte, Partridge Leghorn, Barnevelder and Rhode Island Red. Dutch breeders fixed a standard in the early 1920s and the breed was shown at the 1921 World Poultry Congress. Birds reached Britain in 1928, prized for their eggs, and entered the British standard in 1930.123

Recognised by the official bits

The Poultry Club of Great Britain

Standardised breed, classed as soft feather light; added to the British standard in 1930.2

American Poultry Association

Recognised in one variety, red partridge.4

Entente Européenne

Lists three plumage colours for the breed, while only red partridge is recognised in the Netherlands.1