Conservation Status: Threatened 

NPIP: R17

Comb: Moderately Large Single

Use: Eggs, Meat

Egg Color: Brown

Egg Size: Large to Jumbo 200-280 a year

Average Weight: Rooster 7.5 – 10 lbs, Hen 5.5 – 6.5 lbs

Temperament: Gentle

Characteristics: Fast Growth, friendly, good foragers

APA Class: American

Color Description: Males: White with black barring on the neck and tail. Females: Same, except that the entire tail is black, edged in white

Breed Details: The Welsummer chicken is a Dutch breed named after the village of Welsum in Holland. Developed in the 1900’s it was first imported into the USA in 1928 for its large brown egg. The Welsummer eggs will vary in tints of dark brown and most of the eggs will have a real dark speckled pigment to the shell. The famed Kellogg’s Rooster was a Welsummer chicken. 

The Welsummer roosters are glorious with their beautiful shades of red and black. They are a fast growing bird and a very rare breed here in the United States. Admitted to the American Standard of Perfection in 1991. The breed has only been in existence a little less than 100 years.

It was created around the village of Welsum near Deventer, the Netherlands as a dual-purpose bird post-World War I.The year of its debut was 1921 at the Hagues’ World Poultry Congress where it was eagerly greeted by Dutch and other European poultry enthusiasts.

Early specimens made their way back to England in 1927 and from there were eventually exported to the US around 1928. The Dutch Welsummer Breeders’ club was also formed in 1927 to continue to improve and refine the breed. The Dutch standard for this breed was set in 1924.

They were admitted to the Poultry Club of Great Britain in 1930. They are classified as soft feathered, light. In 1935 they won the British ‘Best Utility Breed’ award over all comers. They were finally admitted to the American Poultry Association in 1991 where they are classified as Continental.

To say that the bird has an overall partridge feather pattern does a disservice to the bird. While the pattern is partridge, it is quite beautiful in an understated way. The recognized variety is partridge, but there are also silver duckwing and gold duckwing varieties out there.

They are in the Top Ten of foragers and will supplement their feed well. They tolerate confinement but prefer to wander and their coloring helps to camouflage them from predators.

Welsummers have put out around 4 eggs per week during their prime years. However, it’s not the quantity but the visual quality of the eggs that are stunning. The eggs should be a dark, rich terra cotta brown sometimes with dark speckles. The pigmentation of the egg is so rich that you can wipe it off with your fingers when cleaning the eggs if you aren’t careful.

They are not known to be broody and they are rotten mothers by all accounts anyway. If you desire to hatch some, use your incubator.

The nice thing about the chicks is they are autosexing, meaning you can tell the sexes right after hatching! Welsummer girls will show a darker more distinct pattern and a darker head, while the boys tend to have broken, fuzzier patterning.

Autosexing in chickens was first studied by Dr. R. Punnett in the 1920s in Cambridge, England. He theorized that the gene which controlled the expression of barred color patterns was different in the male and female chickens. The male would receive 2 barred genes, whereas females only get 1. This would mean that the male chicks were lighter than the females. His theory was proven correct and he was later able to create autosexing breeds such as the Cream Legbar.

NPIP Codes:

W13 SILKIE

W693 SILKIE, BEARDED BLUE SPLASH

W741 SILKIE, BEARDED CALICO

W770 SILKIE, BEARDED PAINT

W247 SILKIE, BEARDED PARTRIDGE

Comb: Walnut Comb

Use: Ornamental

Egg Color: Cream

Egg Size: Small – 100 per year

Average Weight: Rooster 1.2 lbs, Hen 1.1 lbs

Temperament: Gentle, calm, friendly

Characteristics: Broody, Flightless, Black Skin

APA Class: American Bantam Association Feather Legged

Color Description: Multiple varieties with Blue Ears Pom Pom & dark mulberry comb

Breed Details: The Silkie Chicken is the fluff ball of the chicken world. 

The Silkie (also known as the Silky or Chinese silk chicken) is a breed of chicken named for its atypically fluffy plumage, which is said to feel like silk and satin. The breed has several other unusual qualities, such as black skin and bones, blue earlobes, and five toes on each foot, whereas most chickens only have four. They are often exhibited in poultry shows, and also appear in various colors.

In addition to their distinctive physical characteristics, Silkies are well known for their calm, friendly temperament. It is one of the most docile birds. Hens are also exceptionally broody, and care for young well. Although they are fair layers themselves, they are commonly used to hatch eggs due to their broody nature.

It is unknown exactly where or when these fowl first appeared, but the most well documented point of origin is ancient China centuries ago. Other places in Southeast Asia have been named as possibilities, such as India and Java. The earliest surviving Western written account of Silkies comes from Marco Polo, who wrote of a "furry" chicken in the 13th century during his travels in Asia. 

In 1598, Ulisse Aldrovandi, a writer and naturalist at the University of Bologna, Italy, published a comprehensive writing on chickens which is still read today. In it, he mentions "wool-bearing chickens" and ones "clothed with hair like that of a black cat".

Silkies most likely made their way to the West via the Silk Route and maritime trade. The breed was recognized officially in North America with acceptance into the Standard of Perfection in 1874. Once Silkies became more common in the West, many myths were perpetuated about them. Early Dutch breeders told buyers they were the offspring of chickens and rabbits, while sideshows promoted them as having actual mammal fur.

In the 21st century, Silkies are one of the most popular ornamental breeds of chicken. They are often kept as pet chickens by backyard keepers.

This is a docile and friendly chicken breed. In fact they are so friendly they often get bullied by more assertive birds like Rhode Island Reds. They will do well mixed with other docile breeds (such as Polish, Cochin or similar types) and enjoy a peaceful coexistence.

Nevertheless, they really enjoy interacting with humans and are a pushover for lap time, where they frequently have a nap. Silkies love being carried around or having cuddles.

If you want a chicken that lays lots of eggs, the Silkie is not your bird. They are considered poor layers averaging 2-3 small eggs each week – around 100-120 eggs per year. However they excel in the broodiness department and are fabulous mothers.

Conservation Status: Critical

NPIP: W25

Comb: Rose with a leader on males

Use: Ornamental

Egg Color: White

Egg Size: Small 60-80 per year

Average Weight: Hen 20 oz. Rooster 22 oz.

Temperament: Active spunky, hens are not broody-nor good mothers. Friendly and easily tamed.

Characteristics:

Like to fly. Do not tolerate cold. Not many eggs.

APA Class: British Origin Clean Legged Bantam

Color Description: Silver, with white base and black lacing 

Breed Details

The Sebright is a British breed of bantam chicken. It is a true bantam – a miniature bird with no corresponding large version.

It is named after Sir John Saunders Sebright, who created it as an ornamental breed by selective breeding in the early nineteenth century.

The Sebright was developed by Sir John Saunders Sebright, the 7th Baronet of Besford, Worcestershire and a Member of Parliament for Herefordshire in the early 1800s, and is one of the oldest recorded British bantam breeds.

Saunders was a “gentleman farmer” who wanted to create a bantam breed that had well-defined lacing. His “recipe” for creating the breed is unknown, but in the process, he traveled the countryside collecting “odd” and “gamey” birds from the local poultry flocks, and may have imported birds from other countries. Some believe he may have used the Nankin, Polish, and Hamburg chickens. The most difficult part of the creation of the bird was getting it to have the desired lacing and breed true. The Sebright was finally introduced in 1810 – after 20-30 years of work.

The first poultry breed to have its own specialist club for enthusiasts, Sebrights were admitted to poultry exhibition standards not long after their establishment.

Comb: Pea Comb with muffs and / or beards

Use: Egg Layer

Egg Color: Blue, Green sometimes Pink

Egg Size: Large 220 – 280 per year

Average Weight: Rooster 6.5 lbs, Hen 5.5 lbs

Temperament: Friendly, Hardy, Quirky, Comical

Characteristics: Ornamental, heart stealers!

APA Class: Not recognized

Color Description: Multiple color variations

Breed Details: Every backyard flock needs a little pop of blue, green and pink! But FIRST let’s talk about the spelling shall we… the Easter Egger, Ameraucana,

Americauna, and Araucana. We must take a moment to define and educate because, well, certain places we will leave nameless; drive us insane….

Araucanas: Were recognized by the APA as a breed in 1976 they lay blue eggs. They have yellow skin, no tails, no beards, no muffs and can have ear muffs. There are 5 recognized colors Black Breasted Red, Black, Golden Duckwing, Silver Duckwing and White. They are very hard to breed!

Ameraucana: Note the spelling. They have been bred in the USA since about 1960. The APA recognized them as a breed in 1984. They also lay blue eggs. They have a pea comb, white skin, full tails, muffs and beards (always), slate blue or black legs. They have specific colors which APA recognizes: Black, Blue, Blue Wheaton, Brown, Red, Silver Wheaton, and White. Lavender has also recently made the scene. Lastly, the color will sit in front of the name Blue Ameraucana and they should always be more than $4.00.

Americana or Americauna and any other way you might think to spell it: well it’s just not; sorry it is an Easter Egger.

Easter Egger – Now we’re cooking with peanut oil. AND, we’re back! I feel like I’ve been in school learning definitions .. ick  Easter Eggers are not an APA recognized breed. They are a variety of chicken that possesses the “blue egg” gene however, they do not meet any breed standards. Don’t be fooled call it what it is.

Easter Eggers also have a blue laying egg gene but in fact can lay a rainbow (get it Easter egg) of colors from any hue of blue to green, pink, tan, even brown. Easter Eggers found their way into our hearts from true Araucana’s and true Ameraucana’s by breeders who were looking to carry that “blue egg gene” but not the difficulties of the breeding that comes with the Araucana. Not recognized by the APA but don't tell that to these happy little jewels, they are everywhere and backyard flocks need at least 6 or  12.

Our Easter Eggers will give you an assortment of colors from blue to green eggs. The birds are very friendly and good with kids. We have searched long and far to develop a certain look to our Easter Eggers and our Olive Eggers. All have muffs and some throw beards with their muffs. 

Health Notes: We have never had it (Good Lord willing and the creek don’t rise) but Easter Egger have been known to carry a scissor beak gene. 

Olive Eggers

You've been wanting that shade of green (olive) eggs in your kitchen. Well, we have them hatching!  Olive Eggers are an exciting breed of chickens that typically lay various shades of green colored eggs. They are created by crossing a dark brown egg layer with a blue egg layer. Our Olive Eggers were created by crossing some of our Marans, Welsummers, White Ameraucana and Whiting True Blues. The olive can be in a variety of shades and the potential always exists for chicks to grow to lay eggs of different green shades even brown. It is up to her.  Although not a recognized breed we can say are parents are quality pure, never diluted and hand raised.