This is the rare version of the Welsummer and the eggs are very similar. The plumage of the male is particularly striking having a silver white cape with beetle green and bronze wing feathers. The hen has the same silvery white cape but with partridge markings on the back and a reddy/brown breast. The Welsummer is named after the village of Welsum in Holland although the breed was originally developed in the area along the river Ysel to the north of Deventer, Holland at about the same time as the Barnevelders (1900-1913). The Dutch bred it from the partridge Cochin, partridge Wyandotte and partridge Leghorn, the Barnevelder and Rhode Island Red. It was first imported into this country in 1928 for its large brown egg. The Welsummer is a large, upright, active bird with a broad back, full breast and large full tail. They head has a single comb, medium wattles, almond shaped ear lobes and a strong, short beak. They have yellow legs which fade to pale yellow in summer and reddish bay eyes. We have these in Partridge and Silver Duckwing at the moment.
