The Welsummer: The Speckled Terracotta Egg and Day-Old Chick Sexing

You have almost certainly seen a Welsummer cock already: the famous rooster on the Kellogg's cornflakes box is a Welsummer. But the breed's real value isn't its handsome plumage — it's two unusual traits: a speckled terracotta egg and, despite being a pure breed, chicks whose sex can be read on the day they hatch.

Origin and General Traits

The Welsummer comes from the Dutch village of Welsum, created in the early 1900s by blending Partridge Leghorn, Barnevelder, Rhode Island Red, Cochin and Wyandotte. The aim was clear: a hardy farm hen laying a dark, striking egg.

• Cock: ~3.0 kg
• Hen: ~2.5 kg
• Colour: gold partridge is the commonest; a silver variety exists too
• Comb: single
• Temperament: calm, friendly, curious; not at all aggressive

The Egg: Speckled Terracotta

Trait	Value
Point of lay	5-6 months
Eggs per year	160-200 (more in good lines)
Egg weight	65-75 g (XL — very large)
Egg colour	Terracotta / deep russet with dark speckles
Daily feed intake	110-120 g

A Welsummer egg is quite different from the Marans' plain chocolate one: the ground colour is redder and more orange (terracotta), and it carries dark brown speckles. Put the two side by side in a basket and the contrast is striking.

	Marans	Welsummer
Colour	Plain dark chocolate	Terracotta with dark speckles
Eggs per year	150-200	160-200
Egg size	60-65 g	65-75 g (bigger)
Candling	All but impossible	Hard, but possible
Foraging	Good	Excellent

Important: the rule from our Marans guide applies here too — the speckles and the pigment sit on the surface of the shell. Rub them with a wet cloth and they come off. The colour also fades over the laying season and resets after the moult. That is normal.

An Unusual Trait: Chick Sex Readable on Day One

This is what makes the Welsummer special, and it isn't widely known.

In crosses such as the Atak-S or Plymouth Rock × RIR, the chicks' sex can be read at hatch — but those are F1 hybrids and cannot be bred on among themselves. The Welsummer is a pure breed, and its chicks can still largely be told apart by their down pattern:

• Pullets: the dark stripes down the back are sharp and well defined, with clear dark head markings and a distinct "eyeliner" line around the eye.
• Cockerels: the same pattern is faded and blurry, and the head markings are indistinct.

The method isn't infallible (an experienced eye gets 80-90%), but this much accuracy at day-old in a pure breed is rare and makes breeding plans far easier. For detail see our guide on how to tell a chick's sex.

Foraging: A Rival to the Sussex

The Welsummer is one of the best foragers on this site — in the same league as the Sussex. It scratches all day, hunts insects and eats greens. Given room to range, it lowers your feed bill noticeably.

Its daily feed intake is low to begin with (110-120 g), thanks to a light body and an efficient metabolism. Among the breeds suited to a free-range garden it is one of the most economical.

Temperament and Hardiness

The Welsummer is calm, friendly and intelligent; it is not aggressive and gets used to people. It is active and alert — it spots a predator early, which is an advantage in a free-ranging flock.

It is cold-hardy. But it has a single comb; as the comb table in our Wyandotte guide shows, in a hard winter a cock's comb risks frostbite. The coop must be dry and free of draughts.

Care and Housing

• Coop space: 0.3-0.4 m² per hen
• Run: the bigger the better — 3-5 m². This is where the breed shows its strength.
• Flying: a light body and a good flier. The fence must be high (1.5-2 m) or the run covered
• Perch: can be high
• Nest boxes: one per 4 hens — make them roomy for those big eggs

For coop dimensions see how to build a chicken coop, and for vaccination and hygiene our coop biosecurity guide.

Hatching: It Doesn't Go Broody — You Need a Machine

This is the breed's clearest weakness: it rarely goes broody, and when it does it isn't a particularly good mother. The price of good laying is a weakened brooding instinct.

So if you want Welsummer chicks you need an incubator (or a Silkie in the flock). The period is standard: 21 days, 37.5-37.8 °C, 45-55% humidity, lockdown on day 18.

A candling note: the shell is dark, so candling is harder than usual — though not as hopeless as with the Marans. You'll want a strong LED and complete darkness; see our candling guide.

We set out the process step by step in our 21-day incubation guide; to keep the days straight, the Kuluçka Takip app builds the calendar and reminds you of turning and hatch days. You can check out the app here.

Pros and Cons

• + A speckled terracotta egg — striking in the basket
• + Very large eggs (65-75 g, XL)
• + A pure breed whose chicks can largely be sexed at day old
• + An excellent forager on a low feed intake (110-120 g)
• + Calm, friendly, intelligent; not aggressive
• + Ideal for free range; alert to predators
• + A pure breed: you can hatch your own chicks
• − Rarely broody and a poor mother → an incubator is essential
• − Moderate egg output (160-200)
• − A good flier; a high fence is needed
• − Single comb: frostbite risk in a hard winter
• − The speckles wash off, and the colour fades over the season

Who Is It For?

The Welsummer suits you if: you want a striking, speckled, extra-large egg; you have a garden and want your hens to range (it cuts the feed bill); you want a calm, friendly flock; knowing chick sex early makes your life easier; you're building a basket of coloured eggs (Welsummer + Marans + a blue-egg breed + Leghorn gives you speckled, chocolate, blue and white).

The Welsummer is not for you if: you want natural incubation → the Silkie or the Orpington; you want maximum eggs → the Lohmann or the Leghorn; you want meat too → the Sussex or the Plymouth Rock; your space is closed and cramped (it flies, and it gets bored).

To compare all the breeds side by side, see our guide to choosing a laying or meat breed.