Illustrated Welsummer hen breed plate
Welsummer

Welsummer at a glance

Egg production160–200 eggs/year
Egg colorspeckled dark brown
Sizemedium
Temperament summaryFriendly
Housing classlaying hen

Strongest documented traits

Egg-color uniqueness

Very distinctive egg color

speckled dark brown eggs

Source confidence: High

Temperament

Calm temperament

friendly

Source confidence: High

Things to consider

These are traits that may be a drawback depending on what you want from your flock. Individual birds can vary.

Egg production

Moderate egg production

160-200 eggs/year

Source confidence: High

How the planner uses this breed

The flock planner does not rank Welsummer from a single overall score stored in the database. Instead, it weights individual traits differently for each household. Cold hardiness matters more in harsh winters; heat tolerance matters more in hot climates; docility receives additional weight when children will handle the birds; and housing size can prevent a breed mix from being recommended even when its preference score is strong.

Sources used for this record

Last database review: 2026-10-03. Trait values are normalized to a 1–5 planning scale; see the methodology for how uncertainty is handled.