As is known, depending on the household purpose, chickens are divided into meat and egg. The first ones have larger sizes and are characterized by inactivity, the second ones are lighter, more active and more "vulnerable", but they ripen faster and carry well. But there are universal breeds that can be used both for hatching eggs and for meat. A striking example of such a bird is the chicken breed Welsumer.
Selection
Welzumera were bred in Holland more than a hundred years ago. There is nothing mysterious in the beautiful name of the breed. Velzum - this was the name of a small town, not far from which selection work took place.
It is reliably known that in the creation of a new species were used three lines:
- local chickens of red "kuropatochnogo" color, which became the basis of the breed;
- Malayan fighting breeds that gave the bird a strong build and endurance;
- English meat Dorking, allowed to achieve larger sizes.
The initial result has improved over the years, with the British making a large contribution to the breeding work.
The final standard of the chicken was formed by the second half of the 20s of the last century, and a little later the Germans brought out a dwarf variety of velzumera, which are well suited for breeding in small areas.
The Hungarian giant, silver silver, Chinese silk, Bielefelder, Maran, Amrox, Broken Brown, Redbro, Dominant, Master Gray also boast foreign origins.
Description and Features
For a rather long history, the breed has managed to win many admirers, it is especially valued by residents of cold regions, due to its high resistance to frost. 
It is difficult to call Velzumer a decorative bird, but it doesn’t require special beauty from it. Distinctive features of the standard - endurance and earliness.
Did you know? The hen is considered the very first bird that man has managed to domesticate. According to some reports, the purposeful breeding of this bird existed ten thousand years ago, and the Chinese started this process.
Exterior and color
Breed standard - moderate and medium-high bird with a massive strong body in the shape of a cylinder and a low horizontal landing. The weight of the rooster varies between 3-3.5 kg, chicken on average per kilogram less. 
The kuropatny red-red color inherited from the Dutch ancestors is the only possible color variation of velzumer colors, but does not distinguish them from many other, less famous breeds with the same plumage color.
The head and neck of a rooster have a rich brown tint; a dark, crooked figure appears on a lighter background. The basic tone is present on the chest and wings, also ending with a three-color pattern. The inner side of the feathers is black with a brown speck. The back is brown, to the belt with an admixture of a golden hue and a crotchety pattern: the roots of the feathers are gray, the middle is brown, the tips are black. The gray down has brown endings, due to which the illusion of brown is created.
Layers are more uniform, their feathers are brown with black and gray blotches, the head, neck and breast are smooth red, without blotches and lighter, the tail is black. 
The bird's head is small, the beak is medium, usually yellow (in the color of the paws), the eyes are large, red-orange in color.
The Cockerel has a neat, proudly standing comb with five or six teeth not adjacent to the back of the head, and short rounded earrings. Chicken has a small scallop, also upright. The neck of the cock is covered with a dense, but not too lush mane, usually tilted slightly forward. The legs are powerful, of medium length, the legs are well visible.
Birds of both sexes are characterized by a wide rounded chest, the same massive and full belly (in a hen it is very soft), a wide and long back proportional, well feathered and smoothly turning into a small tail located at a 45-degree angle to the back, in a rooster - with short braids, the chicken - compressed and neat. The wings are pressed to the body.
Velzumera is also distinguished by a dense, soft and well-fitting plumage. 
The following deviations from the standard are considered a marriage:
- insufficiently rounded body;
- poorly developed belly in the hen;
- excessive body tilt;
- too tall;
- hanging wings;
- large head;
- eye color other than red;
- too motley colors, the absence of a three-color pattern;
- the presence of white in the plumage, for the chicken is also clearly not allowed black;
- spots or stripes in color.
Novice poultry farmers, as a rule, try to acquire grown-up chickens, as it will take time, knowledge and additional efforts to grow chickens. Familiarize yourself with chicken age determination methods.
Character
Dutch breeders did not disappoint. Although there is a fighting ancestor in the genus velzumer, the bird is different friendliness and appeasability. Both the males and the chickens behave rather calmly, they do not show aggression either to their fellows or to a person, they quickly get used to the owner, becoming literally tame, curious and not fearful. There is some importance, consistency and demonstrated self-esteem for roosters, but this feature rather adorns the bird.
Some breeders still note some cases of clarifying the relationship between the young "guys", however, according to the breed standard, the male half of the breed is not peculiar. Perhaps its manifestation is due to incorrect conditions of detention, in particular, limited space and an insufficient number of "ladies" per one rooster. 
Hatching instinct
But with the instinct of incubation, the situation is much worse. Alas, it is practically absent in the olsumuser hens. Although the productivity of a velzumer is good, and the egg direction is one of the goals of breeding, in order to hatch the young, you usually have to use an incubator (or simply lay the cuckoo eggs under another hen).
Productivity
Under the productivity in animal husbandry understand the quality indicators of the products obtained as a result of the cultivation of a particular type of livestock or poultry. For chickens, productivity is assessed in two ways, depending on the breed's household purpose:
- for egg breeds - egg production, which, first of all, is calculated from the number of eggs laid by one bird during the year;
- for meat breeds - precociousness and body weight, which the bird is gaining by slaughter age, as well as the quality and nutritional value of meat.
Find out what to do if chickens do not carry well, carry small eggs, peck eggs.
Since velzumer belongs to the universal meat-egg breeds, both of these indicators have values for its evaluation. 
Egg production
Dutch hens possess average egg productiontheir “norm” - 170 eggs per year with possible deviations in both directions by 10-15%, depending on the age and conditions of detention (for comparison: this indicator of productivity in meat-egg breeds varies in the range of 150-220 eggs per year).
Did you know? The world record of egg production is 371 eggs for an incomplete year (364 days). It was recorded in August 1979 in the US state of Missouri. The white leggorn white breed, for such a high result, surpassed, thus, its companion of the same breed, which in 1930 laid 361 eggs.
The first laying of the hen occurs between the fifth and sixth months of life, which is also considered an average for chickens in this direction.
Do not stand out and egg sizes: their average weight is 65 g, maximum - 70 g. Eggs are less than the average for incubation of chicks are not allowed. The testicles have a regular oval shape, slightly rough shells and a traditional dark brown color (a distinctive feature of the velzumer). 
Providing good conditions, in particular, a balanced diet of poultry, its eggs acquire excellent taste and high nutritional value.
It is interesting to read about the benefits and dangers of raw eggs.
Precocity and taste of meat
High precocity is traditionally considered one of the main advantages of Velzumera. Chickens demonstrate excellent survival (the percentage of death in young animals does not exceed 10%) and quickly gaining live weight (with proper nutrition by one and a half months the bird gains up to 0.8 kg), so the meat use of chickens remarkably justifies itself.
Important! It is noticed that chickens with access to free walks in the fresh air, have a more delicious meat than birds, spending their entire lives indoors.
The meat at Velzumera is of good quality and very tender. To a greater extent this, of course, concerns young birds, but with the age-related decline in egg production (from about the third year of life), laying hens can also be planted for fattening and used for food, the carcass will simply be a little more rigid. 
Conditions of detention
The great popularity that the Dutch breed of chickens has acquired over the past few decades is due not only to the universality of the use of the bird, but also to the absence of any problems with its breeding. This task can be solved even by an inexperienced owner, who has a very small area for the house.
Velzumer, thanks to the optimal mixing of the blood of various breeds, inherited from his ancestors excellent immunity and resistance to major diseases, endurance, unpretentiousness and docile nature.
To keep the poultry enough to create only the usual standard conditions necessary for any domestic chicken.
Read also about the breeds of chickens Russian Crested, Kuban Red, Pavlovskaya, Poltava.
Requirements for the room
The dimensions of the chicken coop for velzumera are determined so that to 1 square. m area accounted for no more than 3-4 birds, however, the room will be more spacious, the more comfortable it will feel its inhabitants. 
It is equally important that the chicken coop is warm and dry, because the two most important enemies of the chicken are drafts and dampness. The flooring is preferably lined with straw or sawdust, and this litter must be changed regularly. You must also take care of good ventilation so that the air in the room does not stagnate and does not become stale.
We advise you to read about the arrangement of housing for chickens: the choice and purchase of a chicken coop, self-production and improvement of the chicken coop.
Inside the chicken coop is equipped with feeders and drinkers, which must be regularly cleaned and changed their contents. In addition, the room is equipped with low perches and nests for layers. 
Courtyard for walking
Providing free-range chickens is a good way to save on feed, and at the same time strengthen the immunity of their wards, because they will be able to find for themselves the vegetable and animal "supplements" that are lacking in the basic diet. In addition, poultry is a natural orderly of the dacha, destroying pests that damage the crop.
Important! To preserve egg production in winter, the chicken needs the maximum amount of light. On the one hand, this can be achieved by walking on sunny days, but a good result is also provided by an artificial increase in daylight by controlling the lighting in the hen house. The bird's body reacts to this change by increasing the number of eggs laid.
For the chickens to be comfortable and safe, they need to fence off a small area near the house. You can use a metal grid or other material so that the height of the fence is not less than one and a half meters, otherwise too active birds can get out, and this, in turn, will adversely affect the state of the garden, vegetable garden or flower garden. It is important that in the fenced area the bird can find young grass, worms and other insects, that is, have access to open ground. 
Be sure to take care that the courtyard was equipped with a canopy, where chickens will find protection from the scorching sun or heavy rain. It is clear that such a place should be as high as possible, otherwise rain streams will flow there. If there is no such natural elevation in the area, it will be necessary to construct a flooring from boards or a concrete floor.
Slate, roofing material or polycarbonate is used as a material for the roof. In such an improvised pavilion there are troughs and drinkers, and also - necessarily! - troughs with sand, shells and ash, necessary for birds for cleansing hygiene baths. In summer, nests can be equipped for laying eggs.
How to endure the cold
Welzumer is a breed of chickens with very high cold resistance. These birds not only tolerate frost well, but do not even reduce egg production in winter.
Learn how to build a chicken coop for the winter with your own hands and make heating.
The “Dutch” walking in the fresh air can not be stopped when the temperature drops to -20 ° C, but in such weather it is worth reducing the time the birds stay in the cold: if the temperature does not fall below -10 ° C - one and a half hours, at lower values of the thermometer - hour, no more. 
In addition, in extreme cold the birds should walk on the grounds covered with hay, dry leaves or other warm material, otherwise frostbite of the paws can occur.
Did you know? If the Dutch tried to maximize the frost resistance of their birds, then the Jews are forced to solve the reverse problem. So, recently in Israel a unique breed of completely bare chickens was bred, without down and feathers. The birds are born to Avigdor Cohaner, a professor at the Department of Agricultural Genetics at the Hebrew University. The scientist explained the need for such a strange creature by the fact that chickens, especially those related to meat breeds, for which rapid weight gain and, consequently, enhanced nutrition are necessary, very hard endure the Israeli heat, which is why they die en masse, and the absence of feathers will provide a better body ventilation. It should, however, be noted that such a discovery caused outrage in the ranks of the Green Party.
What to feed
The diet of unpretentious velzumerov absolutely standard. Certain features exist only depending on the age of the bird, its conditions of maintenance (the presence or absence of free range), the direction of use (for eggs or for meat) and the time of year. 
Youngsters
From the first days of life, chickens are fed boiled hard boiled and then finely chopped chicken eggs mixed with dried semolina. Then, starting from the third day, fermented milk products and the main chicken delicacy are introduced into the ration - a mash, a mixture of grain, mixed fodder, vegetables (carrots, potatoes, melons), fresh greens (onions, nettle, clover, alfalfa), bran , flour and other additives mixed with water, clabber, broth or skimmed milk (skimmed).
Important! Green feed should be at least 30% of the diet of young animals, because they contain the main vitamins that strengthen the immunity of chickens.
Newborn chicks are fed six times a day, and starting from the 11th day of life, the number of meals is gradually reduced to four. 
Adults
The basis of the diet of adult birds is grain. Welsumer eagerly regale on corn, millet, barley, oats, and wheat. In the absence of the opportunity to ensure free-running for the bird, greens, vegetables and protein components (dairy products, small fish, mollusks) must be present in the diet.
Birds also need to be given mash, carefully making sure that this kind of food does not lie in the feeders and does not spoil (it is better to remove the remnants immediately). Be sure to in the diet should contain vitamins and mineral components: their source can be shell rock, chalk, bone meal.
Learn more about feed for laying hens at home.
When choosing the meat direction of use of the bird, the total amount of food increases, and more combined feed is added to its composition.
The diet of adult chickens consists of two meals in the warm season and three - in the winter. The only exception is young laying hens: before they reach one year old, it is better to feed the birds 3-4 times a day throughout the year. 
Advantages and disadvantages
Summarizing all the above, one can single out the main pros and cons of Dutch meat and egg breed.
So, to unconditional merits Velzumera should include:
- unpretentiousness at any age, the ability to "meekly" endure some mistakes of a novice farmer and not very favorable conditions of detention;
- standard diet;
- good egg fertility (more than 95%);
- very high survival rate (about 90%);
- precociousness, which allows not only to quickly obtain a selected meat carcass, but also to easily rejuvenate the herd as the egg production decreases with age;
- good egg production while preserving it in the winter period without additional costs on the part of the breeder (complex lighting regulation, etc.);
- высокие качественные характеристики мяса.
Недостатков породы намного меньше. These include:
- the almost complete absence of the incubation instinct in the hens, the need to use incubators or other chickens for breeding chicks;
- the bright temperament of young cockerels, which, under certain circumstances, can lead to injuries in birds;
- relative rarity (a bird that meets all the requirements of the standard is not so easy to acquire).
Video: Welsomer chickens
Reviews poultry farmers on the breed Welsumer
Welzumer is a fairly old and proven for decades breed of hens of European breeding, an excellent representative of poultry meat and egg uses. Quick-ripening, hardy, unpretentious and frost-resistant, these chickens are great for small farms, as they can provide their owners at the same time with a large number of large eggs and tender nourishing meat.
