THE WELBAR

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The Welbar is now a very rare and largely forgotten breed and obtaining stock can be difficult! It is one of a group of 'autosexing breeds' created in Great Britain shortly before, and during the early years of, World War II. During the late 1920's Professor Reg Punnett had studied sex linkage in poultry and realised the practical use that could be made of the knowledge. Punnett and his team at Cambridge created several Autosexing breeds; elsewhere in Britain, and indeed in the rest of the World, other universities and individual breeders worked on the creation of other autosexing breeds.

In 1943 the Autosexing Breeds Association was formed demonstrating the interest in, and commercial importance of, the breeds. However in less than 25 years the ABA was disbanded when interest in the breeds plummeted as modern commercial hybrids replaced the use of pure breeds . The commercial hybrids were designed for the intensive farming methods which had became the norm; the traditional breeds and the Autosexing breeds were ill suited to intensive farming methods being more suited to the free range conditions and outdoor life for which they had been bred.

In poultry the 'barred' pattern is sex-linked, the cockerels have two chromosomes and the pullets only one, chicks of a barred breed have a light patch on the top of the head when they hatch, and in chicks with black down both sexes are very similar. When the barring is combined with brown colouring however the light spot on the head of the pullets is small and well defined, an in addition there is a very clearly defined stripe down the body. In the cockerels the light patch covers most of the head, the down is much paler and there is only a very blurred indistinct body stripe.

The Welbar was created in Devon by Mr. H R S Humphrey, an independent breeder, who in 1942 mated Welsummer cocks to Barred Rock hens and set out to create autosexing Welsummers. He used both Gold (the typical colour in the breed) and Silver Duckwing Welsummers and by 1946 had achieved his aim to such a degree that in 1946 he was able to exhibit birds, and eggs, of his new breed. In 1948, just 6 years after the initial cross, the Poultry Club of Great Britain recognised the breed and approved a Breed Standard for both the Gold and the Silver Welbar.

The Welbar was created purely as a utility variety and their creator would have preferred them to be a 'variety' of the Welsummer rather than a separate breed: they were bred as a commercially viable autosexing Welsummer, capable of laying large quantities of large dark brown eggs. The Silver Welbar no longer exists, though it would be relatively easy to recreate; the Gold Welbar, though very rare, is now usually referred to simply as the 'Welbar'.

The Welbar is defined by the Poultry Club of Great Britain as being a Soft Feather Light Breed and is classified as a Rare Breed. The average mature cock weighing 7½lb and the hen 6lb. They are upright, active birds with the typical deep, wide abdomen of the laying breeds. The cock is a handsome bird with cream and grey barred feathers. It is an upright bird, the tail is large, full and held high. They have a medium sized single comb which is firm and upright. The cock has a cape of abundant hackles and a long, slender neck.

In colour the cock is predominantly pale gold with black barring, however there is rich gold colouring in the neck and saddle hackles, and some degree of hot chestnut in the back and wing coverts; all told he is a very attractive chap, though not quite as 'flashy' as his richly coloured Welsummer cousin. The hens are very similar to the Welsummer hen, but overall just a little paler in colour with a lovely salmon coloured breast. The Welbar is capable of laying a deep rich brown egg equivalent to those of the Welsummer.

Welbars were created solely as a free range, commercially viable, utility breed and selection should be primarily for egg colour, size and productivity; with feather quality, colour, comb, crest, type and carriage being of secondary importance. It cannot be overstressed that the Welbar is a Utility breed and it is of the utmost importance that the productive qualities preserved and enhanced.

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