These are Isabel, not the solid lavender of a lavender Marans or Orpington. I find the pattern pretty, like the Opal Legbars (which is an ancestor of these birds). The project to produce Isabel Welbars created birds that laid dark green eggs as well as the (normal) dark brown eggs. These were retained and refined alongside the Isabel Welbars, and I plan to diverge them into separate lines for spring 2025.
I wanted a separate name for these as it is their egg color that is distinctive, not so much their feather color. So I came up with the name “Jade Welbar” Is expect this may result in them being called just “Jades” as Opal Legbars are often just “Opals”. I am ok with that, but on my website, I will refer to them as Welbars, as they are truly welbars in every way except for egg color.
These are 100% autosexing, as all Welbars must be. The females are also hemizygous for sexlinked barring, making them an appropriate female parent for a black sexlink cross. I would anticpate using Black Copper Marans cockerels from a line of exceptionally dark layers, with the expectation of producing super-dark Olive Eggers.
Current Project Status
This picture is eggs from the F4 generation (hatched as F5 chicks). The current breeding pens are stocked with F6 birds that will be producing F7 chicks in 2025.
