Delawares from kathyinmo

[Mahonri]

I am AMAZED at how fast mine run. When I bring the feed in and pour a little water over it, the hen calls them over and they are as quick as lightning to her beak!

 

[finnfur]

This chick seems to have a very high wing pattern - almost touching at top - it reminds me of [FONT=arial, sans-serif]tyrannosaurs - Hmm ! call him ? Rex[/FONT]

maybe it just looks that way because has very small primary wing feathers - its way behind the rest but not in size .
All of them seem chunky .


There is a black stripe on the beak - 4 others have this mark on beak- is that undesirable ? Or do the sometimes grow out o that ?
Edit for better pic of wing carriage

 

[capayvalleychick]

Hello Everyone,
I too was generously given eggs by Kathy. They are now six weeks old.

Thanks, Bea

Nice to see you here, and your photos. Yours are older than mine and are much more feathered out. Mine are a little over 3 weeks old.

THE BIG ESCAPE!!!! RUN RUN!!!! That is what my chicks must have thought yesterday when I forgot to lock the run door. ... Then they went strait up the ramp into the coop, turned and peeped out.

Funny little chicks.

This chick seems to have a very high wing pattern - almost touching at top - it reminds me of [FONT=arial, sans-serif]tyrannosaurs - Hmm ! call him ? Rex[/FONT]


There is a black stripe on the beak - 4 others have this mark on beak- is that undesirable ?

I'm not an expert, but I would say be patient and let them mature. My other breed changes so much as they grow, what sometimes looks strange as a chick often evolves and you don't see it when they are mature. If they are banded, you can take notes, so that you can refer back to your research and figure out what things are significant on chicks.

That said, one of the differences that I noticed right away, compared to the Dels that I have been raising from other breeders, is that all their wings looked smaller. I assumed any differences are due to these having better type and size. We shall see.

Do you have the APA SOP? Beak color should be reddish horn. Maybe that's what you are seeing.

 

[crazyhen]

Mahoni. Its either popcorn popping st. up and down or a water gun squirting motion with mine. What energy they have.
Today, The one male that is maturing the fastest joined the fastest growing GNH and tried through the wire to attack a full grown Marans hen who was trying to peck what I think is a female Del. They bowed up and were hilarious little heroes until she landed a haymaker of ablow to the GNH's little comb. Bless its little heart. Then everyone scrambled. Lesson learned, Leave those big girls alone, that is until you are bigger than they are anyway. If he is good. I will let him be head honcho over there. Phooo on them.

 

[Beekissed]

Update on the Dels and WR chicks from Kathy: Will be 1 mo. old this week and all are fit as fiddles and hopping like crazy after bugs on free range. They are starting to show sex characteristics in their combs, feathering and body type/stance. Looks like I have a good 60-65% pullets at a rough glance~ but without actually sorting and examining them closely. Both WRs are hens and that warms my heart...love me a WR or two in my flocks and my older WRs are probably on their last year of laying life at the age of 6. These WR pullets are larger than the Dels~ broader, taller, longer, bigger bones.

All the Dels are putting on some good weight and size, lots of junk in the trunk on these chicks....looks like they will be meaty and big as per Kathy's usual good stock pics. I'd take pics but the only time I can get them en mass is at feeding time and it's butts up, heads down so really can't see them well enough. I'll try to get some pics of some of them the next day or so.

A few with the black beaks mentioned and some with less orange legs but I wouldn't call them green...just a few of those. Most have the usual coloring. Good barring on the feathers, strong bones/legs, feisty as all get out....a few will rear back and peck my hand when I put it down to catch a chick. I'll try to mark those birds for special notice as they develop as I like a spunky bird, though not overly aggressive. I'm hoping that these few spunky cockerels will be the next flock masters.

One thing I've noticed about these birds....they are a lot more food aggressive than any other DP breed I've raised. I'm hoping that stands them in good stead for a life on mostly foraged foods in good seasons/months. A hungry bird is a foraging bird~ and these always seem hungry, no matter how much you feed them. Sort of put me in mind of CX with that trait. They will jump right up into the FF bucket when I open it to feed..just like the CX. I've never had a DP chick that would do that. These birds are spunky, hungry fighters and survivors! They don't seem to be afraid of anything.

Side note: Anyone who got chicks from Kathy that had a leg band for ID of breed and you've never dealt with professional leg bands before~like me~you might want to check and remove those. I just happened to be looking over my WRs the other day and noticed they had grown faster than I thought and those leg bands were cutting in. I had a bit of a time removing them...no open flesh or anything but there was an indentation there. Thank God I checked just then...can't imagine how uncomfortable that was and what would have happened if I hadn't taken a close look at those birds. My fault...I should have removed those upon arrival but thought the orange was so sporty and cute that I left it for a bit and then just sort of forgot they were on there.

 

[finnfur]

Side note: Anyone who got chicks from Kathy that had a leg band for ID of breed and you've never dealt with professional leg bands before~like me~you might want to check and remove those. I just happened to be looking over my WRs the other day and noticed they had grown faster than I thought and those leg bands were cutting in. I had a bit of a time removing them...no open flesh or anything but there was an indentation there. Thank God I checked just then...can't imagine how uncomfortable that was and what would have happened if I hadn't taken a close look at those birds. My fault...I should have removed those upon arrival but thought the orange was so sporty and cute that I left it for a bit and then just sort of forgot they were on there.

Yes the WR chick I got by mistake [ I think it was for you ] had the orange band. I Bmailed Kathy and ask if the leg ring had a significant meaning or were they into jewelry at a young age . She said it was a WR and she had been looking for it for two days and was supposed to go to someone in Wva . Two days ago it was tight and when removed had the indented leg . I had same problem with some older birds so I watch it closer now. I have moved to wing tags and think I will use the vet tape for temporary use . Yes they are voracious eaters and filling out rapidly.
They jump on the ferment feed when it hits the pan .

 

[Jake Levi]

I have a dozen of her Delawares eggs in the incubator now, along with Icelandics and Iowa Blues. I'd love to get some of her chicks or eggs. Its going to be fascinating rearing the three breeds together in the brooder until they feather out. Then each breed goes to their own pens.

I had Kathys email but lost it, does anyone here have it?

Happy hatching all .

Jake

 

[Beekissed]

These Dels are like something out of time...they act like that last bunch of CX I had. One word~VORACIOUS. They have completely taken over the feed trough and the older flock have to wait until they are finished their feeding frenzy to have any supper. I couldn't believe this when I saw it! I may have to have two separate feeders to keep my flock hierarchy in the proper balance...can't have older, more respected flock members getting dissed by birds that don't even have tail feathers yet....

They attempt to jump in the feed bucket when I open it and no amount of pecking by the old flock will dislodge them from getting inside the feeder and hoovering up the feed. The oldsters get the picked over leavings after 52 little orange feet have trampled through and picked out the choice grains. That's okay because my flock could stand to lose a little weight but it's kind of sad to see these old birds waiting in line at the feeder.

They are foraging like crazy and are sweeping in waves of constant motion, ranging far out from the coop..they are fearless and cover as much ground as the CX in a day. I don't think I've seen them stop, rest, sun or dust yet...they just scramble for food all day long! It's like watching Jurassic Park all over again...those poor bugs out there don't stand a chance! They are a month old now...I've not yet found out a way to give them enough food so they are sated and full and can relax. Amazing...simply amazing!

 

[Beekissed]

As promised...pics of the Delawares from Kathy. These birds are a little over a month old now...



Some of the Dels and a WR hanging on for dear life on the side of the feeder, wings spread for balance.




Drinking from the nipples on the bottom of the bucket...look at those huge orange legs and feet!




Foraging in the woods nearby the coop.




Foraging in the meadow. Sorry for the poor quality of pics but these birds never hold still for one moment to get good shots.



Learning to share with the big birds.




Doing sentry duty...starting to show breast and thigh potential.

 

[BlueWater29]

Beekissed, Great pictures! Cute little beasties.