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Hatchery Delawares--What If?

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smith2

smith2

Crowing
17 Years
Jan 5, 2008
597
3
304
Paris, TN
If you had to order from a hatchery, which hatchery do you think has the best Delaware type for the money? I cannot afford to pay $6-8 dollars per chick incld. shipping. I have not had good luck with shipped eggs either.
Everyone seems to have eggs but no chicks or has chicks that are mixed. I can hatch my own mutts. What do the Delawares from Ideal look like?
 
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Best quality would probably come from Sandhill Preservation, but they will be more pricey than the big hatcheries. Sorry.


chel
 
The one thing that you need to understand with Delawares is that they can have very nasty temperaments and can be very aggressive. Hatchery Delawares are famous for this. If you want Delawares, then I would recommend doing a lot of research about what lines they come from before you get them. Speckledhen will tell you the same.

~Just checked Sandhill's prices for you and they only are charging $3.50 a chick, BTW. They also have posted their hatch dates if you are interested in looking or ordering from them.
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I'd recommend finding a GOOD breeder on here--there are several with GORGEOUS birds...and then I'd keep trying at hatching eggs... hatchery birds are usually no where near the breed standard and I've also heard that they can be down-right rude, mean & aggressive!
 
I have a few Ideal Delawares (4). They all have sweet lap-chicken temperaments. Two of them are kind of on the smaller side, but they look like Delawares. One is larger bodied and also has OK markings for a Delaware. One is larger bodied and looks like a Columbian Rock/Del cross - her markings are Columbian.

They lay nice brown eggs and I have enjoyed my hens despite their 'imperfections'. I'd get some pictures but they are mid-molt and one is nekkid looking (poor girl!).

They are nice enough to have made me a true fan of the breed.
 
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If I may suggest that although the up front money sounds harsh at six to eight dollars per bird vs. 3-4, if you look at what you will spend in the next few months on feed etc the extra cost is nearly inconsequential. There is no other livetock hobby where the difference in cost between the best and run of the mill is so close. If you buy the good stuff you will likely have a market for your eggs or chicks. If you want just a few order the minimum and sell what you dont need. Most of the time selling young started chicks in the spring is not much of a problem.

Just my opinion. good luck
 
I bought some eggs from someone on ebay a year ago hatched them out and bought some from ideal got them about the same time as the one hatched out the ones that I hatched that were suppose to be delawares looked just like columbian rocks. the ideal didn't look much different. well anyway. they finally started laying eggs for me they laid a total of 2 months and quit. They have not laid an egg since. I got rid of them after they had not laid for 3 months
 
I am always amazed at how reasonably we can buy good breeding in chickens. Often the breeder has worked for YEARS and for a mere $6-7 we can buy the product of all that time and effort. I also raise quarter horses. At auction anyone can buy a pet for a few hundred dollars, but a top show/performance prospect can run you THOUSANDS. I also have GSDs. Pets can be had for $300-400 but again a show/working prospect can easily cost $1500-2000 and an import even more.

By comparison, good quality chicks really ARE a bargain, so buy the best ones you can find! If you do need to go with a hatchery, check out Sand Hill. I've heard nice things about their Dellies--not show quality, but still good quality birds with good temperament from what I've heard.

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We picked up a Delaware from a local feed store before the summer started, and she'd turned out to be our sweetest bird. She loves to follow you around the yard, and is extremely eager to eat out of your hand. She's our lap hen, as compared to our Buff Orpington, who is the most dominant bird of our flock (which I find strange considering they are supposed to be sweet birds!)
 

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