Delaware

I have super good friendly birds. Nothing bad to say about them....

I am by no means an expert on the Deleware, but I am currently raising 9-week-old growouts, most of them cockerels. (No issue, since I want to eat them anyways.) When I go outside, they peck at my feet and complain. They are very docile and friendly, but they are also quite stupid. The Delawares want all of the food in the cups that I have while I am feeding other pens, despite the fact that they can walk over to the many feeders I have. Additionally, they beg for water from waterers I am filling for other pens. I tried to teach them to use the nipple waterer by carrying one over and making the water come out and he just pecked another nipple, as clear as saying “I already knew how to do that, I just didn’t want to walk all the way over and go into the work of pecking it.”
They also eat a lot of food. A LOT of food. They understand the free range concept, but some young birds feel safer inside, so I don’t know if it’s just flock dynamics. I don’t know whether they convert feed efficiently but compared to the Marans and Welsummers their age, they are much beefier with more frame and weight. They look like they will be delicious some day, and they’re really sweet meaters. But they are exasperating, would never survive on their own, and don’t meet my standard of intelligence. I really do love them, but am definitely not going to make them any more than a laying hen and some chicken dinners.