Delawares from kathyinmo

This thread is for people who have received the new strain of Delawares created by kathyinmo. We can share photos and discuss their progress.

I just got 14 chicks from Kathy yesterday and they are all under a Blue Copper Olive Egger broody/mamma. She is attentively taking care of them.

Kathy's birds are SO EXTREMELY BEAUTIFUL... I can't wait to see how these lively chicks turn out.

congratulations! I received chicks from her on the 25th of April and they are cute as can be. I have noticed that some of them have different feather pattern of growth. Kathy said she had never taken the time to notice this. Maybe we have a feather sexing breed on our hands. That would be great. I will try to keep a record of this phenomenon. Mine are really growing.

Here! I got 28 chicks from Kathy, 26 Dels and 2 WRs. They are beautiful and healthy chicks, active and spunky.

Here's some pics:

Upon arrival...





At one week, with fresh sod in the brooder(with clover) and using the water nipple on the bottom of the bucket....










Kathy has done excellent work with this breed and her generosity to others is incredible! I am not worthy of that level of gift, that's to be sure.

Congrats to you all! Kathy has done a wonderful job with these birds.

Dar, I think that's amazing that you can put shipped chicks under a broody hen! I keep hoping for a broody who is that determined.

Bee, what are you feeding them? I don't use medicated feed. My own chicks have not needed it. But I worry about chicks from another region and wonder if I'm putting them at risk by not using it. Usually, I would just say the strong will survive. But these are such precious chicks, I don't want anything to happen to them.

My chicks were shipped on April 24, so I think they are 12 days old. I'm not good at taking chick pics, since they don't hold still. Here's an attempt to show the feather development on 3 different chicks...







If any of you know anyone else with Kathy's Dels, please let them know about this thread. Thanks for posting, all of you!

How do you post pics here? I am having problems.??

I'm feeding fermented chick starter and just a little layer mash/whole grains. All my chicks get baptism by fire because they need to live hardy in my husbandry style, so these chicks are being brooded right on the coop floor bedding that has been building since last Sept. It has the full meter of my flock's germs and all who survive will be hardy indeed, those who do not wouldn't have survived here anyway.

If we were having a wet spring, I'd probably rethink that but we are in a drought here, so bedding is extremely dry and feces worked in and under.

This is the first time I've brooded in this much of an exposure(always a good bit as I raise hatchery chicks under a broody mama but have not exposed to the whole flock upon arrival) but I'm counting on the free range and hardy genetics of the heritage strain bird to show their true colors. They will never receive medicated feeds or medicine of any kind here, they will be free ranged with the flock as soon as they can climb the lip of the coop and get in and out the pop door.

They are precious indeed and I expect a lot of them, but I won't baby them around too much at all~nor any chick I get. Natural selection seems harsh but it has always been effective for landrace breeds and I want these birds to live primarily off the land with only some supplementing from me. It will be a true test of these genetics and characteristics and I will be constantly monitoring their reaction to this for tolerance and ability to thrive. If they are unable to forage enough for an adequate diet, I'll supplement as per usual, but I want to see what these birds are made of and will be reporting back what I find.

Al has always maintained that heritage breeder stock is the best and I want to put it to the test, put them through the same treatment I've always given my hatchery stock and maybe even a little more "street" for good measure. Performance of the line in true free range conditions and an all natural husbandry should be the way to go to test the mettle of the heritage breeds.

crazyhen said:

How do you post pics here? I am having problems.??

Click to expand...

Have you ever posted pics on BYC? Here's a how to: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...-on-how-to-upload-pictures-onto-the-byc-forum
Hope this works for you!

Bee, it's good to hear that you are still using your tried & true methods. My way of management is very similar. I have been second guessing myself with these just because I have such high hopes for them.

Me too. It was like taking a plunge in deep water to risk anything with the gold in that box but I live on faith in all ways, faith in God first and foremost and the rest just follows. I also have faith that Kathy's work will stand the test of time and all methods of husbandry, particularly the old kind.

My adventure in chickens has been thus for me...learn about something that makes good sense and try it for myself. If it pans out~great! If not, keep learning and trying. None of my animals have suffered too severely from this method of walking on faith, except when I left them in the care of another of whom did not deserve my faith in their stewardship.

Still have my 8 of my old hens and one rooster, got 7 eggs the other day..they are still putting eggs in that nest daily after six years of experimenting on them! Poor things. They sure are getting attached to me now, which is funny to me...never had but a few chickens over the years that really wanted to be that close and they were just quirky. Now they are all a little quirky!