Answer to the Delaware Dilemma

[jeremy]

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I am in CA, but I see him at least twice a year. He and I are on the Board of Directors of the APA. I have known him for over 30 years. Unfortunately he no longer raises Dels.
Duane is a very good breeder of chickens. He has supplied exhibition stock to some of the famous show winners for many years now. His specialty is heritage/rare breeds and he breeds them true to the SOP.

Walt

We should find out where or to who he sold his Dels, then give them a call!

I've read rumors online about very good Delaware stock coming out of PA, does anybody know anything about this?
(Unfortunatley I don't know the breeders name(s).)

 

[mama24]

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After you posted this, I went out and caught my hens 1 by 1. The 2 smaller ones have the exact same comb as my rooster, but the largest hen has a perfect 5 pt comb.

Maybe I will breed them after all next year. If they make it, that is. 2 of the hens have been coughing and wheezing, and now today the 3rd has a runny nose.

The ones who got sick first seem to be doing much better today, though.

 

[speckledhen]

mama24, if you plan to sell eggs/chicks, you probably ought to find out if they have a disease that will make them carriers by having them tested. This is why I never, ever buy started birds, the chance that they will bring in disease and then I wouldn't ethically be able to sell chicks or hatching eggs, perchance they would pass on the disease through the egg. Chronic Respiratory Disease is one that can be passed through the egg to the chicks.

 

[aveca]

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Walt, you are so right about that one! I have one pullet who looks just like a rich, dark RIR. She has nice single comb, yellow legs, lays a brown egg. Her sire is a BLRW rooster and her mother is an Ameraucana, a Blue/Black/Splash variety (not sure which exact color); I watched her hatch from a blue egg sent to me as an extra by someone. How she came out looking this way is just one of those weird genetics puzzles, though someone did tell me that if the rooster wasn't pure for rose comb and the hen wasn't pure for pea comb, a small percentage come out with single combs. Of course, her body shape is off for a RIR, but if someone doesn't realize that, they'd peg her a RIR and a very nice, dark one.

I've always said the Delaware was very challenging. And we're also dealing with a breed that almost disappeared entirely, so breeding stock was hard to come by, and coming back from obscurity in addition to the different male/female colors makes it really an uphill battle.

Shhh......don't tell anyone, but I know of a case where a bird won super grand champion at a National meet with 3500+ birds and it was only half Plymouth Rock. Visually there is no way to know if a chicken is pure bred, with the color and type fixed. That rich dark mahogany red of the RIR is specific to the Red, so it is a great example of what can happen. You had a very extreme example of this. The body form of the Del should not take too long to get, but the color is very challenging. Anytime you have a different color at the extremities, you are going to have problems. Lakenvelders are an example of that and they don't have barring! The barring adds to the color problems. Most of the Dels I have seen on here tend to be light colored and what is even stranger about them is that the color is migrating to other parts of the body even though they are light. That usually only happens in birds that are too dark.

Walt

Is light sussex or columbian correct base for deleware breed? I noticed that too,a lot of the smut was running as rick calls it. There was a blog on a guy in europe re-creating 2 breeds that became extinct after ww2..he had to search and find the base that they origionally created these birds and I have to say the results were stunning..It has been a couple years since I read that blog but got captivated at someone that dedicated to bringing back an extinct breed.We at least have a base of sorts to work with delewares and buckeyes ect.., does it just evolve into a sub species like delumbian or suxxexware, and let that be a breed unto itself....we live in PA, and NY and DEL so my freind Rick wants something he just drives right to that persons house with a big wad of money ..he finds out whos winning and not kidding drives right to them and even stays overnight a couple nights in a motel if he has to.these people warm right up to him , maybe its his self confidence Im not sure..He just drove to New jersey to look at some birds but he said Nope there is columbian in them...left them there..but he did score some nice ones earlier this spring..

 

[joletabey]

No light sussex or columbian, no, no,no!

 

[Serrin]

Walt, I just want to take a moment and thank you for all of the posts you've made to this thread thus far. Even though I don't have any Delaware's [yet] or any other purebred birds for that matter, your expertise has been invaluable to me and others. I feel better about my possible future with this delightful breed, just because of the education I have received from you. I hope you'll continue to educate all of us here: Those of us trying valiantly to bring this breed back from the brink, and those of us who wish we could be actively pursuing the same goal. When the veil of ignorance is lifted by knowledge, all can benefit from the light! Thank you Walt. Just......Thank You!!!

 

[fowlman01]

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As long as you have the light and dark birds you might as well try the color breeding too. Anytime you can save time, take advantage of that. Just don't do color breeding without regard to body type.

Walt

 

[fowlman01]

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Well, thank you! As a District Director of the APA (Dist 8 AZ,CA,NV,NM and UT) I try to promote pure bred poultry when I have a chance. There is a lot of mis-information online, so when I can, I like to offer my input. I have not raised Dels, but I have raised many other varieties/breeds, many would be called heritage breeds now, but in the day they were just called rare breeds. At one time I had 48 breeds and varieties at one time for a total of 1400+ birds. My wife would say "have you always had all these different kinds of chickens"?....."oh yes, aren't they purty"?...then hope lightning didn't strike! hahaha It is cheaper than a psychiatrist and it keeps me out of taverns.

Walt

 

[speckledhen]

Well, I also appreciate your input here, Walt. We have needed some guidance for awhile and we all want to see the Delaware breed come back to its former glory, closer to its original intended form.

 

[mama24]

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Well, duh. lol (I'm not trying to be a smartypants, promise! Internet communication can be so hard!) I have actually been searching for information on testing in my area since yesterday and I can't find anything. I finally emailed the state ag dept today. I also tried to track down the guy I bought them from, but I don't know his name. I emailed the owner of the market where he was, but we'll see if he ever gets back to me. If I can't find a way to get them tested cheaply (I can't afford to spend any more $ on these birds!), even if they get better, they won't be alive much longer. I won't risk it, and I do want to get more chickens eventually.