Answer to the Delaware Dilemma

[Germaine_11.20]

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Germaine .....

(Only if Walt has eggs he will sell me!

)

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OH, Paaahlease

..... NONE of your chickens are skinny. You have big plump, happy, healthy chickens!

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Now I know there is more to this story!

Seramas?

"Your smarter than the average bear" Kathy

 

[fowlman01]

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She is pretty well developed for her age. The SOP uses the words "well rounded" and she pretty much looks like a bowl in her bottom half. Pictures are misleading, but in the pic, she appears to have a tail angle more like a Wyandotte, but in person she had a very good backline and tail angle. No cushion, which is common in Orps. Getting the buff to be an even color with no smut in the tail is the hard part of the buff color. Some people have trouble with white in the tail and wing tips, but somehow I dodged that one. Probably because I would cull them immediately. I can tolerate the smut because it is part of what makes the buff color intense. An Orp is mature when it is mature. I don't think a time can be put on it. Usually 9 months for a female though. At a year it will be bigger.

I don't have the WLR Cornish now. Just the Dark bantams. I have the stock available if I want them again. At the moment I am raising Shamo's, Black Hamburgs and Asils in large fowl. I have raised almost all the breeds. It has been a big help with my judging. No Serama bantams, but modern game, old English, buff and light Brahma's, white leghorns, Sebrights, all of the breeds of bantam ducks, Runners, all the light geese, Pilgrims, Sebastopols and Embdens. It sounds like a jungle here at night.

Thanks for the welcome folks!

Walt

 

[jeremy]

Walt, you're in Santa Rosa right? That's just over the mountain, we're practically neighbors!

Welcome to BYC and thank you for weighing in on our Del discussion. Your input is greatly revered and appreciated.

 

[fowlman01]

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Over what mountain? haha How are you raising birds in Oakland? Yes, I am in Santa Rosa. "The Chosen spot" according to Luther Burbank.

 

[joletabey]

Since this is the "Delaware Dilemma" thread, I would like to ask about this idea that has been bandied about regarding using the darker roos ( with the incomplete barring and grey and black in the tails instead of black and white) to get hens with better tail feathers - if this works, how long does one keep this up - do you hopefully get to the point where you have good, solid roos and good solid hens and you can breed them? And if you have a roo, like mine, that may be too light in color, can you use him at all?

 

[speckledhen]

I think to get the best of males and females in the Delaware breed, you'd have to breed separately for the best females and best males, I believe that's called double mating system? I've read that as well as had breeders tell me that about the Delawares.
Obviously, you have to start somewhere, or else you'd be culling and culling and culling and never start breeding, even if you have a bird with a couple minor faults, right? If you wanted to start with the absolute perfect bird, it would take years and years to get your very first flock sire, if ever! Get one with the best body type you can and decent comb and coloring, even if not perfect, and go from there would be the best course of action, in my opinion. Kathy's Oliver is awesome in that regard, at least to my eye. Isaac has produced lots of huge deep bodied sons for folks, but I wish I'd had slightly better hens for him, though I have a couple really nice ones, just not quite "there". His daughters usually have fabulous tail black. I decided not to continue with the Delawares, as far as actually breeding them, or I'd be hatching out more just to accomplish that. I think this is a challenging breed to get right, especially since it's coming back from near obscurity and there isn't much great breeding stock out there.

 

[fowlman01]

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I would try that. It is used in other breeds to correct color faults. Primarily lack of color faults. It is called double mating and it produces off colored birds of the opposite sex. You should only have to do it when the hens tail feathers get light again, although some breeders continue this forever. It is one of those things that has to be tried to see what the results will be. Once you know what the genetic makeup of your birds really is, the results will become more predictable. That may take a while though.

Walt

 

[joletabey]

I agree about Oliver, I think his body has the more compact, rounded look, and Kathy also has some chunky hens, from what I have seen. I think the shape aspects make sense- breed good body to good body and GET a good body - it's the coloration aspects that confuse me a bit - what kind of hen does she need for Oliver color wise? Does she give him lighter hens and see if he adds the tail black and darker hackles? Does she give him the darkest hens she has and in both instances cull like crazy?
And if you have a good roo- do you give him the most correctly colored hens in order to breed more good roos? How does one divide it up?
Most of my girls have tail black you can see- some have hardly any color in the hackles. If I want to use them, what do I need to be looking for in a roo, besides the correct body?

I really am as confused as I sound.

It was easier in horses-

 

[fowlman01]

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I will try to help you with this when I return Monday. Poultry is very hard. In most other animals color is not an issue.

w.

 

[joletabey]

Walt, good luck on your race, and I will look for your help come Monday!

Cynthia, do you know any breeders who actually do this? Does Janet?