Answer to the Delaware Dilemma

[joletabey]

Cindiloo- that first hen looks like she has a great round body. Also, the second roo , the one pictured farther down, looks like he has that bowl shaped underline. - I am anxious to hear what Walt has to say about yours and Jeremy's.

 

[fowlman01]

Quote:
Do you have a picture of the dwarfs? Are they just small, or are they small, but don't have the right balance?

I will give comments on the pics later today.

Walt

 

[speckledhen]

They aren't just small. They have parrot beaks, short legs, sometimes feathering issues, crooked toes, etc. They are a different type of dwarf from the ones that just are small, but with no actual health issues. kathyinmo had two of them and so did a couple others. I'll see if I can find the pics of them for you, Walt.

 

[speckledhen]

Jeremy, I hope you don't mind, but I found these pics of your dwarf Delaware here on BYC for Walt. I'll see if I can locate others. Walt the one beside the dwarf is from the same hatch. The ones that look like this are almost always cockerels. Females may just be small, but carry the gene. The mother of this dwarf was a normal chunky Delaware hen. Another thing--note the toes in the last pic of him.

 

[kathyinmo]

There are alot of the dwarf pictures in this photobucket album...

http://s847.photobucket.com/albums/ab31/kathyinmo/12-20-09 Delaware comparison/

 

[joletabey]

Walt, that is what my dwarf looked like too - had that weary, sad look in it's eye, crooked toes, short legs, parrot beak, just like Cyn said. I don't think I have a picture of mine anymore, but I will look.

 

[jeremy]

The dwarf chick turned out to be the saddest little thing, it tried so hard for the longest time to keep up with the others, but in the end it just couldn't hold it's own with chicks that were (more than) double his size. He was very sweet though.

Like Cynthia and others have said, there were various issue other than just the size. I have more pictures too, thank you Cyn for digging those up in the Del thread- you certainly saved me some time, those were pretty far back there!

I forgot how little Stewart used to be, he was such a cute young one!

I'd love to hear your opinion Walt, I'll be waiting on the edge of my seat until you reply.

Cindiloohoo, that hen in the first picture is a chunker! She looks to have the type we're all striving for!

 

[fowlman01]

Quote:
I was wondering why I hadn't seen any of these with all the birds I have raised, then I realized that if I see any chicks with crooked toes, they are gone right away. It is some kind of dwarfism. I have seen it in bantam ducks, particularly Call ducks. I try to raise every Call duck I hatch and I'm much more lenient about early culling. Generally the mothers will kill birds like that if they are raised by mother hens. Thanks for sharing. I have been painting chicken coops all morning, so I need a break.



Walt

 

[speckledhen]

This veterinarian said he has discovered that a bird may carry a double dwarf gene, so a gene from each parent is not needed. Kira's daughter was tested. She is a big girl, but carries a double dwarf gene, apparently from her mother. The other one was also tested, the daughter of Phoebe, and she has none. Isaac is the sire of both girls and is related to Phoebe, but not to Kira. It was very educational and a unique opportunity.

 

[fowlman01]

Quote:
First pic. The comb should follow the head and not have an overhang at the rear. The piece missing at the rear is not a lot of points, but it does catch the eye in a negative way.
Pic 2,3,4 needs darker hackle and the legs/feet need to be more yellow.
pic 5 tail color seems pretty decent and the tail has a slight break where it starts to go up.(profile view) You should not see a break in the tail.
pic 6 hen shows a slight "cushion" before the tail. This is usually associated with a tail that is somewhat pinched. Body looks very good. The rear shot (thank you that, it helps a lot)
has the ^ shape, but is not open enough. When you look at that angle you can see three separate stages to the body (body, cushion and tail feathers) This is why I like to see front/back and side. When you pick up your Dels they should have almost the same width from the shoulders back when viewed from above. While the bird is in your hand, tilt them slightly forward and they will show all the width they have and the tail should open some. (this works best if done with one hand) It should look like one piece, not three segments. I don't know if this makes sense to you, but try it and then maybe it will.

Walt