Breeding Delawares to the Standard of Perfection

[capayvalleychick]

I am considering breeding Delewares. I saw the mention of Kathyinmo. I went to her website and it is very out of date (2 years). Is she still breeding? What are other sources of quality Delawares? I'm having serious trouble finding any real information about the breed and it's breeders

Is there a particular website or forum that you'd recommend? Thanks for any and all help!

Hi and welcome. Tom gave you some links. Where are you located, so that we can see if there is a breeder near you? There is a breeder in FL who also has some decent Delawares. Maybe George will pop in and give the link.

 

[har]

I am considering breeding Delewares. I saw the mention of [COLOR=333333]Kathyinmo. I went to her website and it is very out of date (2 years).  Is she still breeding?   What are other sources of quality Delawares?  I'm having serious trouble finding any real information about the breed and it's breeders  [/COLOR]   Is there a particular website or forum that you'd recommend?   Thanks for any and all help!

You might want to try cpartist in Fl.

 

[desertmarcy]

I am considering breeding Delewares. I saw the mention of Kathyinmo. I went to her website and it is very out of date (2 years). Is she still breeding? What are other sources of quality Delawares? I'm having serious trouble finding any real information about the breed and it's breeders

Is there a particular website or forum that you'd recommend? Thanks for any and all help!

I have an ad up for started Delawares from Kathyinmo. No one has bought them yet. They need to go because I hatched too many chicks and am overwhelmed. The ad link is under my signature.

 

[gjensen]

DesertMarcy, I wanted to comment on your website. I thought it was nicely laid out, and you make a good effort to present the birds honestly.

I believe that being honest about the strengths and weaknesses in our birds is important. It is not as if there is the perfect bird out there, and we start with what we can get.

Some Delaware from DesertMarcy is a good opportunity.

Cpartist can receive a PM on here. I do not have the link, but I could post it later.

 

[desertmarcy]

DesertMarcy, I wanted to comment on your website. I thought it was nicely laid out, and you make a good effort to present the birds honestly.

I believe that being honest about the strengths and weaknesses in our birds is important. It is not as if there is the perfect bird out there, and we start with what we can get.

Some Delaware from DesertMarcy is a good opportunity.

Cpartist can receive a PM on here. I do not have the link, but I could post it later.

Thank you! I do think it is important for people to understand the good and bad of what they are getting when picking a breed, especially if they want to breed and not just keep for layers.

Our summer heat is upon us here, 98 degree in the shade right now

sure makes working outside a struggle.

 

[gjensen]

Thank you! I do think it is important for people to understand the good and bad of what they are getting when picking a breed, especially if they want to breed and not just keep for layers.

Our summer heat is upon us here, 98 degree in the shade right now

sure makes working outside a struggle.

It is important. Disappointment will lead a newcomer away from a breed. Often we do not know about the variability between strains. It also helps someone know if what they are considering is what they are looking for.

I love the Sonoran desert, but it is tough in the summer. Wonderful for the other three seasons. I could not imagine living there before air conditioning.

 

[desertmarcy]

It is important. Disappointment will lead a newcomer away from a breed. Often we do not know about the variability between strains. It also helps someone know if what they are considering is what they are looking for.

I love the Sonoran desert, but it is tough in the summer. Wonderful for the other three seasons. I could not imagine living there before air conditioning.

The heat is rough on humans and animals alike. Sad day here, I lost 3 adult hens. I think they keeled over from the sudden heat. It has been relatively mild (for May), then all of the sudden jumped up to 100. That is the only thing I can think of, why they died. They were all healthy, just dead. I processed them since they were still limp. European style, no bleed out. I've heard the Europeans like them better that way. I sure didn't need the extra work today.

 

[gjensen]

The heat is rough on humans and animals alike. Sad day here, I lost 3 adult hens. I think they keeled over from the sudden heat. It has been relatively mild (for May), then all of the sudden jumped up to 100. That is the only thing I can think of, why they died. They were all healthy, just dead. I processed them since they were still limp. European style, no bleed out. I've heard the Europeans like them better that way. I sure didn't need the extra work today.

Yes, the sudden spikes can be especially problematic. Two years ago we went from low to mid 80s to 105 -107 etc. and the humidity was pretty high. Something like 60%. It was tough to tolerate. We can get 100 plus nearly every year in spells with high humidity. It is not typical to go from that low to that high so early in the year.

I did not lose any then, but a lot of people lost a lot of birds that week. I moved mine into the deep shade, or turned them loose so that they could find it. You probably do not have that option where you are.

 

[capayvalleychick]

The heat is rough on humans and animals alike. Sad day here, I lost 3 adult hens. I think they keeled over from the sudden heat. It has been relatively mild (for May), then all of the sudden jumped up to 100.

That is sad, so sorry. We had a couple 100 degree days here, also. The birds that were in pens were panting, so I wet down a spot where they could cool off.
Our summers have desert-like heat. In general, my birds seem to do ok. I may lose an older bird or two each year. That's not bad compared to the other farmers with production birds who lose a huge number of them every year when the heat hits. I've been thinking that maybe these old breeds are more tolerant of high temperatures than hatchery stock?
I did have one strain of Delawares that dropped dead, one by one, when it got hot. Kathy's Delawares don't seem to mind it.
I wish you luck in selling yours and am surprised that it's taking so long.

 

[desertmarcy]

That is sad, so sorry. We had a couple 100 degree days here, also. The birds that were in pens were panting, so I wet down a spot where they could cool off.
Our summers have desert-like heat. In general, my birds seem to do ok. I may lose an older bird or two each year. That's not bad compared to the other farmers with production birds who lose a huge number of them every year when the heat hits. I've been thinking that maybe these old breeds are more tolerant of high temperatures than hatchery stock?
I did have one strain of Delawares that dropped dead, one by one, when it got hot. Kathy's Delawares don't seem to mind it.
I wish you luck in selling yours and am surprised that it's taking so long.

One of the birds I lost, a Rhode Island Red, had some reproductive issues going on inside her, so she either died incidentally to the heat, or the heat was the straw that broke her. I processed all three of those hens since they were not dead very long. I figured the meat would be fine. 2 of them were just one year old hens, the other was an Orloff, 2 years old, and all had a very large amount of abdominal fat. Am I feeding my birds too much or is this normal? How does one slim down their layers, especially if they are in a big flock?

I have had several inquiries about the Delawares but the stumbling block seems to be shipping cost. I guess people don't realize how much it costs to ship older chicks? And the boxes aren't free.
The birds weigh a lot and must add in weight of food to sustain them on their journey.