Delaware Rooster

[Saddley]

We are trying to breed up to show standards. How is our rooster? I know he has a tad too much black on his back.

 

[Maeschak]

I can't speak much to the SOP, but I can say that his comb is much nicer than my Delaware roosters' combs. You should try to get a good profile picture so we can see the side view of the chest and tail. From the side view we can tell if the tail is at correct angle and if the body and chest have the proper 'bowl' shape.

I hope someone w better experience than me can chime in. (Because I really have very little!)

 

[Saddley]

I have added some profile pics. Hoping they are good enough as i have very annoying turkeys lol

 

[speckledhen]

He has a very nice comb on him, though the blade could sit closer to the head curve, good leg color, too. Chest is pretty nice. His tail barring, like those of my own like, is very darkly barred, but that is good for breeding pullets, especially--makes for better tail-black on them.
Is he brassy from mud or does he brass-up that way? That is one trait that some have, the tendency to do that. Mine never did, thankfully. But, if you feed them too much corn, it will yellow the plumage, too. Ours occasionally got into the Georgia clay and could not groom on the back of their heads, but it disappeared when they were clean.

To properly breed Delawares, you really need a male and female line because some make good males and some better pullets. I didn't do that. No interest in going that far. Isaac passed away in 2015 at almost 7 years old, from breeder Janet Holtman, who was using Meier and McDaniel in hers, plus I think he had a little Sandhill Preservation as well. Yours looks like he could be related somehow. Temperament was perfect. I only have one hen left of that breeding pen and she will be 9 yrs old in February.

And in the SOP pose at just 15 weeks old.

 

[Saddley]

The adults tend to yellow for some reason. The young birds are white as snow. we feed them layer pellets, we believe it may be due to sun bleaching?