Delaware x Barred Rock Chicks--Indy, Rex and Ira's Progress Thread

[catdaddyfro]

Looks to be a fun project

Jeff

 

[speckledhen]

Well, not exactly a project. Ike just happens to be the only LF rooster I have left and the egg quality of his two Dellie hens isn't great at their ages now so every LF chick is a Delaware cross. I do need more than just one rooster with a free ranging flock so Ike's sons should fit the bill.

 

[wekiva bird]

Thanks for sharing the photos of the cute babies. They are growing.

 

[speckledhen]

Here is Indy today. There are four more just like him all at various younger ages, at least four of the five from the same mother, I'd say.

 

[catdaddyfro]

Its amazing how the tight barring from the Stukel blood still tries to show even though he is only half barred (hetero/Bb)

I have 6 BSL(3 males/3 females) from a cross of Horstman RIR male over some GSBR hens. The cockerels have the tight(instead of cuckoo/lacy look)barring too and have really dark red bleeding through their plumage instead of the lighter buff/gold/orangish leakage like most factory BSLs show. There's still a ways to go to see what color the sex feathers(hackles, wing bows and saddles) are going to come in as, whether they will be straw colored or who knows what, yet? and too they are "hugemongous" also. They for sure will not be skinny rumped like those hatchery "leghorny type" BSLs are. Like Ron Fogle(Fogelly) said: "he was going for the world biggest BSLs ever" well I got some, maybe not the biggest ever or that could be made, but they are going to be some lunkers for sure.

Jeff

 

[speckledhen]

He has four brothers here, two just hatched yesterday with broody Dottie, one of my 2 yr old Stukel hens. All are Del x BR, of course, and some may have tighter barring than others, but the quality of their mothers shows in the barring for sure. I will be keeping three of the five for the free ranging flock and rehoming two of them. There is the one solid black pullet, too, but I think I have determined that is out of my splash Rock hen, considering whose egg I thought it was is almost identical to hers.

 

[catdaddyfro]

He has four brothers here, two just hatched yesterday with broody Dottie, one of my 2 yr old Stukel hens. All are Del x BR, of course, and some may have tighter barring than others, but the quality of their mothers shows in the barring for sure. I will be keeping three of the five for the free ranging flock and rehoming two of them. There is the one solid black pullet, too, but I think I have determined that is out of my splash Rock hen, considering whose egg I thought it was is almost identical to hers.

The black one could be from the same momma(barred hen) because that is what color the pullets should be as this is a BSL combo you have too, therefore the boys barred, the pullets blacks and should be sexable at hatch by headspot or lack of one.

Jeff

 

[speckledhen]

Figured the black pullet could be from a barred mother, being sex linked, though the egg was more like the splash Rock's egg in shape, finish and color, no speckles, even color slightly darker toward the narrower end. It was marked as a pure Delaware, but obviously isn't. Two of my three Stukel Rock hens lay a very brown, very "BR" type egg. Ida, the mother of these males, lays a lighter, speckled, very easy to confuse for other hens' eggs. One of the males that hatched a couple of days ago is the son of the broody Dottie's daughter, Dru, the daughter of Dottie and the late great Rex I used to have, if you recall that stunning guy. So, Dottie is raising her own grandson right now, in addition to another of Ida's sons. I'm not 100% sure whose chick that black pullet is other than Isaac's, of course, but no matter. I need new up and coming layers.

 

[speckledhen]

Update on both Indy and his sister, Raven. Raven is living in the bantam coop with her broody mama, while Indy is being raised by my standard EE hen. He has the four brothers, but none of them so far has the precise barring that he does, though the youngest two are only about a week old so it's early. Indy is about 6 weeks old now. His brother, Rex, is 3 1/2 weeks, with obviously less striking barring than Indy, and then he has Ira in the bantam coop, plus Dottie's two she 's raising. So, I have five DelaRock brothers and need only three for my up and coming flock leaders.





Raven, who looks like one.



Dottie with the youngest DelaRocks




Ira:

 

[wekiva bird]

The babies are growing. Keep the photos going love to see them.