Delawares from kathyinmo

[rancher hicks]

did I show you my tree? I'm still mulling over how to cut it down without dropping it on my coop.




All that's holding it up?

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

Yikes!!! That's quite a puzzle.

I love shade of deciduous trees over my greenhouse-style coops in the summer, love the little bit of extra light the naked trees allow in winter. But I also am on pins & needles through every storm. So far we've only had damage to the Chicken Sink ... a plastic utility sink attached to a garden hose out by the coops. I suspect a branch, though have no clue how it really happened. I do remove a LOT of fallen branches from the area ...

Chicken Sink Photo pre-damage:

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

Here are the original threads that got me interested in Dels
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/249618/show-off-your-delawares-pic-heavy
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/411540/answer-to-the-delaware-dilemma
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/291856/delaware-genetics-for-dummies
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/384349/sdwd [ you need to be a secret member to view this one ]
You may have already read these - there is lots of chit chat but informative also.
Just read it all Sunday - we will have a test Monday

So I've read the Delaware Genetics For Dummies thread, which was helpful. I need to go to school on genetics. I've clicked through to some links suggested in that thread for further reading. Like this one ...

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/235538/delaware-hen-tail-feathers-black-vs-barred-how-to-get

Interesting how some contributors to the thread claim it is rare to find a female Delaware with a barred tail. That isn't what I've noticed around here. I have plenty of barred tails on females. And plenty of black tails on the males, for that matter. I'm not closer to understanding why female Delawares need a black tail edged in white and the males need a barred tail and why that's so hard to accomplish in one flock.

There is a photo of a pullet in this thread that the poster says is ideal for both color and type, though young. Personally, I think we can do better in type.

 

[Zanna]

So I've read the Delaware Genetics For Dummies thread, which was helpful. I need to go to school on genetics. I've clicked through to some links suggested in that thread for further reading. Like this one ...

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/235538/delaware-hen-tail-feathers-black-vs-barred-how-to-get

Interesting how some contributors to the thread claim it is rare to find a female Delaware with a barred tail. That isn't what I've noticed around here. I have plenty of barred tails on females. And plenty of black tails on the males, for that matter. I'm not closer to understanding why female Delawares need a black tail edged in white and the males need a barred tail and why that's so hard to accomplish in one flock.

There is a photo of a pullet in this thread that the poster says is ideal for both color and type, though young. Personally, I think we can do better in type.

This is something I have been mulling around lately......... Wondering if I should have kept some cockerals with too black tails and less barring to use for breeding to get the correct tails on my females. Too late for this season as I culled them all but maybe next. I will say though that I only used F'4's with mostly correctly coloured tails and they produced many cockerals with nicely barred tails. It is easy to forget that our best colour to SOP birds may not be the best breeders to improve colour issues. My mindset is stuck on breed the best to the best but that needs to change, New Years Resolution!

 

[1zooman12]

Hello Rancher Hicks,
About your tree removal. You have options: 1) If you are not into doing it yourself have a tree removal service do it for you. 2) Go to your local volunteer fire department to see if you can arrange to have them do it for you. Their ladder truck makes such a job a snap. If you send a pretty agent to do the inquiry and make the negotiation they may offer to do the job for nothing as often times these hormonally brain soaked young studs like showing off for the pleasure of helping a young lady. She should emphasize the idea that her chickens, which she loves so much, are in peril! You are then a damsel in distress in their eyes. (Hey! I did not invent the system it has been around long before the advent of written history; I'm just suggesting that you take advantage of it for good purpose to make sure you as an amateur remain whole and safe, not to mention your chickens! Besides it only takes one guy showing off to do the job.) 3) I have always been a do-it-yourself type of guy so would rent the tallest A-frame ladder I could get from a tool rental place. 20 feet tall is not too tall. Stay away from a single ladder to lean against the target limb as you do NOT want it falling prematurely, especially if you are on it! Also invest in an extension tree trimmer because from the looks of things I think that you will need it. This is a long pole of about 12 foot reach with an electric mini-chain saw at the tip. I bought one two years ago for about $70 bucks, on sale. When using it, it is imperative to have a tall can of motor oil to dip it in as you use it. The more you oil it while using it, the longer the chain will last without the necessity of sharpening. You start out on the small end of the tree as far as you can reach. Cut it off in short harmless falling pieces. Voila! You are done.
Let us know how it comes out and which option you elect.
Merry Christmas everybody!
Neal, the Zooman

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

This is something I have been mulling around lately......... Wondering if I should have kept some cockerals with too black tails and less barring to use for breeding to get the correct tails on my females. Too late for this season as I culled them all but maybe next. I will say though that I only used F'4's with mostly correctly coloured tails and they produced many cockerals with nicely barred tails. It is easy to forget that our best colour to SOP birds may not be the best breeders to improve colour issues. My mindset is stuck on breed the best to the best but that needs to change, New Years Resolution!

I can't begin to imaging keeping two distinct lines going.

I did get two totally different color patterns on my males this year ... some with the gray & white barred tail like Mr. Fatty I've shown photos of, and some with the black tail like Big Brassy One, who I've also posted photos of. We marked both of those cockerels for potential breeding when you were here, which means I have three potential breeding males, the third being the F4 cock (PapaDel), who ALSO has the black feathers in the tail. I can easily use two different males, would need to do some rethinking to get to the third.

That means if you borrow the F4, PapaDel, you'll get to try a black-tailed male over your females. He seems to put out "big genes" for the boys, anyway. Girls ... I'm still not sure. Picked up one last night, in the dark, so have no clue about her color. Heavy girl. Decent heart girth and back. More than 4 fingers between tip of keel to pelvic bones, pelvic bones starting to spread (2.5 fingers if I remember right), pelvic bones felt straight ... to me. Feeling the birds like this is totally new to me, so I don't have much to compare that to except the smaller birds off the same shelf. But, when I picked her up I thought I might even get some eggs some day.

I may also end up with a big, black-tailed cockerel with less brass than The Big Brassy One out of the younger cockerels. I'm just not sure I'll do better than him for "no black" in the body and decent wings, etc.

I've been staring at a lot of bum fluff lately ... trying to decide who has the least gray, and the lightest "freckles." The males with the white bums also have a few black tipped fluff feathers, giving them bum freckles. CUTE, but wrong.

You can spend way worse time than an afternoon looking at bum fluff, dropping scratch, and playing frisbee in Oregon's December sunshine.

 

[finnfur]

So I've read the Delaware Genetics For Dummies thread, which was helpful. I need to go to school on genetics. I've clicked through to some links suggested in that thread for further reading. Like this one ...

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/235538/delaware-hen-tail-feathers-black-vs-barred-how-to-get

Interesting how some contributors to the thread claim it is rare to find a female Delaware with a barred tail. That isn't what I've noticed around here. I have plenty of barred tails on females. And plenty of black tails on the males, for that matter. I'm not closer to understanding why female Delawares need a black tail edged in white and the males need a barred tail and why that's so hard to accomplish in one flock.

There is a photo of a pullet in this thread that the poster says is ideal for both color and type, though young. Personally, I think we can do better in type.

My thinking is this line is a little different since it was recreated because no one knows what eve is in the others background -
But they even disagreed on hen/cock hackles - I don't agree with them I think the SOP illustration shows them correct

 

[finnfur]

did I show you my tree? I'm still mulling over how to cut it down without dropping it on my coop.




All that's holding it up?

My thoughts would be call the Treeman with a boom -
If there is enough room between fence and coop you might be able to push it with a LARGE tractor - hold up while pushing over fence
but that takes a chance on damage to the fence and coop
Good Luck Brother - Please don't hurt yourself

edit to add; This reminds me of a big tall thin pine w had that after a icy snow storm lean over our previous log cabin house . I was about a 45 degree angle
straight over the house; well I kept putting off cutting it because of the lean over. So I procrastenated until summer and along comes a hurricane .
We huddled in basement durring storm with our fingers crossed . We heard a tree hit the ground during the high wind.
Next morning the tree is laying sideways to the house on the ground- the wind had been blowing from the back of house and twisted the tree
sideways - No damage - Thank you lord !

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

My thinking is this line is a little different since it was recreated because no one knows what eve is in the others background -
But they even disagreed on hen/cock hackles - I don't agree with them I think the SOP illustration shows them correct

I can understand barred hackles, so have no issue with the standard description/illustration for those. The tails are the bigger head-scratcher for me.

 

[finnfur]

I can understand barred hackles, so have no issue with the standard description/illustration for those. The tails are the bigger head-scratcher for me.

Our #2 Cock has one of those black sicle feathers in his tails- he is top dog this season so we will see what he produces and if they are correct .