Delawares from kathyinmo

[Zanna]

Wow, I am just not sure......... Being she will be 3 in April and has been a very good layer she has lost some of the original pigment she had. I don't think I could even venture a guess. Will try to dig up some pics later.

here are a few of her when younger and not too long ago (the first one is the most recent, they posted out of order).

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

Wow, I am just not sure......... Being she will be 3 in April and has been a very good layer she has lost some of the original pigment she had. I don't think I could even venture a guess. Will try to dig up some pics later.

I note PapaDel is also getting more pale legs ... as I think the recent photo of him shows. So I believe age and time of year have a little something to do with it. They saying laying does for sure.

Here is a detail of Mr. Fatty's legs. They look ROUGH & DIRTY, so I'm going to put some NuStock or coconut oil on them tonight. You can really see the red tinge to them.



If I had to guess a color for those legs right now based on the illustration in the last article, I'd say "Dusky Yellow."

I wonder if they'll change color with a little cleaning & oiling.

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

here are a few of her when younger and not too long ago (the first one is the most recent, they posted out of order).

Bottom photo looks more like "Straw." Top photo looks more like "Yellow." Middle picture it's harder to tell.

I love her.

Look at that tail! Look at the space between her legs. Look at her head. Even if she wasn't nice and white, she'd be splendid. IMO.

 

[Zanna]

Bottom photo looks more like "Straw." Top photo looks more like "Yellow." Middle picture it's harder to tell.

I love her.

Look at that tail! Look at the space between her legs. Look at her head. Even if she wasn't nice and white, she'd be splendid. IMO.

I really like her too although she is a little undersize. Have not been able to replicate her yet and with the legs, not sure if I should keep trying. All 4 Cockerals/Cocks I bred her to had bright yellow legs as youngsters (PapaDel, one of them)

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

I really like her too although she is a little undersize. Have not been able to replicate her yet and with the legs, not sure if I should keep trying. All 4 Cockerals/Cocks I bred her to had bright yellow legs as youngsters (PapaDel, one of them)

I think most of my females are too small. Though I think some of them have recently bulked up quite a bit ... at about a year old. I'm hoping this year's pullets are a little bigger.

 

[finnfur]

here are a few of her when younger and not too long ago (the first one is the most recent, they posted out of order).

I think she looks mighty fine - very good shape and color - can't tell about size but it wouldn't stop me from carrying that forward - if it goes the wrong way it could be the start
of the Kathy mo Bantam line.

Most of legs out here fall in the Dusky yellow / straw category - since I don't show it doesn't concern me to much.
Even greenish seems to disappear by one year.

 

[capayvalleychick]

I think she looks mighty fine - very good shape and color - can't tell about size but it wouldn't stop me from carrying that forward

I agree with Tom. She has such depth and curve to her body. Nice.

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

I think she looks mighty fine - very good shape and color - can't tell about size but it wouldn't stop me from carrying that forward - if it goes the wrong way it could be the start
of the Kathy mo Bantam line.

Most of legs out here fall in the Dusky yellow / straw category - since I don't show it doesn't concern me to much.
Even greenish seems to disappear by one year.

Passing thought not relevant to the current conversation: I wonder if there has been a Bantam Delaware at a show recently.

@Zanna , Have you taken that hen to a show? I know everyone is trending toward oversized with their Standard Bred birds, so we don't really need to breed "small" into our projects if we intend to show, but as she's a pretty good example of the breed in other aspects, maybe showing her around would be good for building interest in the breed?

Though ... of course, we're still hoping for more better birds from this year's hatches, of course. Double of course.

Based on my excruciatingly limited exhibition experience of taking a total of three still-damp-from-washing birds to one total event, and a very small event at that, I think people respond really well to seeing trios. The cocks have a different kind of presence than the hens, and together they can be rather adorable.

Wouldn't it be lovely to HAVE a trio to show?

Not that *I* want to do the washing or showing, mind you. But I like it when Other People show their Delawares. It's good for the breed.

 

[capayvalleychick]

From what I understand, one of @capayvalleychick Kim's lovely hens/pullets would have placed better at a show if it had the "rich yellow" legs of the breed's description. But I don't know what color that bird's legs actually were.

One pullet's legs looked almost white - devoid of any yellow. But if you compare them to the true white legs of a Dorking, they are not that white. More like extremely pale yellow. When I entered this same bird in a show as a Hen, no mention was made of her leg color. I'm guessing because it's normal for yellow legs to fade with age, especially hens - from laying eggs.

The other pullet had greenish - dusky yellow legs.

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

I had one female from last year's hatch present with a blown out vent this week. One of the Columbian Colored birds with some brown feathers, so she didn't make it into the breeding pen. She's been laying very regularly in a peculiar spot, suddenly stopped, and when I was doing Booty Duty last night I figured out why so I stuck her in the Cull Cage. She is a nice size and weight, and will make a nice meal. But still. She's only just a year old. At least she doesn't look like she's really suffering yet.

One of my original breeding hen Delawares also had a touchy bum, and as she also molted out with the buff barring on her body feathers and I knew I wouldn't breed her again, she went into the Cull Cage the last time someone asked me for a stewing hen.

This reminds me: I have yet to eat a home-grown hen. I have plans for a big cull this fall, and that is part of the plan.

Here it has mostly been the hybrid layers that have had the touchy bums ... some of the "Golden Sexlinks" that lay the jumbo eggs every day burned out faster than the other hatchery birds. Nursing them through that doesn't seem to be that great an idea as the next episode seems to be worse and we don't like to see birds suffer.