Delawares from kathyinmo

[Zanna]

I got a White rock from Kathy by mistake and they all seem close- but mine are only 2 weeks from ship date Wed- wings are feathering primaries- very juicy poop and sticks to feet looks like they are wearing black sandals- didn't have this with last dels - only difference I can think of is using Rooster Booster vits and electrolytes in stead of sav a chick- going to drop it to just
Mother vinegar on Wed and see if better

I hear you about the sticky poos...... sticks on their toes terribly. I figured it was because I had to medicate for cocci, then put them on vit/probiotic in their water afterwards. They were started with ACV in the water when they arrived then for the first week till I started seeing the signs of cocci.
Not the best pics, I climbed into their brooder to take some and held while taking a photo with the other hand for the close up feather shots.........

Group shots, Dels (guessing hatch date to be 4/8), BCM (hatched from large pullet eggs) and a few Wellies (hatched from medium pullet eggs, they are the smallest chicks of the group) (re-checked my records and the BCM and Wellies are exactly the same age as the Dels, hatched 4/8):



This pic. shows the runt del of the bunch in the middle, sideways in pic.


A profile, thinking cockeral!



Feather development on BCM and Wellie:







A couple have butts that look like this

 

[capayvalleychick]

Here are Gloria Jean's (crazyhen) photos.

 

[capayvalleychick]

Zanna, do you think that the slow feathering, bare hiney, comes from the Barred Rocks that were used? I have never had any but it seems like I've heard & seen pics of BRs that did the same. If you look at the one photo, of crazyhen's chicks, the one with the slightly orangish blush has tail feathers. That one looks like it might have more NH influence. So maybe the chicks with more BR influence are slow feathering and the ones with more NH feathering are faster feathering??? Or maybe, like Gloria Jean suggested earlier, this is a way to feather sex them?
I have some of my own Dels, bred from different lines than these, hatched 3/31. They are fully feathered. Some of those Dels, from one breeder in particular, almost looked more Leghornish in type. I'll be rehoming them, since I have Kathy's strain now.
Another difference that I'm seeing is the rear ends on Kathy's chicks. Most of them have bigger butts than what I'm used to seeing.

I like all the pics, everyone.

 

[Zanna]

Zanna, do you think that the slow feathering, bare hiney, comes from the Barred Rocks that were used? I have never had any but it seems like I've heard & seen pics of BRs that did the same. If you look at the one photo, of crazyhen's chicks, the one with the slightly orangish blush has tail feathers. That one looks like it might have more NH influence. So maybe the chicks with more BR influence are slow feathering and the ones with more NH feathering are faster feathering??? Or maybe, like Gloria Jean suggested earlier, this is a way to feather sex them?
I have some of my own Dels, bred from different lines than these, hatched 3/31. They are fully feathered. Some of those Dels, from one breeder in particular, almost looked more Leghornish in type. I'll be rehoming them, since I have Kathy's strain now.
Another difference that I'm seeing is the rear ends on Kathy's chicks. Most of them have bigger butts than what I'm used to seeing.

I like all the pics, everyone.

Could be the Barred Rock influence, we could ask Freds Hens (he is raising them). Fred says they are very slow to mature but I really have no idea. I raised cornish cross once and they all had big bare butts so these guys remind me of those meat birds! No other breed I have raised have looked like this. Maybe when Kathy gets over being sick we can get her to chime in on this thread. I got some German New Hampshire chicks last October that I believe to be descendants of Kathy's birds and they certainly feathered/matured quickly.
I am hoping the no tails does not mean I have all cockerals, I am seeing very thick legs on everyone...........

 

[mlongworth]

I am not really experienced but i always have plymouth rock and have learned that most of the barred rocks that are breeder quality feather very slowly. I have one right now in with her blue sisters of same age and she is very far behind. Ive read that it makes the barring better.

 

[Fred's Hens]

Yes. As most of you know, Kathy made these Delaware the way they were originally made. To do it, she crossed the GSBR with the heritage New Hampshire and if I remember correctly, the NH's were 50/50 American and German lines.

The New Hampshire is fast to grow, reasonably quick to feather and quick to point of lay. However the GSBR/Reese/ringlets are notoriously slow. That portion of the background doesn't feather out until 9 weeks and won't enter laying until 9 months of age. Since Kathy's formula includes a reasonably quick layer with a very slow layer, I'd not hazard a guess, but perhaps somewhere in between the two parent stock used some four generations back.

Welcome to the world of standard bred, heritage fowl. Everything slows down. But the size, the true to type, true to standard, docile, large bodied, long living, long laying nature of the birds? Well worth it in every regard. Not to mention the intelligence.

 

[cbnovick]

100% agreed. Should be real nice birds! Some even got some white rocks as packing peanut bonuses!!!! Oh, we should all be so lucky. (-8

 

[Zanna]

Yes. As most of you know, Kathy made these Delaware the way they were originally made. To do it, she crossed the GSBR with the heritage New Hampshire and if I remember correctly, the NH's were 50/50 American and German lines.

The New Hampshire is fast to grow, reasonably quick to feather and quick to point of lay. However the GSBR/Reese/ringlets are notoriously slow. That portion of the background doesn't feather out until 9 weeks and won't enter laying until 9 months of age. Since Kathy's formula includes a reasonably quick layer with a very slow layer, I'd not hazard a guess, but perhaps somewhere in between the two parent stock used some four generations back.

Welcome to the world of standard bred, heritage fowl. Everything slows down. But the size, the true to type, true to standard, docile, large bodied, long living, long laying nature of the birds? Well worth it in every regard. Not to mention the intelligence.

Thanks so much for weighing in!!

 

[Mahonri]

I hatched some of Kathy's heritage barred rocks two years ago. (all three that hatched ended up being roos) They had naked butts for a long time and feathered in very slowly.... so it could be that influence?

So far my Dellie chicks from her all look healthy, with the exception of one with a poopy butt that I've tried to keep clean.... 12 are with a Blue Copper Olive egger broody mama and the other two are with a blue naked neck chick in a brooder that hatched late.

 

[cbnovick]

I hatched some of Kathy's heritage barred rocks two years ago. (all three that hatched ended up being roos) They had naked butts for a long time and feathered in very slowly.... so it could be that influence?

So far my Dellie chicks from her all look healthy, with the exception of one with a poopy butt that I've tried to keep clean.... 12 are with a Blue Copper Olive egger broody mama and the other two are with a blue naked neck chick in a brooder that hatched late.

Dar,
Looking forward to 'hearing' about your experience with her Delawares...tough odds on all 3 of your GSBR's from Kathy being males )-: Did you process them or sell them? Congrats on 'against all odds' naked neck hatchling. Here's hoping you got a predominance of females in your Delaware batch. I got very lucky with my 2013 hatching...big pullet to cockerel ratio ((-;
Cindy