Delawares from kathyinmo

[Beekissed]

I wouldn't put too much stock on anything discussed in Storey's book on chickens...anything at all. The heritage stock breeders on this forum that I have met all seem extremely dedicated to getting the breeds back to their original traits which, coincidentally, also seems to bring them back to SOP conformation...or vice versa...getting them back to SOP conformation can also improve their laying, breeding, hardiness, etc. Or so the actual, real breeders will report. Go to the heritage thread and ask ol' Walt about the Storey guide to chicken's author....

she's his neighbor.

 

[kathyinmo]

Ditto what Bee said about the book.

Quote:
I do not like that story. He is out and out admitting that he knew the birds and then went on to award them Grand Champions. I don't like that. I left a reply-comment (it was not rude) on his story and he deleted it. Furthermore, he has contacted me several times - wanting some of my Delawares. If those birds are so good (as he says) then why does he want some of mine?

 

[kathyinmo]

One of my Delaware pullets is laying now.

Remember, most of you have chicks from late hatches. Chickens require 14 hours of daylight to lay, and we are not getting that. I believe this delay in laying is due to daylight, not due to slow development. Just my opinion, and I may be wrong. The birds they were created from were very much to the extreme - Rocks being slow and Hamps being fast. What we get could be anything!

On a good note - I noticed one of my cockerels looking rather nice the other day. I am hoping he will be good enough to be a breeder, since the coyotes ate my first 2 choices.

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

I wouldn't put too much stock on anything discussed in Storey's book on chickens...anything at all. The heritage stock breeders on this forum that I have met all seem extremely dedicated to getting the breeds back to their original traits which, coincidentally, also seems to bring them back to SOP conformation...or vice versa...getting them back to SOP conformation can also improve their laying, breeding, hardiness, etc. Or so the actual, real breeders will report. Go to the heritage thread and ask ol' Walt about the Storey guide to chicken's author....

she's his neighbor.

Oh, dear. I didn't realize Storey's Guide was so bad!

I did ask some questions in the LF Heritage breed thread ... to be honest, I can't even begin to understand what they are talking about in there. It all seems like inside jokes and the kind of vernacular designed to make outsiders feel excluded. I asked some questions, I didn't really get any answers except some comments about Delawares that were either jokes or insults. I've read all the posts up until the point that Robert passed. I am waiting for my Universal Translator to finish work. I do believe I read more than a little specific discussion about how undesirable broodiness is ... but I like broodiness.

 

[rancher hicks]

I have only certain threads that I follow and just happened on this one. I'm sorry to have missed the opportunity or get chicks.

I've contact Paul Harter and he says he won't have chicks this year. Though he may have NH's.

I've subscribed to this thread now so will follow the progress.

 

[Beekissed]

One of my Delaware pullets is laying now.

Remember, most of you have chicks from late hatches. Chickens require 14 hours of daylight to lay, and we are not getting that. I believe this delay in laying is due to daylight, not due to slow development. Just my opinion, and I may be wrong. The birds they were created from were very much to the extreme - Rocks being slow and Hamps being fast. What we get could be anything!

On a good note - I noticed one of my cockerels looking rather nice the other day. I am hoping he will be good enough to be a breeder, since the coyotes ate my first 2 choices.

That makes a lot of sense and was something I had not factored in, as I've never raised chicks from a late hatch in a large group before and so had never really kept track of their progress this closely. That would indeed explain two different breeds both being a little slow to get to laying at this time of year.

It's good to see you, Kathy!

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

Ditto what Bee said about the book.


I do not like that story. He is out and out admitting that he knew the birds and then went on to award them Grand Champions. I don't like that. I left a reply-comment (it was not rude) on his story and he deleted it. Furthermore, he has contacted me several times - wanting some of my Delawares. If those birds are so good (as he says) then why does he want some of mine?

I think the story reads more about promoting the idea of the Delaware than the current state of the of the breed ...

I gather the theory of that specific Delaware project in the article is to hunt around the country for the best of the breed at the moment to make a collaborative effort at improvement? So of course he'd want some of your birds.

Or did I get all that wrong?

The politics of showing ... are why I'm not interested in showing.

I care a lot about helping restore the breed. I hope I am able to contribute in some way.

What are some quality resources I should consider?

 

[finnfur]

Here are two of the cockerals looking much more mature..........

I posted this on the Heritage thread also - I think #1 has the better body type but #2 better markings .
This what we looking for ? If I ever get one like this I am going to call him "Superboy"
But don't think I'll live that long. LOL

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

RE: hours of daylight ... I found this cool calculator ... http://astro.unl.edu/classaction/animations/coordsmotion/daylighthoursexplorer.html

I have to wait until next April 28th to get 14 hours of daylight. The chart says I'm getting about 9 at the moment.

Out of curiosity: What is the typical "breeding season" for "early" vs. "late" chicks?

 

[capayvalleychick]

Furthermore, he has contacted me several times - wanting some of my Delawares. If those birds are so good (as he says) then why does he want some of mine?

He saw and handled my Dels from you, on Sept. 10th, at the Heirloom Expo. He said that they were the best he'd seen.