Delawares from kathyinmo

[EggieRowe]

Your right but some of Robins are nice - I just weighed this AM at 19 weeks and Robins Hens averaged heavier than Kathys line - however the Cockerels of Kathys line average heavier than Robins - keep in mind I have a limited # of pullets from Kathys line [ 5] - More on weights later - don't have time today.

Heavier? Good googly! After seeing Robin's birds, my BF asked me what I've been doing wrong because our birds look scrawny in comparison. Of course all the adult birds we have at the moment are hatchery stock from before I knew any better! They're egg machines, but leave a lot to be desired physically.

 

[finnfur]

Heavier? Good googly! After seeing Robin's birds, my BF asked me what I've been doing wrong because our birds look scrawny in comparison.

Of course all the adult birds we have at the moment are hatchery stock from before I knew any better! They're egg machines, but leave a lot to be desired physically.

The difference is selective breeding IMHO - Hatcheries are out for numbers - Breeders mostly for quality

 

[desertmarcy]

Opinions please. Here are the 4 pullets I have left after the one upended itself in the feeder and died. I don't think there are any that I can work with. The only one of the 4 that has nice yellow legs has Columbian pattern on her neck. The other 3 have barred tails. These are 4 months old now. I have two cockerels and they still have a lot of black speckling all over their backs.

The one with nice yellow legs but Columbian pattern:



Pullet #2:


Pullet #3:


Pullet #4 (sorry for the blurring, she would not stop moving)


This shows 2 of the pullets next to the first one with the nice yellow legs. You can sure see the difference when they are side by side:

 

[Beekissed]

I don't have breeding advice to offer but I find it so funny to see such a wide range of physical differences stemming from the same root genetics. But then, I have very little experience with breeding specifics for a certain breed characteristic.

The birds I kept look a lot different than yours in many ways, even to the physical structure of their bodies. I chose the smallest of the pullets, which just happened to be the ones without a lot of coloring in the feathers...but it worked out just fine. Stippling at the head, not much barring in the back, nice wide tail sets and orange legs, though one of them started out with legs just a little less bright yellow.

 

[desertmarcy]

Beekissed, that there is so much variation in these, stemming like you say, from the same root genetics, means to me that the traits have not been set yet and these birds have a long way to go.
I did not realize that when I got mine. Another BYC member in Phoenix had to rehome his birds since he was moving and it seemed like a good opportunity to get some since I could drive up there and pick them up. But that was for only 8 chicks, not enough to really pick from if the stock needed a lot of work still, and one died and I had to cull another. so that leaves only 6. I do not have the pen space to breed these up, I am already working with 6 breeds. I guess I will continue to raise them and the 2 cockerels and see if they change much after their juvenile molt. But I am tempted to use them for sexlinked chicks with a German New Hampshire sire. I did keep one of my original, presumably hatchery, stock Delaware hens. She has a massive wide head compared to the others I had (since butchered). Maybe I will breed one of these recreated cockerels to her next year and see what happens.

 

[capayvalleychick]

These are still in the project phase, so we can't expect them to look like the SOP. I guess you didn't realize that? My pullets look a lot like yours.

Your first pullet with the solid marked hackle looks like she has good size. Her head looks the best of all of them. How's her type, aside from color?
Did you read the responses that I got, on another forum, when I asked what to do with that type of coloring? http://showbirdbid.proboards.com/thread/6203/columbian-coloring-on-delawares

As for leg color, Walt said to wait and see what happens as they mature. I am taking my Delawares to him, at the Heirloom Expo poultry show, for a workshop. So, I will have some of his advice on them to share next week. Also, on the first part of this thread, there are posts explaining a theory on how to rid your flock of green legs.

I think that I read somewhere that Kathy said that the barred tails on the pullets sometimes change to the correct coloring as they molt.

My cockerels also have a lot of extra barring. That's because Kathy focused on type, not on color. It's up to us to refine the color on what we've got.

Bee, why did you choose the smallest of your pullets?

I'm struggling, trying to decide which of my males are best. All the ones that looked so big and wide at first have grown taller and look gangly.

 

[Beekissed]

This is an explanation that some will find hard to understand, but I think Kathy will understand because she is going through something a little similar. For the past two years my focus in life has changed a good bit and chickens are taking a real back seat in my life. I have an old flock that is dwindling down into retirement and will soon be gone and I wasn't going to really get anymore chickens. When I had first accepted Kathy's kind offer of chicks I was moving in that direction, but everyone said I'd be a complete fool to turn down her chicks. So, I went ahead and let her send them, not thinking about how in flux my life has been lately...I've got so many other things on my mind and heart right now. I shouldn't have done that, in retrospect, because they could have went to someone more deserving of the hard work she had put into the breed.

I finally had to make a decision that fit my budget, my life and my future plans and expectations... and downsize. I found people here in WV who wanted some of the birds, several different people from all over the state took breeding sets of the birds when they were 2 mo. old. I was having a bit of trouble keeping up with their appetites vs. my budget and so I chose the pullets that seemed to depend more on free range for their subsistence and who fit into my husbandry plans for a smaller, more independent flock. I kept the two WRs and only two of the Dels...eventually they will be all the birds I have as my few older birds meet the culling block.

The two pullets I chose of the Dels were those that weren't the first at the feeders, stayed out foraging when the others were ganged up at the feeder and that had good conformation, even at that young age~those just happened to be among the smallest of the flock. All four pullets are currently deriving almost all their nutrition from foraged feeds and that was my goal for a flock. Unfortunately, I'm not a breeder and that's something I had to get set into my mind..dreaming is fine but my life has no place for those kind of dreams right now. I'm hoping those fine Delaware genetics have been planted like seeds in my state and someone chooses to further the breed standards, but it couldn't be me right now...and I couldn't stand to just eat them. Too good of stock for that.

That's the long and the short of it...so you guys can throw rotten eggs at me now~ but life has a way of changing dreams on you when you least expect it and mine has been that way lately.

 

[capayvalleychick]

The two pullets I chose of the Dels were those that weren't the first at the feeders, stayed out foraging when the others were ganged up at the feeder and that had good conformation, even at that young age~those just happened to be among the smallest of the flock. All four pullets are currently deriving almost all their nutrition from foraged feeds and that was my goal for a flock. Unfortunately, I'm not a breeder and that's something I had to get set into my mind..dreaming is fine but my life has no place for those kind of dreams right now. I'm hoping those fine Delaware genetics have been planted like seeds in my state and someone chooses to further the breed standards, but it couldn't be me right now...and I couldn't stand to just eat them. Too good of stock for that.

That's the long and the short of it...so you guys can throw rotten eggs at me now~ but life has a way of changing dreams on you when you least expect it and mine has been that way lately.

That makes perfect sense. No one is going to throw eggs.

 

[Beekissed]

That's a relief! I figured people would be shaking their heads and wanting to strangle me.

 

[finnfur]

That makes perfect sense. No one is going to throw eggs.

Dittos and we still value your input - As you know "life is what happens while we are busy making plans"
Just think of all the good your doing spreading the line in WVa . Your like the KathyDel seeder.

Marcy
I think we are all in same dilemma and you just move forward with what you have . Based on input from Kims link I would say go with the type
and work on color later. I only have 5 pullets and I'm not super impressed with any of them - Cockerals I think I have two OK to proceed with .
I have some Cockerals that have hen tails LOL - I have one nice Pullet from the other line and I am considering crossing that one.

Kim Thanks for the link it was good info

Hope to post Pics soon