Delawares from kathyinmo

[finnfur]

Try sending a PM to Joletabey on here. I spoke with her a couple of months ago and offered to help get the site up and running again even though I am pretty computer iliterate. She was going to let someone else know who was working on it and I never heard back.

Newman
If you go to the breeder page all three of the officers are listed there and have some contact info. Thats where I started on trackdown
when I was looking for Dels . Don't think most of that info is updated on regular basis .

 

[newmanmichael]

Newman
If you go to the breeder page all three of the officers are listed there and have some contact info. Thats where I started on trackdown
when I was looking for Dels . Don't think most of that info is updated on regular basis .

Thanks! I went there but all of their websites are down... I sent Joletabey a PM on here so hopefully I'll hear something back.

 

[newmanmichael]

Ahhhh. The picture is becoming more clear. I didn't read the "certification" thing between the lines of the article championing "his" Dels behind the sweet face of 4-H.

As excited as I am to start helping to restore cool breeds, and I do think Delaware is the coolest I've read about (a close second being Buckeye), I can't say I'm looking forward to surfing the politics.

I'm going to one of Jim's sustainable poultry network seminars on Feb 1st near Tallahassee, FL at Greenfire Farms. I am friends of a friend with him and I think he's a nice guy but don't have much personal interaction to back that up, just going off the opinion of a good friend of mine. I looked into that certification a little bit based on his youtube videos (which can be found here:

To be certified you can't have any of the "Joel Salatin chicken tractors" on your farm or raise any cornish rock crosses... so I'm not interested in being "certified" at this point.

That link above is the first video of a long series so check it out!

 

[crazyhen]

Thanks! I went there but all of their websites are down... I sent Joletabey a PM on here so hopefully I'll hear something back.

Joletabey no longer is in the breeding businness.

 

[newmanmichael]

Joletabey no longer is in the breeding businness.

Thanks! I'm just hoping to find out what happened to the club and if there's anything I can do to get it up and running.

 

[capayvalleychick]

... get it? fish scale?

I'm going to one of Jim's sustainable poultry network seminars on Feb 1st near Tallahassee, FL at Greenfire Farms. I am friends of a friend with him and I think he's a nice guy but don't have much personal interaction to back that up, just going off the opinion of a good friend of mine. I looked into that certification a little bit

When I first read about his SPN, I thought it sounded like a good way to get people involved in raising poultry to the Standard and I like his offering of workshops. My objections were regarding his certification on flocks - and now his coaching clinics - especially the amount of money it costs. Anyone familiar with Pat Parelli's PNH may find many similarities in methods of marketing. I was sure this was another trendy marketing scheme. And what gives him the power to certify flocks? Why makes his certified flocks any better than all the other breeders who are breeding to the Standard? I've looked at photos of some of the birds in his certified flocks and they don't look as good as many of the other devoted breeders, who don't pay for his certification.
Then, I met him and he seemed like a very nice guy who truly believed in promoting Standard bred poultry and preserving their utility. I may be wrong about it being all about the money with him. I still disagree with what I stated above and I told him so. He said that he needs to charge that much to cover his travel expenses. Hmmm ... maybe. Except now, he's doing the coaching clinics to teach other people to certify flocks - instead of him, and the certification is still an outrageous amount of money and has to be paid on an ongoing basis. And now he's also doing judging school, for a fee. Don't APA judges already do that? I agree he's a nice guy but it still looks like he's charging for information that APA judges and breeders have been traditionally been sharing for free.

Thanks! I'm just hoping to find out what happened to the club and if there's anything I can do to get it up and running.

Michael, you might be just who the Club needs to get it up and active again. I suggest that you contact all the officers listed (as was already suggested) and try to get a reply from at least one of them. Find out how you can get the Club running again. I'm sad to hear that Beth is no longer breeding and hope that all is well with her.
I'll pay dues and try to help out a bit, but I already have so many things that I am trying to do, I don't have much time. I don't really like discussing chicken breeding on Facebook. Many people aren't on FB. You might start a new thread here on BYC in the Breeds section for the Delaware Club and people who are serious about breeding them. See how many people are interested and eventually have a forum on the Club website or link to the BYC thread.

 

[rancher hicks]

Sad to say, I think the economy has caused some to have to give up their web sites. Also their selling of chicks and chicken breeding dreams perhaps. You just can't compete with large hatcheries and some folks just aren't all that interested in spending more for heritage breeds.

Then there are those who will hatch their own after buying chicks. Though perhaps not concerned with meeting the SOP.

I was in the Del club for a time but I just don't have the time to devote to a club and BYC and all the other forums out there. I try to stick to just a few threads were everybody knows my name.

I try to follow certain "experts" but that too can be time consuming. Here were I live I don't know too many who even have Dels in a any great numbers. At our shows you might not see even one. At the NYS fair there were perhaps six and they were in the worst condition.

I sometimes wonder if the breed needs so much to bring it back that folks are getting discouraged. Myself I think I'll be more focused on type rather than appearance. I've kept two pictures taped to my office wall since I began keeping chickens.

This is why I was so disappointed to have missed out on Kathy's chicks.

I have noticed that feed prices have come down a bit so that may be a good sign.

Chin up folks,

Rancher

 

[newmanmichael]

When I first read about his SPN, I thought it sounded like a good way to get people involved in raising poultry to the Standard and I like his offering of workshops. My objections were regarding his certification on flocks - and now his coaching clinics - especially the amount of money it costs. Anyone familiar with Pat Parelli's PNH may find many similarities in methods of marketing. I was sure this was another trendy marketing scheme. And what gives him the power to certify flocks? Why makes his certified flocks any better than all the other breeders who are breeding to the Standard? I've looked at photos of some of the birds in his certified flocks and they don't look as good as many of the other devoted breeders, who don't pay for his certification.
Then, I met him and he seemed like a very nice guy who truly believed in promoting Standard bred poultry and preserving their utility. I may be wrong about it being all about the money with him. I still disagree with what I stated above and I told him so. He said that he needs to charge that much to cover his travel expenses. Hmmm ... maybe. Except now, he's doing the coaching clinics to teach other people to certify flocks - instead of him, and the certification is still an outrageous amount of money and has to be paid on an ongoing basis. And now he's also doing judging school, for a fee. Don't APA judges already do that? I agree he's a nice guy but it still looks like he's charging for information that APA judges and breeders have been traditionally been sharing for free.

Michael, you might be just who the Club needs to get it up and active again. I suggest that you contact all the officers listed (as was already suggested) and try to get a reply from at least one of them. Find out how you can get the Club running again. I'm sad to hear that Beth is no longer breeding and hope that all is well with her.
I'll pay dues and try to help out a bit, but I already have so many things that I am trying to do, I don't have much time. I don't really like discussing chicken breeding on Facebook. Many people aren't on FB. You might start a new thread here on BYC in the Breeds section for the Delaware Club and people who are serious about breeding them. See how many people are interested and eventually have a forum on the Club website or link to the BYC thread.

I have no idea how much it costs to have a certified flock but I know his seminar I'm going to is only $50/person and includes lunch, which isn't bad. I'm also a photographer and a lot of the workshops I've seen in this industry cost hundreds if not thousands of dollars.

I have contacted Beth and she contacted me back to email her so I did. I do not have any other contact info for the other officers of the club. I looked under the breeders list and all they have is a general physical address and a website address and none of them work. If any of you have contact info for them I'd love to email or call them. Feel free to send me a direct message if you don't want to put it out in the public for all see. I suspect there is a story concerning the DPC but don't know what it is. Thanks!

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

I'm going to one of Jim's sustainable poultry network seminars on Feb 1st near Tallahassee, FL at Greenfire Farms. I am friends of a friend with him and I think he's a nice guy but don't have much personal interaction to back that up, just going off the opinion of a good friend of mine. I looked into that certification a little bit based on his youtube videos (which can be found here:

To be certified you can't have any of the "Joel Salatin chicken tractors" on your farm or raise any cornish rock crosses... so I'm not interested in being "certified" at this point.

That link above is the first video of a long series so check it out!

I'll check it out.

This is a big aside for this thread, but I'm a big fan of Joel Salatin for a lot of reasons, but don't completely agree with absolutely everything he says. I've only raised 10 Cornish Cross chickens, and they were super easy to raise and absolutely delicious and the Salatin System seems to be efficient and healthy and about as humane as one is likely to get with a Cornish Cross. I provided mine with pasture a few steps away, and they refused to partake. Maybe if they'd been broody-raised they would have foraged and grown more slowly (and I might try that with a batch this year), but my monsters performed exactly as expected and got very upset whenever I tried to take them on a field-trip to their own private pasture. I adored them while alive and while on the table, and can't think of anything "easier" than a CornishX, but I do not adore the factory farmed poultry thing, and bristle about anything that can only be sourced from a big monopoly ...

... so I'm going to try to make the Delawares work for my own table.

My Buying Group egg customers want me to provide meat, too. But they want me to provide it for LESS than they would pay at the grocery store.

Price is a big factor for this group which isn't shopping "organic" so much as "local" and "non-industrial." Though that works out GREAT for my chicken eggs (they haven't warmed up to the duck eggs yet, even though mine are priced quite a bit lower than local grocery stores), I'm perfectly happy to let them shop elsewhere for their meat.

 

[newmanmichael]

I'll check it out.

This is a big aside for this thread, but I'm a big fan of Joel Salatin for a lot of reasons, but don't completely agree with absolutely everything he says. I've only raised 10 Cornish Cross chickens, and they were super easy to raise and absolutely delicious and the Salatin System seems to be efficient and healthy and about as humane as one is likely to get with a Cornish Cross. I provided mine with pasture a few steps away, and they refused to partake. Maybe if they'd been broody-raised they would have foraged and grown more slowly (and I might try that with a batch this year), but my monsters performed exactly as expected and got very upset whenever I tried to take them on a field-trip to their own private pasture. I adored them while alive and while on the table, and can't think of anything "easier" than a CornishX, but I do not adore the factory farmed poultry thing, and bristle about anything that can only be sourced from a big monopoly ...

... so I'm going to try to make the Delawares work for my own table.

My Buying Group egg customers want me to provide meat, too. But they want me to provide it for LESS than they would pay at the grocery store.

Price is a big factor for this group which isn't shopping "organic" so much as "local" and "non-industrial." Though that works out GREAT for my chicken eggs (they haven't warmed up to the duck eggs yet, even though mine are priced quite a bit lower than local grocery stores), I'm perfectly happy to let them shop elsewhere for their meat.

Completely agree Leslie! I love Joel, have met him a few times and in general love his methods although not all of them fit exactly into our farm plan. We raise our CornishX in the chicken tractors and hoop houses but you're right, they were bred to sit at the feeder. And there's absolutely no way you can raise these for less than the grocery store and you shouldn't... and far as eggs... if you're raising them on pasture with access to plenty of grass your eggs should be 2 to 10 times higher in all the good stuff and 1/2 to 1/3 less in all the bad stuff, it's a premium product and should be paid for as such! We are lucky in our area to have a great farmer's market and we are able to get a good price for our eggs/meat.