Delawares from kathyinmo

[LeslieDJoyce]

I do not have the Del. pen figured out yet. May want to borrow your Cock bird and Cockeral when you are done with them for the season not sure. You need to do what you are going to do with them first just in case something happened at my place. Going to spend some time today going over my cockerals but I don't think I have anything as nice as your two.

I probably won't get started as early as you because ... no eggs yet & no broodies yet. Plus if I get any females worth breeding they'll be pullets and I'll have to wait for their eggs to get up to size. So, as you're using hens & incubators, I was thinking if you wanted to get started earlier, and were getting eggs, you could take whichever of my males you like best and start with him ... get some chicks on the ground earlier so maybe you'll have eggs by fall next year -- giving you an option to breed twice in one year, if you're eager. Then if/when my pullet eggs get up to size, I'll use whichever male I have in with them for the first month or so ... then we could trade males.

It does't matter to me if I start with that one Cockerel with the lighter tail that Tom liked from my photos, or PapaDel Cock. PapaDel is in with the females now, but could be swapped out in a jiffy if you wanted to start with him. I think I've figured out a way I could even use a third male here without running out of separate habitats to keep them in ... though with my obvious lack of decent breeding females I'm not sure I'm going to need to a third breeding area next season.

So far I've only put the three little white mutt cockerels into the Cull Cage (boy are they growing fast right now), and that one super wide & big Delaware cockerel with the wing on one side that doesn't fold up quite right. I pulled the wing out, and it looks the same as all the other cockerel wings, it just doesn't snap closed as nicely as it should and we have better -- and he'd make a great meal -- so he is on the Christmas Dinner List now. We aren't quite sure yet when we're going to cull the others, the younger birds could use a little more time to fill out, but of course that means they keep eating. I don't want to overcrowd the cull cage as they can't get out to range once we put them in there. I'm taking my time ...

Edited to add: You could even start with more than one of my males ... cuz you might as well feed them if they're not busy breeding here.

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

Here is one of Kathy's F'4's that I will be using again this year, just finished molt and looking pretty sweet. One of her daughters who I may use, undecided as of yet...... And the broody surprise Delawegger (Mom was a BCM/Ameraucana cross/Dad Del.). She would not pass for a Del. anymore!! She does have the best coloured tail of all of my F'5 pullets though

If I had pullets that nice, I'd use them all.

Don't you just love how we can have crazy weather one day, and then a bright clear day the next, like "It Wasn't Me!" It was so bright before sunrise this morning we all went out and played some pre-dawn frisbee. The sun was reflecting off those wispy clouds giving us plenty of daylight.

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

There you go, Tom. That's the cockerel you spotted in my photos. Zanna also picked him out as the best breeder from the F5 males.

Here is one of the pullets we marked.

 

[Zanna]

There you go, Tom. That's the cockerel you spotted in my photos. Zanna also picked him out as the best breeder from the F5 males.



Here is one of the pullets we marked.

Leslie, in my opinion he is lovely!!! Compare to a few of mine, pics taken today....... It is hard to get good photos but mine just dont' have the depth in the breast that your boy has. He has such a round lovely shape and is a little overcoloured but the type, just love him! Compare to the SOP pic. Tail could be up a little more but I can't knock much else.

That pullet looks pretty good too. Do you remember what she weighed?

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

Leslie, in my opinion he is lovely!!! Compare to a few of mine, pics taken today....... It is hard to get good photos but mine just dont' have the depth in the breast that your boy has. He has such a round lovely shape and is a little overcoloured but the type, just love him! Compare to the SOP pic. Tail could be up a little more but I can't knock much else. That pullet looks pretty good too. Do you remember what she weighed?

Your guys look good! I'm going to have to take a better look when I get on the computer, but I like them. Longer backs than my guy, but they look big! Edited to Add: Your color is definitely nicer than mine with whiter white, and I don't see brassiness, either. I think I see more space between the legs on yours. The spikey comb thing is cool! The view more from the back looks like a wide skull. From what I can see of the birds in the background, they also look super sturdy. My pullets were all pretty light, weren't they? They don't look it in photos, but are small-ish and light in person. I don't remember exact weights, I should have made notes. I've tweaked their feed a bit ... and have been tossing out more scratch ... to see if I can get them to fill up those feathers. I'll weigh them again soon. I'm actually eager to get my hands on them. There are a couple of the younger cockerels that might finish out with better color than the two we picked, but I'm not sure we'll do better on the shape. One of the younger guys of that type (without the solid black tail feathers) is already super white in his body and has more defined B&W barring on his tail ... still in the awkward stage though. We shall see if he shapes up okay. Forgot to mention ... the pullets/hens have been eating the oyster shell the last few days! Fingers crossed we'll see eggs soon! It would make a great Christmas gift.

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

Two more views of that same guy I was trying to get one from straight in front and the best I could manage was 3/4 profile. He was more cooperative about showing me his dirty bum.

 

[finnfur]

Two more views of that same guy I was trying to get one from straight in front and the best I could manage was 3/4 profile. He was more cooperative about showing me his dirty bum.

Still looks likeTop Gun to me ! Wish I had a F5 looked like that .
Looks good to work forward with .

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

Here are two photos of the one we culled because he has the bad wing on the right side; you can see he also carries the left wing a little low compared to the SOP illustration, though the left side folds properly. When I pull the wing out it looks like the wings on the good side, but it simply doesn't fold up right -- it looks like the illustration for Slipped Wing. He also has a funny comb. But his tail is at a fine angle and he is a wide bird (wider in person than he looks in the photos). Color-wise, he isn't bad for my flock.

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

I'll stop bombarding the thread with posts of my cockerels soon. Promise.

Here is one that is younger, about the whitest one I've got, with more distinct white barring in his tail. Right now he looks to have a deep-ish chest, but a long-ish & flat-ish back. Wish I had a photo of the other wing, just to be sure about that. Pending wing check, I think I'll keep him around to see how he develops

 

[crazyhen]

I'll stop bombarding the thread with posts of my cockerels soon. Promise.

Here is one that is younger, about the whitest one I've got, with more distinct white barring in his tail. Right now he looks to have a deep-ish chest, but a long-ish & flat-ish back. Wish I had a photo of the other wing, just to be sure about that. Pending wing check, I think I'll keep him around to see how he develops

Thats perfectly ok. I wish I were closer and I would buy one from you. Mine had a freak accident so I no longer have a Kathy del roo. I am not a true breeder but if you have extra eggs to ship let me know I would love to have a few in hopes for a young male to play with. I live in NC, I have three hens