kathy would be the one to ask.
The four F4 hens i used all had correctly coloured tails, black with the white border. All of the F5 pullets have tails barred like in the pics of Michaels pullets. Three different F4 cockerals used over the four F4 pullets and not one good tail unless there were a few I lost to predators.
Here is my favorite F4 Mom:
awesome..just an awesome post. This is what helps the most. Thank you so much.Howdy Neal! I like this idea of putting together a photo essay, though with limited knowledge and resources I am not sure I can do that project justice. This is partly because we're still trying to build a great bird here, so can't offer much in the way of photographic evidence of how we want the Delawares to look. The idealized images from the American Standard of Perfection are great for setting goals, but we aren't there yet. And those photos are only from one angle. And I'm a brand new breeder. Here is a link to a video that shows how to identify a fresh chick with the potential to grow into the wide birds we need for this breed.There is also the How To Breed A Better Bird video I posted a few weeks ago, which demonstrates how to handle a bird to assess it for conformation. As for photographs of Delawares ... I don't have good photos of females, so have to borrow some. I know Kim has some luscious pullets, but I can't find photos of them right now. Zanna posted this photo of a very nice hen that shows really well what a wide skull looks like in a mature bird. Her head looks like a ripe peach. You can bet this bird has a wide body when you look down on her from above. She has a gorgeous spread on her tail. She is beautifully smooth from front to back. Colorwise, she has a fantastic tail and body color, but lacks the neck barring we are striving toward in this breed. I like to see high, tight wings ... the bird in the photo above has that. I'm working towards it in my males. Compare my PapaDel to one of his sons ... Papa on the left, son on the right. You can see how PapaDel has wing tips that point down into his bum fluff, while his son has wings that fold closed above the bum fluff. I prefer the wing fold on the son, so am happy to be making progress on this little detail.
What we don't want is to let the wings droop too much or fold incorrectly ... like this poor guy (also a son of PapaDel).
That bird's overall shape and color isn't too bad for my flock (I really like his top line), but that wing qualified him for the Cull Cage. The wing on his other side folds closed okay so it doesn't show the black primaries, but the tip points down into his fluff. This indicates to me that being rather strict about selecting birds with wings folded closed very tidy and high above the fluff will be important with this breeding project. Shape is a combination of so many things. In the Delawares they tell me there needs to be a smooth concave sweep along the top line from head to tail, with the tail at a 40 degree angle. I think PapaDel is a bit better in that regard than his curvy son. But I think the son has a bit better bottom line, with a slightly fuller lower quadrant on his chest, especially when seen in person (that bird is all kinds of gorgeous curves). In this line we are doing pretty well with the bottom curve, indicating good flesh (meat) on these birds, as is appropriate for a Dual Purpose breed. Colorwise, I like the whiter body on PapaDel, but prefer the black & white tail barring on the son in the photo above & right. In my opinion, color is a big challenge with this breed. They say the color is possible, and I've read an explanation of the genetics that makes that claim seem plausible, so I'll take that on faith. One of the reasons this line was created was to get nice wide birds with a proper spread on their tails. Here is a photo of that same curvy son shown from the rear. The tail should be basically an equilateral triangle shape, especially the pullets which will have tidier tails that come to a point at the top. I believe, though am not certain, that male tails can also have an wide upside-down U-shape, with a curve instead of a point at the top. What you don't want (and what you often see with this breed) are birds where the left and right bottom corners of the tails are almost touching and are virtually indistinct from each other. Compare that to the tails on the birds in the photo of Dad feeding the hatchery birds in our laying flock. You can click on the image to see it larger. I've been told the wider tails is an indication of better bone structure for laying eggs without developing issues as the birds age. We do want a good quantity of eggs for at least a few years from this breed. The pinched-tailed hatchery birds will have a tendency to become egg bound as they age. You can also check the width of the pelvic bones by handling the birds. I posted a video about that a few weeks ago.
I think that's about all I can contribute at the moment.
I think you did a tremendous job - very good.
