Delawares from kathyinmo

[rancher hicks]

They're all standing around the scratch scoop ... PapaDel & pullets on the far side of the fence, Ruffles & hatchery hens on the near side. Of course one of the few birds still molting is right in front.




The sound of all the birds nipping at the pasture all around me today was so cute!

Look at the size of that rooster.

I've got a couple of C. Rocks that are big, but not my Dels.

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

Look at the size of that rooster.

I've got a couple of C. Rocks that are big, but not my Dels.

To be fair, PapaDel is upstage in this arrangement, so he seems bigger and more important than he really is (just how he likes it). Also, Ruffles (the other guy in this group shot) is a bantam and the colorful females are all small hatchery laying mutts ... and my Delaware pullets are too small (le sigh).

PapaDel is looking fresh & fluffy this time of year ... he recently finished a nice molt. He has his messy wide tail back! I'd been worried he was a little undersized, but he weighs just right. He is wide and curvy.

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

We FINALLY culled the first 4 of the Delaware cockerels ... one with a funky wing, and 3 obvious mutts from the final hatch (think: the broody hen foster moms had started to lay again and I was rotten at figuring out which eggs came from the breeding birds -- next year I'll adjust my methods a bit to prevent this confusion).

Now I can put another batch of big Delaware cockerels in the Cull Cage! The next set of culls I'll be sure to select a few to weigh before and after, and take some photos of the dressed birds. But they are so old by now it probably won't be useful information. I think we're only going to save one for ourselves to eat, the others have been claimed by the local fans of pastured poultry who are kind enough to do the processing for us and share a few of the birds with us, too.

You have no idea how relieved I am to have some progress in this part of the project. NO IDEA.

Meanwhile, here is the laying flock (hatchery birds & mutts) exploring the Cull Cage ... they LURVE it in there! The laying flock doesn't know what's about to hit them. I'm sentencing them to a few days of confinement so maybe they start laying in the nesting boxes! I am finding big clutches of eggs EVERYWHERE! Grrrrrrrrr.

 

[LindaB220]

Glad to hear your still hang in in there- keep us up to date and our prayers sent for DWs good recovery .

x2 @ rancher hicks

 

[capayvalleychick]

You have no idea how relieved I am to have some progress in this part of the project. NO IDEA.

Oh, sure I understand. Been there.

@Zanna Happy Anniversary! Enjoy!

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

Oh, sure I understand. Been there.

@Zanna Happy Anniversary! Enjoy!

I just moved 13 of the remaining 16 Delaware cockerels into the Cull Cage. I left the two I banded earlier (Big Brassy, Mr. Fatty), and one other that is about the twin of Mr. Fatty. That leaves me with two males of each of the basic "types" that I have here (the whiter bodied/blacker tailed type; the barred tail/grayer type) as PapaDel is the "whiter bodied/blacker tail" type.

I'll try to get photos later of both the culls and the one extra we decided to keep. I think the extra one we left in the Cockerel Colony has whiter body fluff and broader white bands in his barring than Mr. Fatty, which I think will be good for the color goals. He also has super sturdy orange legs, is a nice weight, his comb isn't too bad, and seems decently curvy. I'll have to take another look today during daylight to make sure the wings are folding well when he's running around, but I feel pretty confident I sorted the birds into the right cages.

It's funny ... when they're out running around they don't always tuck their wings up. But they sure all had them tucked on the roosts last night.

 

[rancher hicks]

Getting ready to set eggs for the first time this year.

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

Getting ready to set eggs for the first time this year. 

Very exciting! Wishing you all the best!

 

[finnfur]

Getting ready to set eggs for the first time this year.

Good luck- we need to get those Del number up -
Good luck on the blizzard weather up there too

 

[KittieChick]

Good luck- we need to get those Del number up -
Good luck on the blizzard weather up there too

I'm excited to be picking up my Dellie eggs in a couple weeks!