Delawares vs. Barred Rocks

[mackie123]

Hi. I'm new here and have bantams already, but have been thinking about getting a flock of standards. I think I have it narrowed down to Delawares or Barred Rocks. The plus side to Delawares is that I could show them better than the more commonBarred Rock, but is their a diffence in their eggs and in egg laying?
Any other thoughts on it? Just trying to work it all out so I can get a flock before spring.

 

[speckledhen]

I have breeder quality Delawares, not from a hatchery. They lay about the same as the BRs, very well, in fact. They are super friendly to the point of being annoying. My rooster is a great guy, easy to handle, calm but very protective of the ladies (not against humans, though). You will find a show quality BR much easier than a show quality Delaware. They are quite challenging to breed, since you really need two lines to get the best male and the best female (different tail plumage). They really need to free range to be truly happy and stay out of trouble, LOL.

BRs are still my favorite breed, even over the Dels. Both lay extra large to jumbo eggs, just different shades of brown. Dels' are more peachy tan, sometimes very dark, sometimes lighter.


A show quality BR is not at all common, trust me. And a show quality Delaware is rare as hens' teeth. Are we talking 4H showing or APA sanctioned shows?

 

[nobody calls me chicken]

i don't have any answers to your questions but i just wanted to say that i have been looking for a delaware breeder willing to ship day old pullets for the last 3 months online and haven't made much progress. i wish you better luck!

 

[speckledhen]

You can probably count the number of truly serious Delaware breeders in the U.S. on one hand. Doesn't bode well for finding great stock, I know.

 

[nobody calls me chicken]

i know, which is really strange to me because not only are they a heritage and on the watch list, but everyone and i mean everyoneee LOL comments on what great layers they are and they are beautiful to boot, i think so anyways.

 

[ParrotsNPullets]

We have one of each and so my opinion is based on 2 individuals only, but we find both lay the same- occasionally the rock gives us 2 a day (1 morning, 1 evening), but the size and overall yield are about the same.

Both are beautiful, but our Delaware is a lot friendlier to the other gals in the flock and as said above, sometimes annoyingly friendly as she gets underfoot constantly when we're working in the yard! Our BR and our Partridge Rock are both feather pickers of our other girls and just plain ornery when it comes to the other hens, but are relatively nice to us.

Delaware would be my vote, especially if you can get your hands on some decent non-hatchery ones like my gal. Best of luck regardless of which you choose.

 

[mackie123]

This all sounds good, but still not helping me decide! LOL! I would do both if I had the room, but I really don't.
I was told there was a woman in East Tennessee not far at all from me that breeds Delawares. I thought about trying to find her and see if I could look at the birds in person. That is something you rarely get to do before buying chicks or eggs.
I would maybe just like to show at any fair or show. If the bird is good enough I would show them everywhere I could. That is more a side project, though, since I would be wanting them also for laying.
I also have been searching over this site and am finding that it instead of it making it easier to figure out what breed to go with it makes it harder! LOL!

 

[nobody calls me chicken]

mackie123, are you talking about Stacy?

 

[speckledhen]

Stacy has some of my own stock; she came down and got hatching eggs from me awhile back. Hope they turned out well! My stock comes from seriousbill (Janet Holtman) in Ohio, but she isn't currently breeding them due to a household move.

 

[pkw]

My friendliest breeds I have is a toss between my White Orpingtons, Partridge Rocks and my Turkens. My poor Partridge Rocks are always getting their feathers plucked and I don't know who is doing it.