Delawares?

[SuperMell]

We traded 3 roos we hatched for a pair of pullets today. The new girls are quarantined from our flock & I am thinking they are Delawares. Sorry for the bad pics, these girls are still adjusting to their new home.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

That would be my guess too.

 

[speckledhen]

Yep.

 

[Gray Farms]

What color are the darker marked ones legs?

 

[TheKindaFarmGal]

One might be a Delaware but I don't think the other is. Where are they from? Better pics?

 

[pineapple416]

The one with the barred hackles is a Delaware but I'm not sure about the others...Delawares are supposed to have barred looking black feathers on necks and tails so the other ones are most likely are Delawares that have a slight defects or maybe another breed like a light Sussex. Pretty birds though!

 

[pineapple416]

Do they all have single combs? Can't really tell on one of them in the picture.

 

[SuperMell]

Both are single comb. The lighter one does have the Delaware hackle barring & tail but its more gray than black. Both have cream colored legs.

 

[speckledhen]

Hatchery Delawares very greatly. Some have very little hackle barring, some have too much. They can both be Delawares, but not great quality ones. Even my heritage line Delaware hens had an occasional one with light hackle barring. She does have barring there, just not very dark.

Delawares are supposed to have yellow legs. Some have issues with that trait and have dusky greenish yellow legs, some have whitish legs. A Sussex would have white legs, but solid black in the hackles, not barring.

There's always a chance that it's not a pure Delaware. The coloring is very strong and comes out even with barred parents at times. Trust me on that one, LOL. I had a single barred male put over a red hen (BLRW x Blue Ameraucana) and two chicks were Delaware colored. The single barred male's sire was my pure Delaware rooster, Isaac, so we got "throwback" chicks.

 

[SuperMell]

Hatchery Delawares very greatly. Some have very little hackle barring, some have too much. They can both be Delawares, but not great quality ones. Even my heritage line Delaware hens had an occasional one with light hackle barring. She does have barring there, just not very dark.

Delawares are supposed to have yellow legs. Some have issues with that trait and have dusky greenish yellow legs, some have whitish legs. A Sussex would have white legs, but solid black in the hackles, not barring.

There's always a chance that it's not a pure Delaware. The coloring is very strong and comes out even with barred parents at times. Trust me on that one, LOL. I had a single barred male put over a red hen (BLRW x Blue Ameraucana) and two chicks were Delaware colored. The single barred male's sire was my pure Delaware rooster, Isaac, so we got "throwback" chicks.

Cool, that makes sense. We got them from a small independent feed supplier who also raises some birds. As long as they lay fairly well I don't care if they are mixed breed or lower quality. My kids think they are pretty