Delawares

[BeckyBird]

We had a Delaware named "Fatty-Fat". He was enormous! I really liked him, but he was too aggressive in the coop, so he had run of the yard. I gave him away when he attacked my son. He never bothered me, and I could even pick him up. His new owner liked him too, until he attacked her leg really badly. It was bruised for weeks. Anyway, that's just my experience with one bad Delaware rooster.
)

 

[newbiecaroline]

So with that report BeckyBird these are going to the freezer.
I can tell now they are mean at 2 weeks old!

 

[abChicken]

Hello I have had 3 Deleware hens and a roo for over a year now they are very calm birds. I have 25 Deleware and 25 Iowa Blues 6 weeks old the Iowas are more flighty than the delewares, they are being raised togather. My 2 cents worth

 

[rjv_piper]

Quote:
I got mine from a local guy. He wanted to get rid of some chickens because he had alot of chicks from them. Mine are bantams.

 

[Blessed Farm]

Interesting to read this thread. I have been trying Dels for about the past 8 months. I had ONE hatch last fall, a roo. He was spoiled rotten, being a lonely little guy when young. He turned out mean as heck, and ended up in the freezer at 6 months old. I thought the carcass looked pretty good. We haven't eaten it yet, so not sure how it's gonna taste.

I have two hens right now, and one pullet in the brooder. One of the hens is aggressive, picks fights with the others all the time. The other is more docile. All of these Dels are from the same line, from KS Eggs, the Ebay seller mentioned on here earlier. I LOVE the lady, she's a doll to work with, but I am not really happy with her strain of Dels.

I am going to try a few other strains later, after I get my other birds grown out and am ready to experiment with birds some more. I'd like to be certain this breed has had it's chance to prove itself to me before I give up. I do love the size and color of the Del eggs, just enormous, and dark. In fact, the two Del hens I have now were thought to be Langshan eggs, they were so large and dark, and were accidently placed in the Langshan basket. So, I hope these girls at least make it worth the feed they eat with their large eggs for the time being.

I've learned to sex them at a very young age. The roos always end up with dark/black feathers on the shoulders when they first come in there. The hens may have some grey, but are usually pure white. At MOST they have some lighter/grey specks. Heavier marked are definately roos.

Kim

 

[professor-yellow]

I have Sels from ideal and are 2 weeks old now. Will keep you all posted. I want to see fast growth, and keep a few select nens for breeding with standard cornish male. If they are well behaved I will keep a few more pullets and the roo for breeding.

 

[coop-man]

I've raised Delawares for 3-4 years now, and am most happy with them. Very friendly birds. Most Roos too. I've had a mean one here or there, but I chalk that up to just being a Roo, and not anything to do with the breed.
I use Welps stock, along with breeding my own.

The Birds are bigger than most, and most importantly to me, are excellent winter layers. Large Brown eggs. The cold here in Michigan doesn't seem to slow thier laying down as much as other laying stock I tried. Nor does the cold seem to effect thier health. My experience has been they are a very hearty breed.

My kids are big into 4H, and the Delawares make good show birds partly because of thier rarity, and their size I mentioned earlier.

I wholly reccomend this breed

 

[troub]

I know this is an old thread but I am hoping someone will give me some insight. I am brand new at having chickens and thought I researched the breeds well when I was picking out chickens for my small flock of 6. I wanted friendly fairly docile breeds with no roosters. the breeds I chose were a delaware, a buff orpington, a black australorpe, a coronation sussex, a salmon favorelle and a blue laced red wyandotte. Now after reading these threads, it seems that the delaware is aggressive to other birds. I am now a very nervous new chicken mom expecting her birds the first week of may. can you give me any insight? do you think I will have trouble with this mix of breeds? any advice to help me prepare would be helpful. I thought I read enough to make a wise decision, but now am not so sure.
Thanks

 

[btpeters]

I wouldn't worry about it at all. You chose all nice breeds and the important thing is that you ordered no roosters, so that greatly reduces your risks of them not getting along, especially since they will all grow up together and have that strong bond. And from this thread it sounds like many people had very nice delawares, even though others had some that were aggressive. That can happen with any breed, so I really wouldn't be concerned. And with the delaware's apparent great laying possibilities, it may be worth the risk!

 

[troub]

Thank you btpeters. Your response puts my mind a little more at ease. I will be sure to let you know how they all get along. It won't be for several months before I will know how the egg production is, but just knowing they are likely to get along takes a big weight off my mind!