Delawares

[newbiecaroline]

1) Can these be sexed young?
2) Also out of 15 only one has very nicely feathered brown wings....should they all have been like that?
3) Some I notice have very thick legs...mean anything?
Thanks members!

 

[Lanissa86]

My Delawares we very sweet and sexing would be like any other, look for the red comb and wattles coming in at a young age and that indicates roo. As for brown wings?? Post a pic, Delawares do not have brown wings last I checked.

 

[speckledhen]

Here are my four 4-wk old Delaware chicks, 2 pullets and 2 cockerels and it's pretty easy to tell which is which at this age. I didn't keep them because these were very aggressive, but they dont have brown on them anywhere and shouldn't have.

 

[newbiecaroline]

Oh man don't get mad now but I forgot I had faverolles...rofl
I'm sorry...
Yes these birds are very aggressive! glad I bought them for meat birds! I won't miss them!
I was thinking to keep a trio to save buying meat birds again next year...but I don't know maybe if I can get some nice ones out of the bunch!
Great picture shows me exactly what I needed to know...thanks Speckledhen
Sorry again about the mix up Lanissa

 

[Lanissa86]

Well that explains it.

Speckledhen, your Delawares are aggressive? Thats weird, I thought they were known for being sweet and docile. Maybe that doesn't apply for them all then.

 

[speckledhen]

LOL, well Faverolles are supposed to have brown on them if they're pullets, so you're good there! My Delawares were not the best example of what the breed should be although they were very pretty birds. Their parents turned mean at about a year old and these were the worst chicks I ever had; they plucked seven Speckled Sussex and an Ameraucana chick in about two hours time one afternoon. Just little vampires! I am going to get some eggs from a breeder next month, not a hatchery strain, and give the breed a second chance.

 

[Lanissa86]

Wow! Mine were from Ideal. I wonder what got into the little Vamps.

Hope you have a better experience next time around.

 

[chickenshadow]

Delawares get a bad rep. We hatched 25 of them. They pick more than some others
but aren't the "evil" birds people portray them as.

Looking at your pic birds 1 and 4 are roos. Bird #2 (from the left) is most
likely a hen and #3 is definately a hen.

Brown wings would be a sign of a recessive gene introduced from another breed.
That's ok as very few birds are true "pure breeds".


We did cull our Delaware roosters (only because we can't have roosters and raise
roos for meat) and we kept one hen. She is sweet and is almost all white.

We bought our eggs on Ebay from an awesome Ebay seller. Delawares were
a great experience for us and would do it again.

CS

Note:
I bought mine from acccchris on ebay http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZacccchris

The only others I recomend higher are:
Speckledhen (I have a splash orp

)
HinkJC
Mothergoose
OKCarla (She is evil - How do you get a 200% hatch rate???? Einstein would be puzzled)
FluffnStuff(Evil Silkies)
Anyone on BYC with more than 1000 posts

 

[newbiecaroline]

Mine are aggressive...several had little blood spots from pecking one had no feathers down the back of his neck and they fight...never had this breed before and I'm used to sweet little things lol..they even bit me when I picked them up!
Now they're outside and I hope that helps having more room and stuff to do!

 

[chickenshadow]

Mine picked my Blue Orps & EE's too. They weren't agressive towards me.

If any chicken attacks you kick it. Simple.

Being outside should calm them down a bit.


What are your intentions with them? Are they meat birds or do you want them in
your flock? The hens are fine for a laying flock. The roos are just typical
roos.