Quote:
Well, allow me a moment of pedantic joy, will you? The chronological order of development would be Barred Plymouth Rock, RIR and Delaware.
The BR, the quintessential 'American chicken', was first exhibited as a breed in 1869. The RIR was in breeding since the mid 1800's, but was entered in the APA registry in 1904. The Delaware wasnlt seen until the 1940's, I believe.
During WWII, there were more Barred Plymouth Rocks in America than any other breed. The RIR is the state bird of, you guessed it, Rhode Island. The Delaware is a latecomer, and was originally called the Indian River. It really only predominated in one region of the country, what is called the DelMarVa peninsula (Delaware, Maryland and Virgina). Even then, debate remains as to whether 'predominate' is the right choice of words, since it competed with all the others and only lasted 15 years or so.
It was bred to be a great egger AND a good meat bird in one. Again, this goes to the appearance of the dressed carcass. Up 'til that time, the best eggers were brown egg layers which had dark feathers and so, spotty-skinned carcasses once dressed. The Delaware, with its white plumage and white skin, offers a clean carcass and makes a much nicer presentation at the table.
By the time they began to be recognized as an ideal dual purpose bird, industrial factory-farming methods had taken hold. These methods required a wholly different sort of bird, the genetically purpose built Cornish X and Leghorn egg hen. The last commercial use of the Delaware was in the late 1950's, I'd guess.
