Good layers?

[Mac14]

I am getting 3 or 4 chicks in the spring and on my list is to get a Delaware. I was hoping that if you have or have had Delawares if you can tell me how good at laying they are.

 

[Mr MKK FARMS]

Yes Delawares do lay very well.
Hope that helps!

 

[Mac14]

Yes Delawares do lay very well.
Hope that helps!

Yes it does. Thank you.

 

[Mac14]

Also, would anyone rate them as good, very good, or excellent layers?

 

[Ridgerunner]

Where are you getting them? If from a hatchery, they should be good layers. Not all hatcheries have the same person selecting which chickens go in their breeding pens, so not all hatchery chickens are identical, but your odds of getting good layers are really good with hatchery Delawares. I got mine from Cackle and they were very good.

I've got the same breeds (not Delawares but Speckled Sussex and Black Australorp) from different hatcheries and there are definitely differences depending on which hatchery you use. But they still tend to lay really well.

If you are getting them from someone breeding them, you need to talk to that person and see what traits they are breeding for. Different breeders can be breeding for really different things. Some just get hatchery birds and don't even have a clue how to choose for traits. Some are breeding purely for show and don't care about productivity. Some breed for productivity, either eggs or meat. A very few breed for show plus productivity.

When breeding chickens, unless you carefully select which traits to breed for, they can become average chickens and lose those special traits in just a couple of generations. The original Delaware were bred to be meat birds. But when the Cornish X was developed, people quit breeding them for meat and they quickly became a dual-purpose bird. This was at least 50 years ago so they long ago lost that special breeding that allowed them to weight 4 pounds at 10 weeks.

You'll probably be very happy with hatchery Delaware.

 

[K-9Dog]

I like the RIR's but the Golden comets or red stars or red sex links lay larger eggs, more eggs, and are very docile.

 

[Mac14]

Where are you getting them? If from a hatchery, they should be good layers. Not all hatcheries have the same person selecting which chickens go in their breeding pens, so not all hatchery chickens are identical, but your odds of getting good layers are really good with hatchery Delawares. I got mine from Cackle and they were very good.
I've got the same breeds (not Delawares but Speckled Sussex and Black Australorp) from different hatcheries and there are definitely differences depending on which hatchery you use. But they still tend to lay really well.
If you are getting them from someone breeding them, you need to talk to that person and see what traits they are breeding for. Different breeders can be breeding for really different things. Some just get hatchery birds and don't even have a clue how to choose for traits. Some are breeding purely for show and don't care about productivity. Some breed for productivity, either eggs or meat. A very few breed for show plus productivity.
When breeding chickens, unless you carefully select which traits to breed for, they can become average chickens and lose those special traits in just a couple of generations. The original Delaware were bred to be meat birds. But when the Cornish X was developed, people quit breeding them for meat and they quickly became a dual-purpose bird. This was at least 50 years ago so they long ago lost that special breeding that allowed them to weight 4 pounds at 10 weeks.
You'll probably be very happy with hatchery Delaware.

We are going to get them from our feed store, and they get them from Privett hatchery. The chickens we have now (8 of them), we got from the feed store in March when they had chick days, and I love 'em. Thank you for all the info!

 

[Mac14]

I like the RIR's but the Golden comets or red stars or red sex links lay larger eggs, more eggs, and are very docile.

Ya, we have 2 RIR's and 1 Golden Comet/Red Star (or whatever) and I definetly like the Red Star better, she lays EVERY day and her eggs are large.

 

[Mac14]

Also how would anyone rate Welsummers laying? I am hoping to get one of those too.

 

[Mac14]

I have only read that Welsummers are good or very good layers but I don't know if that is about 5 eggs a week or more. So I was hoping someone could clarify that.