I just got a shipment of the biggest Delawares I've ever seen

[SweetieChicken234]

Try getting some weights on them! That would be the best way to compare chick sizes.
I haven't ever kept Delawares to compare, but the English Orpington chicks we raised were the biggest I'd ever seen. Especially looking at their backs from above, they looked like squares rather than slim rectangles, if you know what I mean.

In my experience, chick growth will continue to reflect those size genes... meaning you need to scale up the housing size faster than you normally would. We had struggles accommodating the fat bottoms until it was time for the coop.
In the pictures, your brooder doesn't look very large, maybe 2-3 days holding area size?
And I don't know if Delawares are fast or slow to feather in, but the Orps tend to have slow feather genes and required heat a lot longer than other breeds. Since you're using a brooder plate you may have to DIY something for additional heater leg height if your chicks still need the heat when they're too large to fit under it.

Tomorrow if I have time I will try to get some weights. They were a hot mess coming out of the shipping box. They were 3 days in shipping so I wanted to get them in and settled. These Delawares were bred to the standard. Nothing like my hatchery Delawares. They cost me a small fortune! Now I see why. This is a dual purpose bird but raised more for table meat. The eggs are supposed to be jumbo. My hatchery Delawares eggs are just below 70 grams. Never once have I had a Delaware egg that was truly jumbo. I absolutely can not wait to see the eggs from these pullets.

You're right about accommodating growth. That's exactly what happened with my quails. However I assure you my brooder is actually much bigger. I have the rest blocked off because the chicks were getting lost and confused of where the heat plate is. They would get cold and peep. I had to close off the rest until they know how to get warm. Sometimes it's wiser to start them in a tiny area and then open the rest. Also.. I have 2 extra brooders in my garage if I really need more space. I have several heat plates and extra feeders/waters. I build cages so if I really was struggling with space it would take me a couple of days in the garage and I have another bigger cage built. I have some new 7.5 inch J feeders with lids I'm going to be installing in the brooders so it's leaves more space inside without obstacles to feed them.

Some of these chicks belong to my neighbor too. Once she has time to pick up her chicks out of this lot...that will free up more space as well.

These chicks are fast to feather and ready for the table around 12-13 weeks if that's their destination. I think the breeder said males should be reaching around 6lbs live weight by then.

I'm not too sure about how long it will take to feather. My Delawares from hatchery were off heat in I think around 4 weeks. I'm in FL and it's hot here. Even now in winter it doesn't drop below 40 here. It's been between 70-55. Few days in the upper 40s overnight. I keep all chicks inside until fully feathered anyhow. Most of the time I turn the heat off and just let them sleep under it if they want to.

It won't be hard to prop the legs up higher on the heat plate if I need to. I can just use wood pieces and remove the legs entirely and just strap it to wood.

 

[Sally PB]

Giant cotton balls!

 

[SourRoses]

Tomorrow if I have time I will try to get some weights. They were a hot mess coming out of the shipping box. They were 3 days in shipping so I wanted to get them in and settled. These Delawares were bred to the standard. Nothing like my hatchery Delawares. They cost me a small fortune! Now I see why. This is a dual purpose bird but raised more for table meat. The eggs are supposed to be jumbo. My hatchery Delawares eggs are just below 70 grams. Never once have I had a Delaware egg that was truly jumbo. I absolutely can not wait to see the eggs from these pullets.

You're right about accommodating growth. That's exactly what happened with my quails. However I assure you my brooder is actually much bigger. I have the rest blocked off because the chicks were getting lost and confused of where the heat plate is. They would get cold and peep. I had to close off the rest until they know how to get warm. Sometimes it's wiser to start them in a tiny area and then open the rest. Also.. I have 2 extra brooders in my garage if I really need more space. I have several heat plates and extra feeders/waters. I build cages so if I really was struggling with space it would take me a couple of days in the garage and I have another bigger cage built. I have some new 7.5 inch J feeders with lids I'm going to be installing in the brooders so it's leaves more space inside without obstacles to feed them.

Some of these chicks belong to my neighbor too. Once she has time to pick up her chicks out of this lot...that will free up more space as well.

These chicks are fast to feather and ready for the table around 12-13 weeks if that's their destination. I think the breeder said males should be reaching around 6lbs live weight by then.

I'm not too sure about how long it will take to feather. My Delawares from hatchery were off heat in I think around 4 weeks. I'm in FL and it's hot here. Even now in winter it doesn't drop below 40 here. It's been between 70-55. Few days in the upper 40s overnight. I keep all chicks inside until fully feathered anyhow. Most of the time I turn the heat off and just let them sleep under it if they want to.

It won't be hard to prop the legs up higher on the heat plate if I need to. I can just use wood pieces and remove the legs entirely and just strap it to wood.

Congrats on sourcing a good line! It's great you'll be able to keep it going.
I think for most Jumbo egg layers it's based on egg size after some months of laying, they may be XL to start with. But that's no hardship, lol. I prefer big eggs too! It just makes egg collection more fun, I think.

Good to hear about the space and their fast feathering, that should make things a lot easier for you. I'm in FL too yet the E.Orps had such bare backs they couldn't sleep in nighttime temps without supplemental heat. I mixed them with Ameraucana and Leghorn for blue, bigger eggs, and trying to get back to huge chickens. This sort of experimenting is fun, but so is keeping an established line with historical significance and years of hard work behind them, like you are embarking on. Here's wishing you success! (and don't let the neighbor pick all the biggest ones, lol)

 

[SweetieChicken234]

Congrats on sourcing a good line! It's great you'll be able to keep it going.
I think for most Jumbo egg layers it's based on egg size after some months of laying, they may be XL to start with. But that's no hardship, lol. I prefer big eggs too! It just makes egg collection more fun, I think.

Good to hear about the space and their fast feathering, that should make things a lot easier for you. I'm in FL too yet the E.Orps had such bare backs they couldn't sleep in nighttime temps without supplemental heat. I mixed them with Ameraucana and Leghorn for blue, bigger eggs, and trying to get back to huge chickens. This sort of experimenting is fun, but so is keeping an established line with historical significance and years of hard work behind them, like you are embarking on. Here's wishing you success! (and don't let the neighbor pick all the biggest ones, lol)

I am nuts for these Delawares. I was looking for a long time for a good line bred to standard. I was just lucky enough to catch this breeder before she's out of business. I did some crossing of my Delawares to Wyandottes and it was a fun experiment but I highly prefer my standard Delawares. This is my absolute favorite breed and I've had several. I had easter eggers and brown leghorns. My leghorn rooster was actually my favorite. He was so good with his hens.

 

[SourRoses]

I am nuts for these Delawares. I was looking for a long time for a good line bred to standard. I was just lucky enough to catch this breeder before she's out of business. I did some crossing of my Delawares to Wyandottes and it was a fun experiment but I highly prefer my standard Delawares. This is my absolute favorite breed and I've had several. I had easter eggers and brown leghorns. My leghorn rooster was actually my favorite. He was so good with his hens.

Oh gosh, speaking of rooster temperaments, sometimes the big ones are the best! Our EO roo was the sweetest guy, even as a cockerel he let younger birds cuddle under his wings and he just adored his own chicks.
Since yours are from a private breeder, chances are good they were very selective for temperament and you might have some darlings in that bunch.
I hope the breeder was willing to chat about their selection process in the past generations. Many that are still in business tend to sit on their secrets. A lot of the qualities that make a good table bird and for egg size require some skill to discern in the still living birds. So it would be worth it to try to pick her brain for all your connection is worth.
One thing I picked up about egg size is that it's positively correlated to the thinness of legs. Shank bones reflect the thickness of bone across the whole skeleton, and if the pelvic bone is thick it causes a smaller pelvic aperture, which restricts the size of the eggs. So you want the thinner legged pullets. Of course there is the concern of making a skeleton too delicate to hold the weight of a meaty bird, but that's unlikely to happen quickly.
So far in my experience mixing different sizes together, if you view the chicks from above (with them facing away), the widest ones tend to stay the widest through their growth, and that leads to bigger breasts. Don't forget to keep the roo(s) you most want to eat, and eat the ones that don't make you salivate, lol.

 

[SweetieChicken234]

Oh gosh, speaking of rooster temperaments, sometimes the big ones are the best! Our EO roo was the sweetest guy, even as a cockerel he let younger birds cuddle under his wings and he just adored his own chicks.
Since yours are from a private breeder, chances are good they were very selective for temperament and you might have some darlings in that bunch.
I hope the breeder was willing to chat about their selection process in the past generations. Many that are still in business tend to sit on their secrets. A lot of the qualities that make a good table bird and for egg size require some skill to discern in the still living birds. So it would be worth it to try to pick her brain for all your connection is worth.
One thing I picked up about egg size is that it's positively correlated to the thinness of legs. Shank bones reflect the thickness of bone across the whole skeleton, and if the pelvic bone is thick it causes a smaller pelvic aperture, which restricts the size of the eggs. So you want the thinner legged pullets. Of course there is the concern of making a skeleton too delicate to hold the weight of a meaty bird, but that's unlikely to happen quickly.
So far in my experience mixing different sizes together, if you view the chicks from above (with them facing away), the widest ones tend to stay the widest through their growth, and that leads to bigger breasts. Don't forget to keep the roo(s) you most want to eat, and eat the ones that don't make you salivate, lol.

I've been talking with this breeder for over a year. I've learned a lot. I wanted these birds sooner but I had too much going on and couldn't. She sent me her weight charts and everything. I am more upset that she's going out of the business. What a terrible thing for this breed. She's done an amazing job. She told me her birds are very friendly but at times you will get males that have a bit of attitude and need to be put in line. My current rooster is like that now. Sometimes he doesn't care for my shoes or pants and he tries to peck them. He also allows me to pick him up and hold him.

Believe me I know.. keep the absolute best rooster. Rest are dinner.

That's interesting about the shank bones and eggs. Very interesting. That I did not know.

 

[SweetieChicken234]

I grabbed a bunch and did weights. Anywhere from 46 grams to 55 grams. Not too bad after 3 days starving!

 

[SweetieChicken234]

Found 3 good size chicks!! I'm guessing probably going to be males. They are so much bigger than the rest. 60, 61 and 69 grams!

 

[SweetieChicken234]

So far so good. This line is feathering so fast by the first week I have already identified the males. I have 13 or 14 males. My largest male is 91 grams. The second heaviest is just behind him at around 85.

 

[Vicker]

This one on the right.. that is a rooster if I've ever seen a rooster. Darn is he massive already.

Cute little chonks!