Murry McMurray, Delawares, and meat bird quality

[ijon]

I have some of her chicks right now. At one month they are beautifully feathered out and heavy.

 

[Beer can]

I have some of her chicks right now. At one month they are beautifully feathered out and heavy.

What kind of roo is your avatar?

 

[ijon]

He supposed to be a Siapan jungle foul. I have some wild crosses with him. One with him and a Cocin, tall muscular, with feathering on his feet. Another cross with a Americana, she is wild looking. Big boned, she will probably be bigger than him. I am terrible about posting pictures. I will try to get some on here. Also try to post pictures of my Delaware chicks this afternoon.

 

[Beer can]

In your opinion does a Sapian get as big as a Malay? I want to someday
try a Malay, Jersey Giant cross. But cant find Malay, I have saw Sapians though. Might cost a lot to feed for a crazy experiment, but i'm wondering if it will be ginourmous! I see some people have asked about such a cross, but havn't saw any actually do it.

 

[ijon]

I am by far no expert. I got Sunny my rooster by kind of a fluke. I saw some hatching eggs on ebay and bid on them thinking I would not win I did. After the post office tried their best to destroy the eggs I hatched one. There is a man in Florida that is trying to bring back what was supposed to be the true Siapans. Some people believe its a myth.

 

[ijon]

These are my two crosses from Sunny the Siapan. and the Delaware chicks from Eight Acre farm in Florida.

 

[Moondazzle]

Oh my gosh, you guys, thank you for all the input! This is all wonderful information. I'll be checking out breeders and other hatcheries to find the best birds. Thank you guys SO much for the pictures too!

 

[LindaB220]

Hello Moon Dazzle,
I recently obtained a trio of the most gorgeous Delawares I have ever seen. Large robust teenagers just starting to lay eggs. I got them from a fellow (lady) chicken nut in the Capay Valley of northern California. They are descendants of the greatly improved birds developed by Kathy Mo who I understand is no longer working with them. I plan to breed them in great numbers in the spring if you can wait that long. My idea is to collect as many of the best looking eggs from them and to have them hatched and reared by foster hens; mostly Silkies to be exact. In my 66 years of experience these are among the best of mothers in the chicken world despite their small size. Therefore, the reason for employing a bevy of them, to make up for their small size. You are invited to call me at 209-327-2068 to chat about the project. That offer goes to anybody else who is interested in the revival of the Delaware breed.
Sincerely,
Neal, the Zooman

Hi Neal, what a great buy. So happy for you.

 

[mariacp]

I have purchased chicks form McMurray on a couple different occasions. I have been very satisfied with the chicks that we got, all survived and all were very healthy.

I purchased 25 Cornish X from them a couple summers ago, and unfortunately had a high mortality rate due to heat, but McMurray offered to reimburse me for them. Which was very generous seeing as it wasn't their fault!

So from my experience, both the actual birds and the outstanding customer service I received, I wouldn't hesitate to get more from them.

I don't know much about bird breed confirmation etc.. but from what I have gotten, they seem true to their breeds. Unlike a couple other hatcheries around, they also deal with Rare breeds. I think this makes them separate their chickens a little more carefully.

 

[Biddiquack]

I originally ordered Delaware chicks from McMurry hatchery. They were growing into nice large birds.; correct feathering, combs, etc. Right before they were old enough to lay all but one disappeared. (But that's another story.) Now we have erected Fort Delaware complete with gate locks, electric fence, and covered runs, and I ordered Delawares from Meyer hatchery. They are now 3 months old - two roos and 8 hens. The hens all have pea combs, barring around their necks, and dusty or yellowish colored feathers mixed in with white body feathers, so I' m thinking something's amiss.
Hard lessons learned; but now that we have the fort I will try to get chicks from Whitmore or Sand Hill this spring.