My Delaware Rooster (and his hen)! What do you think??

[kryptoniteqhs]

 

[speckledhen]

I am certainly no expert on Delawares yet. I hope seriousbill pops in here because her opinion is one I very much respect. My first impression on each is that the hen looks like one that is from a line outcrossed with Columbian Rocks from looking at her hackle area. She has a nice straight comb, though. The wing position on the rooster is a bit low, IMO, but let's see what Janet has to say.

 

[Mahonri]

Quote:
Agreed.

 

[Robin'sBrood]

I think they're a lovely couple.

 

[kryptoniteqhs]

lol they are in love lol...he is so good to her...i have another thread somewhere on how wonderful my boys are. Also I dont know if this helps anyone any, but I weighed both the roo and the hen and the roo is 8lbs on the dot and the hen is 5lbs on the dot.

 

[speckledhen]

He looks like he loves her, doesn't he? How is his crow? She seems younger than he is. Do you know their ages?

 

[kryptoniteqhs]

they were hatched in may....and i only heard him crow once yesterday...hes pretty quiet. But, I was pretty far away when he did and was very distracted with my rir roo chasing my black rosecomb bantie roo into the woods. I was chasing both of them lol...everyones fine. Anywho it sounded good from what i could tell lol sounded totally normal to me

 

[seriousbill]

Hi everybody

Okay, here goes: the roo or cockerel looks too slim in body type (if you look at the illustration in the SOP, that ideal Del male is a big, bulky chunk of bird), but in that last picture especially I see a more lightweight-looking bird (how old is he--maybe he'll fill out a bit). And Cyn is right, his wing carriage is a bit too low. I'd like to see more black, more contrast, in his tail too. He has a pretty good comb, and his general body color looks clean; I don't see any smut, so that's good. Shank color is okay.

I agree with Cyn on the female having some Rock blood, but the cross is a few generations back, so, with proper breeding, you can get those neck markings in better shape in one or two more generations. I do think I see some reddish smutty feathers on the side of the pullet, but I can't really tell from the picture.

Overall, a slightly better than average hatchery pair.

In saying this, I mean no offense but am trying to help.

 

[speckledhen]

Thanks so much for your input here, Janet. She's right. If you get a Standard of Perfection and look at the Delaware cockerel illustration, you'll see a body type more like my BR, Dutch-very broad and stocky.

 

[seriousbill]

Yeah, in the Standard, they call it having a "deep" body.