Have a dilemma here. Lately, all the Delaware chicks I've been hatching have been Georgie's because her egg is so identifiable and I sometimes have to be on the spot to correctly ID Ellie's egg. The last ten chicks that hatched have all been Georgie's, that I recall. Four of those hatched today. The last one to hatch may be having hock issues on one side. Out of the batch that Nick took, one chick was culled since it could not stand and it's hock(s) seemed painful. That is 20% of Georgie's kids. The rest are the usual Dellie heathens, in trouble from the get-go. The next two Delawares are Ellie's, like Tasha. If Georgie is on occasion throwing kids with hock issues, should I cease hatching her chicks or just cull the poor little defective ones as they pop up? As it is, I have only Ellie, Georgie and Tasha.
I'm not keeping anymore Dels for myself, but I don't want anyone to have any future problems with them. Guess I could just let Georgie be a layer if it's just her babies. I may be premature about the little one that hatched today so need to give it 24 hours to stand upright before I decide it's got issues.
