Show off your Delawares! *PIC HEAVY*

[kathyinmo]

Well, I think this also proves that "greens" are not enough to change the leg color. My birds are out ranging every single day! It IS the feed, in my mind.

Anyone else wanna weigh in on this?

Jeremy, your birds have nice yellow legs. What do you feed?

 

[Stevenson]

Quote:
They will be 9 weeks old on Sunday. They are starting to show yellow in their feathers just a little...but they have been inside the coop 100% of the time. I am hoping that by putting them outside that they will supplement their diet and back off on the feed...which hopefully will make the yellowing go away.

 

[Stevenson]

Anyone else thinking of planting marigolds in their chicken run?

 

[Hillbilly Hen]

Actually, I was wondering if I could get the supplement somewhere.

 

[Stevenson]

Quote:
http://www.google.com/products/cata...a=X&ei=o9HyTcOUIYa5tgexlvDwBg&ved=0CGUQ8wIwAA

 

[Hillbilly Hen]

Thanks!

 

[Stevenson]

Thank you, Kathy, for bringing this to my attention. I don't think there is any doubt as to what is going on now. I also know that I am going to have to back off on this feed or risk having some yellow feathered Delawares very soon!

 

[Serrin]

Wow! I miss a couple of days, and I miss a lot!

Chiming in here on the feed vs. sunlight issue. The girls are five weeks old now. I posted some pictures of them at about two weeks of age, when there was and still is, a distinct difference in leg color between Madison and Amelia, who have very yellow legs, and Eleanore, who has the greenish hue to her legs.

These are Privett (sp?) Hatchery stock. Which is why I chose to get these from my local source, this time around. So far, I'm happy with them. I know they're never going to win any ribbons or anything, but then, I didn't acquire them to show or even breed for that matter. I just wanted some sweet girls to add to the flock. Besides, if one is going to be a member in good standing with the SDWD, it would behove one to possess some actual Delaware's!

But I digress....

So far, I've been feeding the girls nothing but the Mana Pro chick starter. There were a couple days this last week where I had to feed them layer crumble as I ran out of their starter and couldn't get to town until just recently.

I have given them a few sprigs of fresh cut alfalfa here and there, but certainly not enough to have any significant influence on their dietary intake. Also a bit of scrambled eggs from time to time.

The only time they have gotten exposed to direct sunlight, on those rare days when the sun isn't obscured by clouds, is when I happen to have the pump house door open and they're out of their brooder and playing on the pump house floor. Which they absolutely love to do by the way!

Again, not enough to significantly influence coloration, IMHO.

To my mind, the only cause for the difference in leg colors in these three little hooligans, has got to be one of genetics. Let's face it: Breeders breed and hatcheries hatch what the breeders provide them. Since I'm sure that what Privett offers is the result of eggs supplied by a number of different breeders, obviously some breeders are allowing the green hue to be perpetuated, whereas others are culling for it.

I'd be very interested to know how many different lines went into the creation of Bill's line. Maybe he has some undesirable genetic combinations cropping up? And since the chicks are absorbing the yellow of their yolk in the first few days, maybe it takes time for the green hue to show up? Not meaning the slightest bit of disrespect to Bill Braden and his efforts. I agree with the overall opinion that his birds are indeed beautiful and possibly come closer to the SOP than most.

Just saying that, when it comes to genetics, anything is possible. Considering the history of the founding of the Delaware breed, no fault could be assigned to any serious breeder! It's in the blood, as they say.

I won't even pretend to act like I know anything about genetics. I'm just as dense as a post when it comes to the subject. It just seems to me that this is a more likely answer, at least for my birds, at this point in time, than a feed or sunlight induced condition.

I could be wrong.

 

[Stevenson]

OK...well it did upload overnight. Here it is:

 

[har]

Quote:
I don't think it is a bad thing for the birds at all. As a matter of fact, I just ordered some of the Purina (Honor) Show Chow/Broiler Complete which has Tagetes. Darn it, I want some yellow legs!

Kathy I been feeding the Durmor's version of the Show feed for a while and really like it. It has purina name on the bag. Good luck with it.