Show off your Delawares! *PIC HEAVY*

[rebel yell]

Yes I belive I will, I got 2 more of these pullets & all 3 are sisters & look all the same of corse the roo. is not related at all, My pullets are of the Sand Hill line from about 6 years ago, & already got chicks out of thr roo. & they look great, I am very pleased with the roo. color & type & also with the pullets, so yea I will be ofering eggs probely in a month or so, Rebel.

 

[ladytoysdream]

Hi.
Are these white birds Delawares ? Pics taken 2010.

This is Buttons, btw. Turned out to be one very broody hen this year.

Reddish one is not

This is our 3rd year with chickens. I have a closed flock.

 

[speckledhen]

ladytoysdream, yes, yours are Delawares.


Here's Isaac with some Georgia clay for decoration, LOL. He roosts next to my EE, June, also pictured, every night, and chases the BRs off that roost. They must roost in the other room. Not sure why he hates the BR hens. I'm about to give him three more at the end of the month. He's not going to be happy with mama, I bet. He has such kind eyes and he's just such a sweet, easygoing guy. He's my special buddy. Ike will be 3 yrs old in February.

 

[ladytoysdream]

Thanks.
So my birds look like Delawares.
What percentage of bloodlines would make them pure ?

Moms to these white birds are pure buff orpingtons, and Bert is the Dad.
And I think I finally got it figured out what Bert is. He was gifted to us as a chick.

This is Bert and Lucy in 2009. They came here in a group of 5 chicks.
Turned out to be 3 pullets and 2 roosters.
So Bert would be a red sexlink that used a Delaware mom.
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This is Rudy , Bert's son, born April 2011 with siblings his age.
Boo, the ameracauna is the only one here of her kind.
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Mother of Rudy, is Buttons, who was born 2010.

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Picture of Rudy, born 4/4/2011, with pullet born this summer. Picture 1/1/2012
Father Bert, mother Buttons.


Yes we have no snow right now. Crazy weather here in NY.

I just want to know if someone asks, that I can safely say they are Delawares

 

[ladytoysdream]

Can someone help me with my post above this one ?
I don't want to add any outside birds to my flock, but work with what I have.
Currently I have quite a few pullets/hens that have the Delaware look to them.

So if they look like a Delaware, is it safe for me to call them that ?

I did not sell any extra birds in 2011. Any I raised ended up in my own flock.
I did sell some started birds, and chicks in 2010.
I only had a few white ones then and people wanted to buy them.
I showed them what the parents were, so they knew they were buying a
mixed bird. I only sold a couple of the plain white ones then.

I am thinking this year of 2012, to only hatch a few eggs from the more
serious looking Delawares to see where I can go with that line, on my own,
without introducing any outside birds.

So how many generations, would it take to get a for sure Delaware ?
The current pullets I have now from 2011, have the mothers, and grandmothers both here.

 

[speckledhen]

Buttons looks like a Delaware and the other hens in your first post do, also. As someone who has had them for several years, I'd say I'm pretty certain that she is, but you can't call a bird a Delaware just because it looks kinda-sorta like one.

The roosters, of course, you cannot call Delawares, and you cannot call the daughter of Bert a Delaware since she is a cross. I can't answer the generations question as I don't start with anything other than I want to end up with, but I'm sure someone else can.

 

[ladytoysdream]

Thanks.

I know I can't call them Delawares even if they look like one.

I can only say then that they are *marked like Delawares*,
but they are not purebreds.

If I decide to sell some chicks again this year, I will just have to call them
a hen house mix/cross. Which is what I did in the past.
And I would show a potential buyer the parents who live here.
I do have purebred buff orpingtons here that I started with.
And I also have some red sex links.

I have no desire to show any birds.
I like the white color because they are pretty birds.
I want hardy birds that lay well, and are good broodies.
I have year round egg customers that are my main priority.
We got into birds again for fun a few years ago.
The plan is for birds, to be part of our future retirement package.

 

[speckledhen]

Delaware breeders are sort of sensitive about birds who aren't "quite" Delawares being called such, mainly because the breed has been nearly extinct for so long and now is making a comeback.

Hatcheries for awhile bred in Columbian Rock and ruined the type and the color of the Delaware, but yet, called it a Delaware. Your hens do appear to be Delawares, though. And we've seen birds with solid colored hackles and solid colored tails being called Delawares by the hatcheries and folks who are used to what the hatcheries have been passing off as Dels when all it does is a disservice to the breed. So, that's why I answered your question the way I did.

A true Delaware is a wonderful flock bird, as you know. The eggs are large and a pretty shade of peachy brown, they are friendly, personable birds, and they are great foragers if allowed to free range, which generally is the best situation for them as opposed to being penned 24/7. None of mine have ever gone broody, though others have had broody Dels.

 

[capayvalleychick]

My Braden chicks are 5 weeks old. I took some pics of them and put them in my Flickr album:

http://flic.kr/s/aHsjxJU5vr

Can anyone tell pullets from cockerels at this age?

I have such high hopes for these chicks, since I am considering focusing on this strain. Their legs started looking greenish and I was told to cull them because of it, which was really upsetting. It was a sunny day when I took them out to photograph them and their legs didn't look green in the bright sun. They aren't deep yellow either, like my Sand Hill Dels were. Tell me what you think, please. I'm new at breeding Dels and I want to do this right. I really need help from someone who knows what they are doing. So far, it looks like the color isn't going to be right with these chicks but hopefully the type will be good. Can you tell body type at all at this age. Should the chicks' stance be wider? I know these chicks are young but I keep looking at them and wanting them to be a good start.

Thanks,
Kim

 

[speckledhen]

You can absolutely tell pullets from cockerels at that age. The big pink combs on the boys are a dead giveaway at that age. Girls won't have those. And the males usually have some "smut" down the backs between the shoulders that the girls rarely have. The one in the first big picture on the left is a cockerel and I see a few others.

Leg color is one of those things that is difficult in some lines of Delawares. I'm so glad that Isaac's kids seem to have bright yellow legs so that's one less thing to worry about.