Show off your Delawares! *PIC HEAVY*

[speckledhen]

Off leg color has been a problem in Delawares for awhile. What you want to see is leg color like this in one of the last young cockerels I had here ( I no longer breed Dels). Of course, you need your body type set, then work on that later:

 

[kathyinmo]

I cull green legs.

 

[desertmarcy]

I would like some feedback from some of you who are breeding Delawares or have raised multiple cockerels. What is their temperament like generally? I held back one cockerel, he is a little over 6 months old now. This morning he tried to bite me. He quickly and firmly got put in his place. He is in a small pen by himself since I am not breeding/hatching eggs right now and my hens need a break until they molt out. Now this line I have, not sure of their origin, probably hatchery. Bought hatching eggs on Ebay originally and I'm using the Delawares mainly to hatch sex-linked chicks, but I'd like to breed pure Delawares also, to replace my hens when they get old or to sell to others who might want them. But I don't want to be breeding bad temperament. Of the cockerels I raised up from the hatching eggs, one of those was a biter, too. I kept a nice one for breeding, but he became lame and I had to put him down. So I'm contemplating getting a different line of Delawares. These are the only ones I've ever had. Are they typically a bit on the feisty side, or did I just get some bad ones? Thanks.

 

[kathyinmo]

It's not Delawares, "as a breed," that are aggressive. Hatchery stock males are often noted to be aggressive though - in several breeds. On the other hand, anyone can get an aggressive male. It happens. Generally speaking though, most breeder Delawares are quite docile and even overly-friendly at times.

 

[desertmarcy]

It's not Delawares, "as a breed," that are aggressive. Hatchery stock males are often noted to be aggressive though - in several breeds. On the other hand, anyone can get an aggressive male. It happens. Generally speaking though, most breeder Delawares are quite docile and even overly-friendly at times.

I knew that was true of hatchery Rhode Island Reds, oops I mean "Production Reds"

How is the temperament on your project Delawares? Yes, I know all about aggressive males--I hatched some Orloff/Ameraucana crosses and wanted to keep one of the males. Made the mistake of keeping the prettiest one--ended up having to butcher him. He was a royal PINA.

 

[speckledhen]

Generally, mine are super friendly, including the cockerels. My 3 yr old rooster, Isaac, is very easygoing, as you can see here in this video with my DH. He asked to be up there by scratching on his pants leg with his foot:

(sorry about his hackles-he has a hen who picks them constantly)
http://s673.photobucket.com/albums/vv95/Mtnviewpoultry/Video Clips/?action=view&current=DSCN5537.mp4

 

[desertmarcy]

I wonder if it is the small pen and being isolated that is making him worse. I bought a "chicken condo" from a former poultry shower/breeder who got out of the hobby. It is a series of 4'X4' pens. I didn't plan space for extra cockerels when I built my chicken house, so I thought this would be a nice addition. It has 16 4'X4' X 7' high pens. I thought those would be perfect for individual cockerels. But they are all by themselves in each unit with nothing to do. I feel kinda bad about that, but if you want to breed chickens, what can you do? I can't free range, too many predators. And if you are a serious breeder, you need to keep some extra males and they usually don't get along. I had two of my Spangled Russian Orloffs, just a year old, in one of those pens together. They got along great and sat side by side up on the perch. Well the one was a splash, very very beautiful bird, but I knew I wasn't going to use him for breeding and a fellow offered me $30----so I sold him. I have noticed the remaining cockerel seems a bit more, on edge? since his buddy left. And I don't see him up on the perch anymore. It is a very high perch, the guy who built this unit raised Old English Game, they could fly straight up. But I knew these Orloffs could, too, since they were always up there together, but now the single one stays on the ground. I just wonder ifif being by themselves is taking a toll, psychologically. Maybe there is another thread on BYC, does anybody have a link, where this sort of thing is discussed. How to maintain extra cockerels that is. Anyway, I am not sure I should keep this Delaware. He is the only male I kept, but look at his comb. Is this a stupid comb? Surely this must be a disqualifying fault. Someone who knows, please tell me. I will look it up in my SOP and see if I can find pics that look like this. Is this like a carnation comb, only in the front instead of the back? I have been thinking about getting a different bloodline, but can't even fathom raising new birds until this fall when we are out of the heat here. But if someone has a NICE Delaware cockerel with a GOOD attitude that you want to part with, PM me! Here is the culprit who tried to bite me: Ignore the bad points, that was from a Marans cockerel who decided he didn't want to be the Delaware's buddy anymore.


Here is his comb from the left side:



Here is his comb from the right side:

 

[speckledhen]

It's nothing like a carnation comb. He's just missing a point on his comb, looks like to me, like it was bitten off, but he has way too many points. He should have only 5.


This is considered a very good head on a Delaware. Ike has a pesky half-sized 6th point, but you can see the balance and the way it fits his head:

 

[plantcityhomestead]

I wonder if it is the small pen and being isolated that is making him worse. I bought a "chicken condo" from a former poultry shower/breeder who got out of the hobby. It is a series of 4'X4' pens. I didn't plan space for extra cockerels when I built my chicken house, so I thought this would be a nice addition. It has 16 4'X4' X 7' high pens. I thought those would be perfect for individual cockerels. But they are all by themselves in each unit with nothing to do. I feel kinda bad about that, but if you want to breed chickens, what can you do? I can't free range, too many predators. And if you are a serious breeder, you need to keep some extra males and they usually don't get along. I had two of my Spangled Russian Orloffs, just a year old, in one of those pens together. They got along great and sat side by side up on the perch. Well the one was a splash, very very beautiful bird, but I knew I wasn't going to use him for breeding and a fellow offered me $30----so I sold him. I have noticed the remaining cockerel seems a bit more, on edge? since his buddy left. And I don't see him up on the perch anymore. It is a very high perch, the guy who built this unit raised Old English Game, they could fly straight up. But I knew these Orloffs could, too, since they were always up there together, but now the single one stays on the ground. I just wonder ifif being by themselves is taking a toll, psychologically. Maybe there is another thread on BYC, does anybody have a link, where this sort of thing is discussed. How to maintain extra cockerels that is. Anyway, I am not sure I should keep this Delaware. He is the only male I kept, but look at his comb. Is this a stupid comb? Surely this must be a disqualifying fault. Someone who knows, please tell me. I will look it up in my SOP and see if I can find pics that look like this. Is this like a carnation comb, only in the front instead of the back? I have been thinking about getting a different bloodline, but can't even fathom raising new birds until this fall when we are out of the heat here. But if someone has a NICE Delaware cockerel with a GOOD attitude that you want to part with, PM me! Here is the culprit who tried to bite me: Ignore the bad points, that was from a Marans cockerel who decided he didn't want to be the Delaware's buddy anymore.


I would not use him for breeding, and probably would move him to the stewpot. Delawares should have a good temperment. I have never had a mean Delaware rooster, even in my original hatchery birds, but any aggressive roosters in my flock are culled. If you want to breed Delawares, please look for another rooster. He has many more problems than just his comb.

 

[kathyinmo]

I wonder if it is the small pen and being isolated that is making him worse. I bought a "chicken condo" from a former poultry shower/breeder who got out of the hobby. It is a series of 4'X4' pens. I didn't plan space for extra cockerels when I built my chicken house, so I thought this would be a nice addition. It has 16 4'X4' X 7' high pens. I thought those would be perfect for individual cockerels. But they are all by themselves in each unit with nothing to do. I feel kinda bad about that, but if you want to breed chickens, what can you do? I can't free range, too many predators. And if you are a serious breeder, you need to keep some extra males and they usually don't get along. I had two of my Spangled Russian Orloffs, just a year old, in one of those pens together. They got along great and sat side by side up on the perch. Well the one was a splash, very very beautiful bird, but I knew I wasn't going to use him for breeding and a fellow offered me $30----so I sold him. I have noticed the remaining cockerel seems a bit more, on edge? since his buddy left. And I don't see him up on the perch anymore. It is a very high perch, the guy who built this unit raised Old English Game, they could fly straight up. But I knew these Orloffs could, too, since they were always up there together, but now the single one stays on the ground. I just wonder ifif being by themselves is taking a toll, psychologically. Maybe there is another thread on BYC, does anybody have a link, where this sort of thing is discussed. How to maintain extra cockerels that is. Anyway, I am not sure I should keep this Delaware. He is the only male I kept, but look at his comb. Is this a stupid comb? Surely this must be a disqualifying fault. Someone who knows, please tell me. I will look it up in my SOP and see if I can find pics that look like this. Is this like a carnation comb, only in the front instead of the back? I have been thinking about getting a different bloodline, but can't even fathom raising new birds until this fall when we are out of the heat here. But if someone has a NICE Delaware cockerel with a GOOD attitude that you want to part with, PM me! Here is the culprit who tried to bite me: Ignore the bad points, that was from a Marans cockerel who decided he didn't want to be the Delaware's buddy anymore.


Here is his comb from the left side:



Here is his comb from the right side:

I think those pens you describe sound fabulous! I would love to have something like that!

About the comb...... I confess, I rarely pay much attention to the comb. I would cull (and did cull an entire flock of white Jersey GIants) for sprigs. (They are hereditary, too). The general scale of points in the SOP show that the comb is worth 5 points (out of 100). Extra points, or too few points, I would not cull for. A "thumb mark," course texture, oversize, undersize, twisted, etc could cause point loss only.