Show off your Delawares! *PIC HEAVY*

[Preservation Acres]

Here's our Delaware "Louise."

 

[walkswithdog]

Quote:
I have two who lay speckled or freckled pink/tan eggs - that's normal - with one of them the freckles are lavendar it's way cool.

As to the odd egg layer, if they're porous or soft - get some oyster shell and free feed it to your girls or mix it with scratch and feed it out. It won't bother the normal ones and will help the one with the odd eggs. But some hens lay a brown egg with a whitish top coating and that's normal. I have one hen that lays oblong eggs, if it's one of her larger ones -- with wrinkles in it.

Normal is sort of a broad spectrum actually. I like my freckled and speckled eggs.

 

[speckledhen]

2dogs, you must have upload them to BYC (check for UPLOADS on the blue banner above) or have them on an online hosting site, like Photobucket.

rancher hicks, you pick for body type first of all, then combs, color, legs, etc.

 

[rancher hicks]

Most pics only hsow the side veiw but what about the ront and rear view? should I check for weight? skinny, fat, somewhere in betwn?
I only have one roo and he is heavy weight wise and good size, nice natured, yellow legs, 10 point comb though a little to much coloring on his saddle but I'm not into showing but I expect he won't last forever. I have no idea how old he is,nor none of the hens he came with.
The funny egg is usually huge and looks like two eggs glued together. The shell is coarser than a normal egg. All are given oyster shells on an at will basis. Sometimes I throw a handful in the feed. $6.00 a pound. I like the stuff that just says "oyster shells" not with other stuff. I occasionall feed them yogurt and spinach for extra calcium too. She just lays funny eggs.
Anyone going to be selling chicks, eggs or Dels in the future I could put my order in now. Willing to send a deposit speckled hen.

 

[speckledhen]

rancher, I don't take orders any longer, but I will be selling an occasional set of these from time to time. I do want folks to become interested in the breed so keeping them all to myself wouldn't help their numbers come back up.
I don't know how much Isaac weighs, but I believe that I was told Isaac's sire weighs about 9 lbs. or more. A front view sometimes will help you show how broad the chest is, but it's not just that it should be wide, but deep, too. If you get the body type right, then you cull for comb quality, plumage color, leg color, etc. As you can imagine, it's hard to get all of it right at the same time; and your rooster can make up for then hens' flaws or vice versa--there are always two parents involved and good and bad traits play off each other.
Wonder where shortcake is these days? She has a flock of Delawares and some of hers have the same bloodlines as mine do.

 

[Raven1]

I have some of Shortcake's Dels that I hatched here and I love them I need to take some pics to get opinions on them from the little I know they look good to me and are always under foot and looking for treats they are a great size for young birds.

 

[delawaregirl09]

Oh wow! Speckled, you really are a great sourse! Lol. I'm glad I started this thread. Louise looks a lot like two of my pullets I have. My girls are pretty flighty right now

But thats my fault.

Speckled, is there a chance that you may be selling Delawares/Del Eggs in two years or so? I'm really thinking about getting into the Heritage Delawares sometime.

And Bassleg, I would start a thread asking about Heritage Delawares, and see if you find anything there. Hatchery stock isnt all that bad if you just want some chickens though.

 

[speckledhen]

I'm not making too many future plans, but for the time being, I'll keep raising the Delawares and hopefully, get others interested in this great breed. Circumstances may force any and all plans to change, so I just don't make many these days.

 

[delawaregirl09]

Speckled, sounds like a good way to go about things. I have lots of people who ask me about Delawares and where to find Heritage ones, and I just tell them to look online and talk to the owners and stuff. I really am looking forward to owning some Heritage ones, but we'll see

 

[Bassleg]

Quote:
Thanks I'll look at that but I would to get the best birds I can .

I can also hatch the eggs from someone.