Show off your Delawares! *PIC HEAVY*

[Elaine Wright]

I do not think they are Delawares, they almost look like Cornish Cross.

I looked at the size for 5 weeks for Cornish Cross, they aren't that big. Maybe Leghorn. I'm still hoping they just late bloomers, but I doubt it. I wanted Delaware Chickens.

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

If you read the descriptions for both New Hampshire and Delaware they are very similar. Except for color.

 

[Zanna]

I looked at the size for 5 weeks for Cornish Cross, they aren't that big. Maybe Leghorn. I'm still hoping they just late bloomers, but I doubt it. I wanted Delaware Chickens.

Way too chunky for leghorns. Maybe white rocks? Time will tell

 

[gjensen]

Here's the hen.

I only wish that she had more tail. That is a personal preference. Your hens have more tail from the NHs. I think that you still do. The NHs had exaggerated tails, but great tails for this, and the color.

Nice black tails look good on an otherwise white bird.

 

[gjensen]

would be interesting to note how old this bird was the saddle feathers seem a bit on the short side which to me is an indicator of a younger bird. Spurs also seem to indicate youth. The shapes change a little as they age and put more meat and fat onto the frame. All in all the shape of the bird is getting there at least in a number of them I have seen. Especially the ones from Kathy's line that Kim is producing.
Color is going to be very hard but shape is getting there.

I was looking at some pics of NH hens the other day and if you bleach out the red in a lot of them they would look a lot like Delawares. The tails and columbian pattern while faint on the NH red is clearly visible on good birds. Thats why I think some trying to "fix" the color pattern are willing to breed Del males back to NH hens with good results. It looks like this outcross might help improve tails and color pattern if your birds seem to be lacking but as Leslie and others are saying your have to be very careful of introducing other elements. Working withing the birds you have would be preferable but sometimes the genetic drift of the line leaves you with little options.

To be perfectly honest Im thinking that recreation and merging of the lines might be a better option.

Im considering getting some PBR and NH from eight acre next year and give it a go.

Saddle length is also connected to tail length. Birds with shorter saddles, also tend to have shorter tails. The Delaware, Rock, New Hampshire etc. have a gene that shortens the tail. They should not have long extravagant tails, and as a result their saddle feathers are shorter. In real life, there is some variability from line to line. In this picture, you see the tail that I am referring to.

You did make a reasonable observation. From this point in his hypothetical development, he would not change substantially. This bird is "finished". He could fill out slightly, but the point of this print, is to demonstrate a finished bird. This is an ideal finished bird. That is the point.

If you want to do any crossing, do it on the side. Breeding is often, "first do no harm". We put to much effort into our birds to lose what we have. So we "play" on the side, and if we are successful, then we introduce it into a family. Not to all yet. Then we make a decision to continue or not. All the while, we continue to move forward with the main flock.
When we are considering something like this, we are attempting to add a trait or two. All of the effort on the side is to maintain what we have while improving that characteristic or two. Crossing strains that are radically different birds is best done on the side.

The getting what you want while not losing what you have is the work of a breeder. It is not for faint of heart, and if you are successful, you have come a long ways.

The Standard requirements for the New Hampshire and Delaware are very similar.

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

I only wish that she had more tail. That is a personal preference. Your hens have more tail from the NHs. I think that you still do. The NHs had exaggerated tails, but great tails for this, and the color.

Nice black tails look good on an otherwise white bird.

I'm glad you say you like a bit more tail than in the Schilling illustration.

We are getting lots of tail in the Kathy's Line birds. I think it looks "fancy," but want to work on tidying them a tad. Part of that will involve breeding for wider feathers so we don't get streaming sickle feathers.

I was just sharing tail photos with a poultry judge who helps with the Delaware club ... He says to aim for 7 main tail feathers. I have a photo of a pullet I like from one of my matings showing 8 mail tail feathers and I had said it looked a bit much. It especially looks like much if you compare it to the Schilling illustration.

Our consultant says to balance the tail spread between the bottoms of the wings and the bird's eye.

I'm learning a lot of cool stuff about tails lately!

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

At this point, the only reason I would mess with crossing anything at all with birds from Kathy's Line would be to do a massive hatching as a side project crossing a Delaware cock with a New Hampshire hen looking for the fast feathering gene to cross over to the barred Columbian chicks, then breed those forward for a few generations to see if they had anything to offer Kathy's birds in feathering or maturation rates. Without losing a load of progress I might have made in the meantime getting Kathy's birds more consistent and (hoping) with better color.

And by "I," I mean my breeding partner who has Kathy's Delawares, nice New Hampshires, an incubator and a hatcher. The info I read on that says it will require hatching SO many chicks.

 

[caychris]

At this point, the only reason I would mess with crossing anything at all with birds from Kathy's Line would be to do a massive hatching as a side project crossing a Delaware cock with a New Hampshire hen looking for the fast feathering gene to cross over to the barred Columbian chicks, then breed those forward for a few generations to see if they had anything to offer Kathy's birds in feathering or maturation rates. Without losing a load of progress I might have made in the meantime getting Kathy's birds more consistent and (hoping) with better color.

And by "I," I mean my breeding partner who has Kathy's Delawares, nice New Hampshires, an incubator and a hatcher.

The info I read on that says it will require hatching SO many chicks.

Not planning on crossing Kathys birds at this point. May want to look at recreating a line of Dels for comparative purposes. Lots to learn yet. Wont be mixing any lines until I can be reasonably sure of what I would be getting. Need to do a ton of hatching next year lots to learn. The sample sizes on my birds is way too small to give me any indication of where these birds will go.

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

Not planning on crossing Kathys birds at this point. May want to look at recreating a line of Dels for comparative purposes. Lots to learn yet. Wont be mixing any lines until I can be reasonably sure of what I would be getting. Need to do a ton of hatching next year lots to learn. The sample sizes on my birds is way too small to give me any indication of where these birds will go.

Can you get your hands on historically accurate Barred Plymouth Rocks and Hew Hampshires? And then deal with hatching a LOT of chicks?

 

[caychris]

Can you get your hands on historically accurate Barred Plymouth Rocks and Hew Hampshires? And then deal with hatching a LOT of chick

Sounds good.Ill be looking into that Eight Acre farm seems to have good ones if their website can be believed