Show off your Delawares! *PIC HEAVY*

[pamperedamber]

hi there pamperedamber, sorry I got that one mixed up , my usual im afraid HA

I dont get enough sleep...lol... its the chickens fault really ...lol.. they get up to early

.lol..but true i do have 13 week old dellies right now & i do have a cockerel , i know that for sure since i ordered him with my pullets, but he looks different then your pic so you might have a pullet.? i will try to get a good pic of my boy, i got my 13 week old dellie cockerel to stand still for a moment so here he is , good luck with yours

Thank you so much!! I can see a big difference in yours and mine. This gives me a big relief. One less to rehome.
At what age do they usually start to lay?

 

[caychris]

Thank you so much!! I can see a big difference in yours and mine. This gives me a big relief. One less to rehome.
At what age do they usually start to lay?

Id say they lay at 20- 24 weeks but if they are coming into that time at winter however you might get an egg or two but then they will hold off till around february or so its really not all that easy to tell. How winter is going to effect them. Extra light in the coop could cause them to lay on time but forcing laying through the winter can shorten their over all laying life.

 

[Diannastarr]

YES INDEED pamperedamber, keep that hen..!

good luck with your Dellies , i find them to be very friendly & sweet..!

take care Dianna

 

[pamperedamber]

YES  INDEED  pamperedamber,  keep that hen..! good  luck  with your  Dellies , i find them to be  very  friendly  & sweet..! take care  Dianna 

Id say they lay at 20- 24 weeks but if they are coming into that time at winter however you might  get an egg or two but then they will hold off till around february or so its really not all that easy to tell. How winter is going to effect them. Extra light in the coop could cause them to lay on time but forcing laying through the winter can shorten their over all laying life.

Thank you everyone. She is getting very red in the face but not squatting yet so hopefully soon.

 

[Diannastarr]

my Dear darling Dellies are growing well & all 30 babies are now out with the entire flock & doing great , very friendly & sweet , i can just walk up the them & give them a pet & they come back for more. so now im waiting to see what kind of egg production they will have , but they will have to be top notch to beat out my Australorps so we shall see what transpires when the eggs start rolling in .

 

[chickiemom3]

We are on our first round of chickens and ended up with 3 Delawares from a hatchery mixed layer order. One of these ended up being in the 10% error margin of sexed chicks . I have a question for the experienced Delaware keepers out there: What is the average age your cockerels mature? Our boy is currently 18 weeks old. He does not crow, he does not attempt to mate the girls, and as of now, he mostly just follows the girls around the yard. He does eat like a small horse, however! We really enjoy him, he has (thus far and we watch him closely!) been perfectly pleasant to every member of our family, children and dogs alike. We have noticed that he is extremely clumsy. If we are holding him, we cannot let him fly down from our hands or he will face plant. He is also unable to get onto the roost at night and will sleep on the floor in the coop if we don't put him up. The roost is only 11 inches off the floor (temporary small coop while building the chicken castle!). I would welcome any insight.

This picture is our boy at about 15 weeks

 

[Maeschak]

We are on our first round of chickens and ended up with 3 Delawares from a hatchery mixed layer order. One of these ended up being in the 10% error margin of sexed chicks

. I have a question for the experienced Delaware keepers out there: What is the average age your cockerels mature? Our boy is currently 18 weeks old. He does not crow, he does not attempt to mate the girls, and as of now, he mostly just follows the girls around the yard. He does eat like a small horse, however! We really enjoy him, he has (thus far and we watch him closely!) been perfectly pleasant to every member of our family, children and dogs alike. We have noticed that he is extremely clumsy. If we are holding him, we cannot let him fly down from our hands or he will face plant. He is also unable to get onto the roost at night and will sleep on the floor in the coop if we don't put him up. The roost is only 11 inches off the floor (temporary small coop while building the chicken castle!). I would welcome any insight.
This picture is our boy at about 15 weeks

I have no idea why your guy wont roost but it is a tad abnormal- particularly the part about him not being able to land on the ground properly when leaving your hand. But, if he is eating and drinking then I would just leave him be!

I have a hefty 8/9 month old Del cockerel who does tend to face-plant often while getting up to the roosts or off the roosts but I chalk it up to him being a big boy and the roosts being 4 feet off the ground. Good luck with your young guy, I have found that my Delaware males on average seem to be pretty laid back.

 

[chickiemom3]

The funny thing is he is perfectly happy on the roost once we get him up there, holding his wings out for scratching a, pushing there girls into their places on the roost, he just can't make the 10-12 inch hop himself. He is very heavy (maybe twice the size of my other Delawares?). I am glad to hear they tend to be laid back. We are enjoying him but would have very little tolerance for any aggression. Thanks for the reply!

 

[AutumnHens]

We have one Del in our mixed flock, 25 weeks old and very pretty. She does have one bent toe that she has had since we got her as a baby chick but it doesn't seem to bother her in the least.

 

[chickiemom3]

We have one Del in our mixed flock, 25 weeks old and very pretty. She does have one bent toe that she has had since we got her as a baby chick but it doesn't seem to bother her in the least.

She is very pretty! Is she talkative? Our two girls are the noisiest animals I've ever met in my life!