Show off your Delawares! *PIC HEAVY*

[that_crazy_lady]

hey everyone, I've been so busy with art and bead work...lets just say I've been living of coffee for the past few weeks.
I got a suprise this morning, my FIRST DELAWARE EGG!

I was so happy, and it's so little and round. lol like a little tan galf ball. and it was ofcorse right next to the nexting box I just put fake eggs in the night befor.
Tank is living up to his name. and likes to come up behind me in the coop and make this T-rex sound right befor he crows. good thing the coop is taller then me, cuz I would have smaked my head when he did it the first time...I just know he was laughing at me. Sweetheart is now jeluos, I finaly got some chicks for broody Mother Hen. any time I good to check on them, sweetheart jump onto the brooder and walks back and forth, just like a cat! I was kinda hoping for some Dellie or Sebright chicks when I went to the feed store to some, but they didn't. so I got 2 black sex-link pullets, 2 OEGB that I hope are blue reds, or blue gold duckwings, 3 dark/wild colored silkies, and a little yellow clean legged crested cuz my brother liked it. the little crested is fun to watch, and mama is doing so good with them.
now I'm starting to wounder who is going to get to hatch out the del eggs

I know it will be a little while befor they are firtle, the boys are just starting to dance...looks like they are triping side ways, I really thought Tonka triped and fell into my leg befor it hit me what he was trying to do

 

[that_crazy_lady]

Quote:
Can I plead tired? Oops~

I went back and realized I didn't pay as much attention to Helen as I thought. But here is what I have. I promise to try to get new pics of her soon though.

I look at Helen, and I can honestly say, I miss Emily. If you look at Helen's neck you can see that her hackles are not great. Toward the top of her neck they appear nicely barred, but as you get to the base of her hackles, a large portion of each feather is taken up with a single bar, giving her neck quite the Columbian look to it. Her comb, like Bidens is 5 or 6 points (I'm still not great on where you start counting.) though it's hard to tell in this picture. If you look at her tail, the black is currently not great, although it has been better. The standard calls for a black feather edged in white. The white edging on her black feathers encroaches a bit too much for my liking. Emily's were gorgeous.Her legs are a nice yellow, although starting to fade just a teeny bit as the number of eggs she's laid goes up.
http://mobilecad.smugmug.com/photos/792331695_r8hsB-L.jpg

Here you can see her behind Biden. I think it really emphasizes the difference in her almost Columbian looking hackles, even though they are barred, and his nicely barred hackles. Her wings also dip, if you follow their line along her body in this picture. All in all, neither bird is a throw away to anyone but a breeder.
http://mobilecad.smugmug.com/photos/792331711_5wLgT-O.jpg


Laney

the word classy comes to mind for them both

 

[speckledhen]

Laney, the wing carriage is hard to judge at times because, depending on how they're standing or what has their attention, they can drop the wing. Ike does it all the time, but his usual carriage is horizontal. His daughter, Gracie, has excellent wing carriage and a near perfect comb (in spite of her mama's). Even imperfect parent birds can complement each other and produce excellent breed examples.

 

[joletabey]

Laney, what Cynthia said! That last pic of Biden and Helen is awesome- his wing carriage looks much more horizontal there- they both look full and chunky. I think my Lizzie is going to end up with hackles like Helen - there are some that look Columbian down at the bottom.But she is one of the friendliest pullets- and likes to taste whatever I am wearing. Yesterday our bassett hound set up an uproar over something or other, and she ran and hid between my legs!

Cetawin- you can have ONE of them- I want to keep two if possible- I want to see if I can improve the tail black in the pullets with the roo that has the really dark tail barring ( the one I mentioned having the green sheen- you can see its barred, its like charcoal and black/green barring) And then keep the best comb. IF they keep their nice personalities and bulk up. I am still waiting for the 20 week mark, but I really appreciate all your advice and comments on the way-it helps learn what to watch for!!! And you all will have clearer eyes for my birds than I will.

Kathy- you will have LOTS of choices now, that is cool!

I want SawsAll. Quick, now before Cetawin tries to get her! HOW CUTE!!!!

Hey Cynthia, what's Riley doing this morning?

 

[speckledhen]

Riley seems fine this morning, but I know that stance and that sound. She is either working up to it or faking me out. Nugget also made that cluck-cluck sound and flared up yesterday--it's been exactly one year since she went broody the first time. Birds are already nesting over my bsmt door and some are investigating the bluebird box out on one of the gates, so tis the season!

 

[joletabey]

CrazyLady- congrats on your egg!!!!

I hope you like your new babies- that sounds like a nice variety!

Cyn, I am just keeping my fingers crossed!

 

[Laney]

Today is Saturday, which means my daughter has her seminar at NC State as she does every Saturday. So despite what havoc NCDOT has decided to wreak on the highway I get her there before 8:30 and head home to take over her chore of morning feeding.

After getting the goats feed, watered and hayed I went to check on my chickies in their outside brooder. They were great and I even got SawsAll to eat out of my hand. I'm getting attached, which today looks like a bad thing. SawsAll was born on Jan 21st(Making him/her 4 weeks and 2 days). Jan 22nd I feather Sex....Primaries are uneven, feather sexes as female. Not 100%, may not even be possible on Dellies, but it worked on Biden, Helen and Emily. So I tell my family most likely it is a pullet but we will wait and see. Last week tail feathers start growing in, and they are solid!!!!!

Yay she's a pullet and gets to stay - see picks of tail feathers below.

You all saw the pictures I posted last night that I took two days ago. Nothing there to contradict those tail feathers! Until today. Please tell me what these pictures of SawsAll's face tells you..... all of this happened overnight as it usually does with fast growing breeds.

Just to throw in a pic of why I'm growing attached... His/her wing is down because it is right under a heat lamp...hot.

Help. Roo, and got to go, or Pullet and can stay? I just need to start preparing Shannon. She works much better when she knows not to get attached.

Laney

 

[Cetawin]

Laney, my Cannonball did that overight with her face stuff too...and it stayed that way for a couple of weeks. Even her head looked sorta spikey. I am not sure, not an expert by any means but that looks like a pullet to me.

 

[joletabey]

My girls looked like that, too - keep hoping!

 

[speckledhen]

Pullet. I see no sign of a cockerel, but there are those weirdos who decide to play with your head on occasion.



ETA: After watching one of the hens grab Ike's semi-healed wattle and yank so hard he had to back up to get loose from her grip (and that started it bleeding again, of course), I've about decided that four of the six Dels will be leaving here. I'll keep Georgie and Ellie, let Isaac go live with Ladyhawk, and try to put the remaining two in the main flock. Before I put them in, I may move Dutch and the Barred Rock girls into the Delaware coop (yet again) and let the main flock, inc Georgie and Ellie, remain rooster-less unless one of these little Ameraucana chicks is a male, meaning no wattles and very little comb to get hold of. Of course, I may change my mind in 30 minutes.