For some time after the Delaware became almost extinct, to offset inbreeding, they bred in Columbian Rocks and Production Reds. We are still seeing the effects of that way down the line, I'm sure. And a Delaware can be considered a pure Delaware and have some lacing in the hackles, it's just not as perfectly barred as you would like them to be. My best marked girls in the tail black area have a bit of that going on. Usually, there is also barring in there as well. It's when the lacing becomes very solid that you would cull that particular bird out of the program. Janet Holtman's Delawares came from Jesse McDaniel, Bill Meier, and others, including some Sandhill stock she was using. I asked Janet about the minor lacing I saw going on and she told me that you see that in many hens with great tail black, but remember, body type above all, then get the plumage pattern, leg color, comb points, etc corrected.
