Show off your Delawares! *PIC HEAVY*

[TACEYPERKINS]

Sorry the last picture is turned. That picture is of all three, to kinda give you an idea of their size. They all are very close in size. The blue roo is the smallest, but not by much.

 

[kathyinmo]

I like orange and blue. I think the tail is too high on the pink. I like blue's chest. Orange has nice wing carriage. I dunno, but I think I would wait another month to really see more.

 

[Lotsapaints]

I didn't pick out any until they were 18 weeks and I am happy with my dellie roo but I am changing out one of my partridge rocks you really need to be patient ... I knew the top 3 got my standard and read it over and over to try to pick out the roo that matches my top hens that is the tough part..the last 2 weeks is wow the roos are getting more mature I understand better now about waiting and I also have 13 week olds and I only need 2 roos I can toss out ones who don't have the correct type and I have a couple with not so good combs that are "weedy" but that still leaves 4 really nice ones they will have to get 20 weeks for me to tell. I can tell you that in 2 weeks the really nice roo I picked has gotten even better he's really turning into a chunky I need to get a better scale weighing them helps as some of them were very close at the start but they were dusted by the good ones for gain. I'm picking for utility so I want to butcher @ 16/18 weeks then the hens need to be laying machines so I will cull for that with the hens. Then I'll fine tune my picks for the SOP. What are your goals? I like the blue one right now...

 

[TACEYPERKINS]

The blue one was my fav too. I was pretty sure that pink was a no go. And I was hoping that orange would get a little fuller in the chest. While none of them have 5 point combs. Blue and orange have some real good atributes. I know 4 mths is young. Just wanted to see what you guys thought! Thanks again. I'd like to hear what everyone else thinks too.

 

[joletabey]

I think Orange has a certain elegance about him- I like blue, too- but keep growing them out- Pink may just be a late bloomer! Do they all have nice personalities?

 

[Mrs MIA]

I'm having a devil of a time with my dellies...

I've pretty much determined that they are the cannibals that are picking on (and killing) my other birds. Any time I catch someone picking, it's the dellies, and yesterday had to put down a half-grown broad breasted bronze turkey that they were in the process of systematically gutting. The birds with the blood on their faces were the dellies.

Is this rare, that ALL of my dellies do this (including the teenagers?)... I'm this close to getting rid of them all...

 

[speckledhen]

Omigosh, Tori! They are a mouthy breed and zero in on wounds before any of the others, but yours sound awful! Glad those didn't come from me or I'd feel really guilty. I'm so sorry.

 

[Mrs MIA]

Quote:
No, I'm sure I wouldn't have this problem if they came from your flock.

Isaac is a sweetie.

I have a layer pen, with pullets/hens in it, and a grow-out pen that has all my teenagers. I lost 4 BBS orpington pullets from the grow-out pen within about 10 days. I pulled all the Dellie kids out of there, and have not had any trouble since. Last night, I swear my Dellies turn into vampires... they had blood ALL over...

In the breeder coop, I had 3 girls with Jonathon, and somehow he hurt his back toe on his right foot. I suspect now that it was the girls that did it to him, but no matter what I did, they always zeroed back in on his toe to the point that it was swollen and painful, and I was afraid he was going to lose the claw. I pulled him out, healed him up, and within an hour of putting him back in they had it pecked and bleeding again. So I pulled him out again. Two days ago I put a fresh boy in there... he was flawless... same toe is picked bloody. It's the girls!!

So I think I'm done with Dellies...

It's been going on too long, and I'm tired and frustrated.

 

[Lotsapaints]

Wow mean girls they are I sure hope mine never do that it would break my heart to have to get rid of them....mine just love to pull my shoelaces I hope that's all. My juveniles just got turned out into a nice weedy run and they are having a blast I am hoping since they will follow me that I can make another "weed pen" and lead them over there to clean it up and have them go back at night to their pen.....they cannot free range too many dogs and foxes and hawks. I haven't tried herding them around but my husband can help I wouldn't try it without somebody to help if it didn't work out. Delawares are the best weed eaters.....

 

[speckledhen]

Tori, I agree that life's too short to put up with that crud from any bird. Aggressive Dels were the reason I didn't want any after the first batch I hatched here, from hatchery parentage. Even though these are not aggressive like those, they do notice every little speck and go for it. They really do best as free-rangers.