Show off your Delawares! *PIC HEAVY*

[jenanneray]

Quote:
I really really like that hen. You could ship her to me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I just got her a week ago... She's a pretty good layer too. I think she's laid an egg every day this past week.

 

[joletabey]

Jenna, the hen is definitely far superior to the roo - she is a pretty thing, maybe a bit squirrel tailed and a bit brick shaped, but you have something to work with there.

I do not want to sound mean, but based on that picture of the roo, I would not use him - perhaps he is having a bad picture day, but he appears in this picture to be extremely shallow in the chest, too light in color, and his comb and legs appear weirdly thick. Now I could be way off on the legs, maybe he is just sturdy, but they seem off to me somehow. I am not sure if I am seeing a "thumbprint" on the comb, or if it is the light. He has a squirrel tail, unless the wind is really kicking in. If you breed him to the hen, you will be taking a step backward in my opinion. Based on that picture, at least.

But the hen, a keeper!!!

 

[jenanneray]

Thanks for the opinions! Don't worry, no hurt feelings or anything of the sort! You just confirmed what I was thinking about the roo. He's really, really big and I thought his tail looked kinda wierd. (the wind did contribute to the picture, though) The hens keep pecking at his comb so that might be what you're seeing in the picture. But he's a good protector of his flock, and that's all I really need right now. (He took on a fox recently, and won)

I still have a lot to learn about breeding, so it probably wouldn't happen until a few years down the road anyway. But I'm still on the lookout for a few more good young hens. These in the picture are about 3 years old now.

 

[joletabey]

Well, he deserves to be your Head Man Hero Roo if he took on a fox! Good boy!!! Just don't use him for breeding, LOL!

Have you considered getting hatching eggs from a breeder? Sorry I have not kept up with this thread like I should, and you may have already talked about that.

 

[speckledhen]

He's a handsome guy, but the main problem with him is he is too "cut-in" and shallow in his chest. His hackles and tail are too light, but that really is a side issue compared to the body type. All our Delaware roosters have faults--if you get one thing right, another is off, and so on. If you have a great body type, everything else can be handled over time.

Delaware hens are famous for nitpicking their men! Mine are just as bad. Good boy to take on a fox! He should get a place of honor just for that.

 

[kathyinmo]

Quote:
I really really like that hen. You could ship her to me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I like that hen, too!

 

[jenanneray]

Thanks again for the thoughts!!

joletabey: I have thought about getting eggs, but I've never hatched anything before, and I'm a little intimidated by it... scared I'll do something wrong and mess them up somehow. My SIL wants some delawares, so I decided when one of the australorps I have goes broody, I was going to let her sit on a clutch as a test run.

I love my hen!! I think she's my favorite out of the 6 hens I have (2 delaware hens, 3 australorps and a cuckoo marans). I've had them all for a week, and still no names. I suppose I should name them so they're not just "chicken 1, chicken 2"....etc...

 

[PepsNick]

Quote:
I really really like that hen. You could ship her to me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I like that hen, too!

Me three! She's a little plump thing.

 

[PepsNick]

This Del, Cassidy, loves my shoulder. Guess what?

Chicken butt!

I got this picture of one of my coops. Doesn't it look nice here? The growout tractor where the Dels are now has been sold, and it needs to leave here soon, so the dels will have to move in here for a while.

Where the dels live now... Which needs to go.

 

[14chickmama]

My chicks are 3 weeks old and I finally figured out 4 of them are Delawares!! Very pretty!!!!!