Show off your Delawares! *PIC HEAVY*

[pinkchick]

LOL! Kathy those 'maters must have had lots of bugz in them and on them. Good chickens....doing exactly as dear Cody asked.

 

[CowgirlJules]

I only have two Delawares, which I got from sewngrow:


Poultry by Cowgirl Jules, on Flickr

I almost lost the pullet this week. I'd seen her sticking her head out from under the coop a couple of days ago and didn't think anything of it. The younger birds go under there when it's hot. But I was out throwing corn last night, and she was still there, and frantically hungry. She let me get a hand on her and I had to slide her out sideways. I think she was too big to get out on her own. She was hungry and thirsty, but otherwise OK. It's a good thing the weather has been so mild lately. She's still drinking in the picture.

 

[capayvalleychick]

Quote:
Another Californian!

I was recently asking sewngrow about her Dels. Thanks for posting the pics! I'm glad that you rescued your girl in time. I had a turkey get stuck once, in a bucket

and didn't find it in time.

Kim

 

[jeremy]

This is my hen Yvonne, she's one of my original hatchery girls from Privett. She's pushing 3 1/2 years old. I've been told she has good shape, a nice "barn" to work with...

Well I'm wondering about paint, surprise surprise.

She has an almost rusty looking brown color that's developed on her feathers. Could this be leakage from a cross somewhere in the hatchery line? Maybe to a New Hapmshire? Anyone have any opinions?

 

[catdaddyfro]

Quote:
Oh yeah he's lookin' good there Mrs. Kathy its amazing how much he's matured since you PMed me the pic of him some weeks back, huh.? I told you it was still a little early then to tell much about these boy's he puts my boys to shame now but prolly in a few more weeks I'll have a couple looking as fine as he does now, it seems that some just take their own sweet time coming into their own, sometimes. The project girls are looking good too, they are showing their big bright egg laying combs now.

 

[fowlman01]

Quote:
She has a nice deep body. If she has not had that tinge before, it is more than likely dirt/feed/environment/etc that has tinted the old feathers. I assume she has not molted yet this season. If she has never looked like this before I doubt that it is genetic.

Walt

 

[sdeneen2001]

Okay, here are my 2 Delawares. They are standard hatchery chicks, so Joy has a lot of cream in her feathers and most of the feathers are grey near the body and Peace is almost all white. They are 16 weeks old, so still young.

Joy

and expressing her oppinion of being picked up, put on a roost for a picture and told to "stay"

Peace - this is the friendliest, most curious girl in my flock

 

[harleyjo]

Can anyone show/tell me the differences betweens hatchery Dels and breeder Dels? I would love to see pics if I can.

 

[LilyD]

Quote:
From my understanding hatchery dels are bred more for their egg laying capabilities than for their abilities as a Dual Purpose bird. They won't go broody as often as they used to because that was bred out of them and they won't be as large or as hardy as the Heritage Delawares. They might also not be totally pure Delawares from my understanding they may be bred with other breeds to increase the traits they were breeding for in the hatchery.

The Delawares were intended to be a bird that lays eggs is hardy and also is weighty enough to make a good dinner bird as well. Buying birds from the breeders will give you a leg up because they are already working towards bringing the birds back to their original purpose rather than just for egg laying. You will be assured to have carefully bred lines and birds that match up more to what the breed standards say they should be rather than what they have become in the hatchery.

 

[Stevenson]

The pictures below are of the rooster I am leaning towards keeping as my number 1 breeder. He is only 14 weeks old, so I know that there are still more changes ahead. I have 10 other Delaware roosters, but he tends to outshine the others in my opinion. His disposition is really good and he seems to be bigger than most of the others. I would love some honest critiquing (good and bad). I know he is one point short on his comb and I am wondering if his tail may be at too high of an angle.