Show off your Delawares! *PIC HEAVY*

[kathyinmo]

Quote:
They had one at our local county youth fair.

It was one I gave to a local 4H boy.

 

[Hillbilly Hen]

Quote:
They had one at our local county youth fair.

It was one I gave to a local 4H boy.

Good for you Kathy

I tried talking to the poultry leader but she just did not seem interested

Here is the boy I am thinking about keeping for breeding. There is another one I am looking at but he is not presentable at the moment since he nearly got scalped last week. I am keeping my one year old rooster since he is so good.

 

[ChicksterJo]

Are Delawares usually loud or obnoxious? I have a Red Star who is, and I think my Del is quiet for the most part. I don't know yet about her after she starts laying. And does anyone else's Delaware like to stand or lay down/sit in one spot, or am I just lucky to have a lazy one?

 

[Stevenson]

I would like your opinion! I want to cull 4 roosters out of my 11 (including one that I am giving a friend who has hatchery hens from a local feed store). I have picked out what I think are the bottom 4, but I would like to hear other opinions.

 

[kathyinmo]

Quote:
I dunno. I was gettin' dizzy. I would like to see 45 and 31 again. Honestly, I don't like the wing angle on any of them, but ya gotta work with what you have. I just kept gettin' hung up on the wing angle and found myself focusing on that. I watched the video 3 times, but I am just not sure. Maybe it would be better if you could contain them all in a small area and video them. Then, could ya get down on the ground and video at that angle?

I was getting confused with the numbers coming and going. It's my old age, ya know.... I dunno. I am just no help at all tonight. I will try looking again tomorrow.

Mostly, look for the "bowl shape." That would be the most important, to me anyway. I don't like "cut away" chest areas. I like it full and to be able to see an obvious bowl shape. If you don't have it, go for the closest to it.

I may be wayyyyyyyy off, but this is what I am thinking.

Another idea ..... can ya get a picture of each one? Level photo from the side would be good.

By the way, have you weighed any of them?

 

[cpartist]

Quote:
You sure have a lot of nice boys to choose from. I do not have super fast internet so the utube was a bit hard for me to follow,
but from your comments I think you know exactly what to select for. I'd say trust yourself and your instincts...
I think the main thing, other than size/width/tail angle is look for the good bowl shaped body....although this can change.
I did not have nearly so many cockerels to choose from (well, 2

, but sometimes I think it is easier to SEE them if they are fewer).
This is the guy I picked at around 18 weeks due to the bowl shape and wider tail:

While he was looking "bowly" with a descent tail angle, he is not as bowl shaped (wide chest, but lacking in the abdominal area)
now. His tail angle is also higher. He is about 10 months old now. I still love his width.

Don't forget your pullets are 50% of your breeding. The two pullets I have are huge, but really lacking in tail color. I have 2 very
nicely colored pullets from Kathy showing better shape. They are not as large as my other pullets were at the same age, I sure do like them
for getting better tail color and shape into these though.

It really requires constant evaluation on many levels at different stages.

I think you've got a great understanding on what to look for, just trust your judgments.
If you get your numbers down a bit it will be easier to see what you have and as they mature
you'll get down to the best one or two keepers on the cockerels, and hopefully a few more on the pullets.

You have some really nice birds to choose from, IMO. I think you will get a very nice group to work with.

 

[cpartist]

Kathy and I are on the same page regarding the bowl shape. I think proper shape is one of the most
difficult things to breed for. Relative size you can cull for early on. Kathy has great shape on Oliver and I really
like the shape of my pullets from her. They also have AWESOME tail color!

I am looking for some great things from my Braden roo (from Highsprings Chix) over my Kathy pullets.

 

[Stevenson]

Thank you for the comments. I know that I was spinning around a lot, but I also wanted to try to get every roo in the video and do it in a short enough video to be able to put on youtube. I figured since I was looking for the worst four, I could hopefully convey that through the video.

#48 is my worst roo, no doubt. his tail is just awful
#26 is on my list to cull because of size and the fact that he was just plain mean when he was younger (although he does seem to have calmed down some)
#29 & #49 were the other two that I chose. One of these two I will give to my friend who wants a roo but doesn't care to breed him. Both of these two have pinched tails.

This is what I am thinking for now anyway. I will keep the remaining 7 for a while and continue to watch their progress. I hope to be able to reduce them down to 5 by the time it gets colder and they spend more time in the coop.

The reason I am not paying too much attention to the hens at this time is that I know I will be keeping all 7 of them at least through next year. The ones I don't use for breeding will be used as layers.

Again, thank you. I know I still have things to work on, but I feel like I have a decent start with these birds.

 

[kathyinmo]

Quote:
Oh, for sure! You most certainly have very decent stock to start with! These are nice birds, really!

 

[Stevenson]

Can someone explain why a horizontal wing angle is important?

When Walt explained to me that the reason pinched tails are bad is that it results in the overall shape of the body (back) being pinched, it made more sense. I also understand that the wide stance means more space for internal organs (or at least that is what I think I have heard).

The SOP is great for pointing out what you should look for, but I tend to learn better when I understand why they are characteristics that are desireable.