Show off your Delawares! *PIC HEAVY*

[math ace]

I found a little pullet egg yesterday. I must have a new egg layer. It is either a really dark delaware egg or a really light marans egg.
That leaves me two possible choices... A 19 week old delaware OR a 16 week old delaware X marans. The rest of the pullets in the hatch were ameraucanas or speckled sussex.... Based on egg color, I am really leaning towards the delaware x marans pullet. I just don't know if it is seriously possible for a 16 week old chick to lay an egg... JUST too Strange !

 

[wekiva bird]

I found a little pullet egg yesterday. I must have a new egg layer. It is either a really dark delaware egg or a really light marans egg.
That leaves me two possible choices... A 19 week old delaware OR a 16 week old delaware X marans. The rest of the pullets in the hatch were ameraucanas or speckled sussex.... Based on egg color, I am really leaning towards the delaware x marans pullet. I just don't know if it is seriously possible for a 16 week old chick to lay an egg... JUST too Strange !

I had a delaware that layed early.

 

[speckledhen]

My Dels have always been very early layers. Once I had a pullet who laid at 17 weeks, but they mostly all lay at 18-22 weeks of age. They're fabulous layers.

 

[tigercreek]

I found a little pullet egg yesterday. I must have a new egg layer. It is either a really dark delaware egg or a really light marans egg.
That leaves me two possible choices... A 19 week old delaware OR a 16 week old delaware X marans. The rest of the pullets in the hatch were ameraucanas or speckled sussex.... Based on egg color, I am really leaning towards the delaware x marans pullet. I just don't know if it is seriously possible for a 16 week old chick to lay an egg... JUST too Strange !

I got a Del pullet from Camille that layed at 16 weeks. ....stan

 

[GhostRider65]

Agreed, they most certainly can lay that early, my 2 girls last year started at 16 17 weeks, and my little pullet from this year is just 15 weeks and squatting to me already so she will also be early, my Dels also lay a pretty dark egg, not chocolate, but very terracotta colored sometimes with speckles, when the spray can gets stuck.........my SS are very light eggs, so doubt about that one. Post a picture of the egg.......we will see what everyone thinks.......I'm guessing its the Delawares egg, not the cross. Kim
Update today 9/17/2012, my new pullets are laying I got my first egg today a cute little blue one out of my EE, they were born May15th 2012

 

[Kansaseq]

I found a little pullet egg yesterday. I must have a new egg layer. It is either a really dark delaware egg or a really light marans egg.
That leaves me two possible choices... A 19 week old delaware OR a 16 week old delaware X marans. The rest of the pullets in the hatch were ameraucanas or speckled sussex.... Based on egg color, I am really leaning towards the delaware x marans pullet. I just don't know if it is seriously possible for a 16 week old chick to lay an egg... JUST too Strange !

You piqued my interest! I am thinking about crossing one of my Marans roos over a Dellie hen. If you already have this cross, and she's laying, is there any way I could persuade you to get some pics of both?

(hen and eggs, that is). Please and thank you!

 

[math ace]

You piqued my interest! I am thinking about crossing one of my Marans roos over a Dellie hen. If you already have this cross, and she's laying, is there any way I could persuade you to get some pics of both?

(hen and eggs, that is). Please and thank you!

I've done this mix a few times with a few different hens. I do this to test NEW marans blood before they enter my breeding program. Take a marans hen and cross her with a yellow legged rooster ( delaware in my case). Watch the offspring. If any hatch with yellow legs and keep them longer than a couple of weeks, then the hen is hiding the yellow leg gene. Otherwise, the hens slate legs should trump the rooster's yellow leg genes. Of course, you have to hatch enough to chicks to make sure the hen is clear of hiding a yellow leg gene.

Interestingly enough, the chick I hatched last looked nothing like my previous hen's chicks. She is 16 weeks old and may or may not be laying yet. I just got a pullet egg that might be hers. The previous chicks from the delaware x marans cross I did not keep beyond a few weeks. I have a few baby chicks of those, but have no idea what they grew up looking like,

Tomorrow when I am on my other computer, I will post some pictures.... I highly recommend testing any new marans stock you bring into your program BEFORE using them.

 

[cubalaya]

the strains of delawares that i am working with are not early layers. however once they start, they are every day layers and lay the biggest egg of any chicken that i have.

 

[Lacy Blues]

Ok, tonight we will be having our first Delaware dinner!

I'm choosing to slow cooker it... however, it won't fit in my slow cooker! I'll be looking for a bigger one, maybe one that is about 2 gallons in size?

First, I browned it on the outside in olive oil. Then I sprinkled garlic powder, salt substitute (for my condition) and paprika inside and out. I put a whole, coarsely chopped onion and about a third of a bag of baby carrots in the bottom of the pot. I had another half onion coarsely chopped that I sprinkled lightly with my salt, garlic and poultry seasoning. Then I added about a cup of bread crumbs and put all this in the center of the chicken. I made about 3 cups of broth with Knorr Chicken bullion... as I didn't have any canned. Then added about a cup of apple cider and poured it in the pot, set the chicken on top of the vegetables and added more carrots around it. I'm cooking it on medium heat for an hour or so and then turning it to simmer until dinner time.

I'll let y'all know how it turns out!

 

[Kansaseq]

Well????