I am considering getting rid of my Delaware line. They have been very frustrating. It seems that what I thought was decent breeder stock turned into standard hatchery stock. I keep getting excessive body spotting and white legs. The chicks start out beautiful white with bright yellow legs. As they mature the the legs get white (one pullet's legs are almost blue) and the body feathers get these little faded black tips. Out of all the chicks I have hatched the last couple seasons, only one cockerel looked halfway acceptable. That crazy bird flew into the dog pen and is... no more.
That leads me to this thought... switching from Delaware to Beilefelder. The kids use my birds for the County Youth Poultry show. So, this are not your high stakes type of exhibition, but I still like to have quality stock for them to use. I also sell eggs and chicks as quality stock to help offset feed costs. I can't sell the Delawares as even mediocre quality. This is highly upsetting as I got them for this purpose.
I was introduced to the Beilefelder as a breed a few months ago. I liked the look of them, but wasn't interested in switching up any breeds at the time. Now, I am reconsidering. The problem is I don't know much about Beilefelder or their SOP.
That leads me to this thought... switching from Delaware to Beilefelder. The kids use my birds for the County Youth Poultry show. So, this are not your high stakes type of exhibition, but I still like to have quality stock for them to use. I also sell eggs and chicks as quality stock to help offset feed costs. I can't sell the Delawares as even mediocre quality. This is highly upsetting as I got them for this purpose.
I was introduced to the Beilefelder as a breed a few months ago. I liked the look of them, but wasn't interested in switching up any breeds at the time. Now, I am reconsidering. The problem is I don't know much about Beilefelder or their SOP.
