What dýou reckon this is, then?

[livininbrazil]

Hi dretd, thanks for the response. yes, it´s lovely here. mostly blue skies, fluffy clouds, rarely gets below 10º during the day during the winter, up to about 38º in the summer, terrific downpours that the geese love.....it´s great!
. I´ve spent ages on the internet trying to find out about different breed possibilities (also tried to find out what my geese are), so I know what the chantacler looks like. Not these birds. The adult birds I have look just like the hatchery Dels that I´ve seen on the forums. Temperament is wonderful, very inquisitive, very meaty, yellow legs, barring, albeit a bit dark.....I reckon your first guess is right, that they were possibly imported from Canada originally. I´ve no doubt that something´s been mixed in with them, but they´re substantially Delaware, I reckon. I´ve noticed that they do feel the heat a bit, poor things, but there´s plenty of shade where they are. So, no breeding because of climate I think.....the indian/malay types have no such problem! The second batch of chicks that I got from the supplier are now about 6 weeks old, I´ll take some pics and post soon. The supplier is a bit shady about where he gets them....normal around here....maybe he thinks I´ll be able to get them cheaper if I go direct!!! He´s about an hour´s drive from us, I´ve not seen this type of chicken anywhere near our place. I´ve even put in "canadense" into google search for brazilian breeders, and nothing came up. Whatever they are, I´m pleased I have them. Will post later .I´m intrigued too!!

 

[livininbrazil]

This "Canadense" is goodness-knows-what crossed with Barred something, prob Rock, I reckon. All of these are about 6 weeks, same batch.

This is the most Del-like "Canadense" chick,

Here is another "Canadense", about 6 weeks old......very interesting colours, yet another has more blue colouring....


but no good to breed Dels, of course! Although, to my uneducated eye, I see the Del influence there....waiting to see how the latest chicks feather up!

 

[dretd]

Thaks for posting the pictures. I can't wait to see what they look like when they fully feather out.

 

[livininbrazil]

OK, well I´ve discovered that the "Canadense" thing is nothing....it´s the name they put to all the chicks that come in!....PR, Naked Neck, and the ones I have here which are Del-type and some red ones, such as this one above. ...very pretty, but no idea what it is some others are much redder. ( I did wonder if they could be New Hampshire types, as they have that breed here.) .....the one below is very Delaware-like. The red ones I won´t keep, as they´re far more inclined to squabble than the white/grey ones. I´ll get a pic of the redder ones. I got onto the website of the supplier, and they only describe these chicks as "mesclada", means mixed, though I don´t believe it means just mixed-breed, as the chicks definitely are 4 different types.

 

[dretd]

OK, well I´ve discovered that the "Canadense" thing is nothing....it´s the name they put to all the chicks that come in!....PR, Naked Neck, and the ones I have here which are Del-type and some red ones, such as this one above. ...very pretty, but no idea what it is some others are much redder. ( I did wonder if they could be New Hampshire types, as they have that breed here.) .....the one below is very Delaware-like. The red ones I won´t keep, as they´re far more inclined to squabble than the white/grey ones. I´ll get a pic of the redder ones. I got onto the website of the supplier, and they only describe these chicks as "mesclada", means mixed, though I don´t believe it means just mixed-breed, as the chicks definitely are 4 different types.

The first chick is quite pretty! Interesting information.

So have you raised any of these chicks to maturity yet? My biggest concern is that you have some sort of straight run Sexlink going on. Could 'mixed' be sexlink? If half are the Delaware type that has barring, those could be boys and the red could be girls. Please tell me that you have both boys and girls of the two different colors!

The other thing that comes to mind is that broilers are often a cross between Cornish and another breed such as White Rock. Could these be meaties? Are you seeing really rapid growth? They don't look especially thick. I seem to recall in the deep recessed of my brain that Delawares used to be used extensively as broilers before Cornish crosses were developed.

Maybe someone with more knowledge (someone other than me!) about broilers will comment.

Thanks for updating!

 

[livininbrazil]

No, not sex-linked. Yes, I have adults here that I´ve raised from the same supplier....look like Delawares, a trio. Cock barred, hens tail black. Delaware personality. Delaware build. I took a couple of eggs from them and put them under a Brahma x hen that was sitting on her own. Both hatched, one died unfortunately, but absolutely Dellie babes. Chunky little faces, very pale yellow and white wing feather-tips coming thru. The survivor is doing well with its foster mum. So they breed true. Now the reds I´ve not had before, got them as a curiosity to see how they´d turn out...pretty, but def not Dels. There are female and male chicks in both the colours. Will go out with my camera now to take pics of the other reds to show you.

 

[livininbrazil]

This is one of the cocks....

 

[livininbrazil]

And two more of the pullets

 

[dretd]

Hi Livininbrazil, I was just wondering if you had any updates on your chicks--how did they feather out?

 

[livininbrazil]

Hi, well I´m still none-the-wiser as regards to breeds. All the males became dinner, whatever colour (2 of each),one was a beautiful red male. Shame, but I didn´t want to keep them. Not a lot of meat at 4 months, not exceptionally fast-growing, so I don´t reckon they have much to do with Cornish, nor the rocks. The pretty wheaten-type females and most of the "tail black"-type pullets have all gone to adoring new homes, they are very pretty. I´ve stuck with my big Del-types, (same supplier, different batch) which has now increased to the cock and 6 hens, they´re a good size. These chicks were out of curiosity, I think they must be a mixed bag for back-yard meat and egg production, nothing to get excited about Very pretty, though! Thanks for your interest.