Meet the Delaware Chicken

Today I ordered 20 Delaware chicks that will arrive on June 1st. This is ten more meat birds than we had last year! I also ordered six Turkeys! I am excited about the Bourbon Reds that will be gobbling around outside our house this year.

Matt and I began the search for a heritage breed meat chicken last year after we were turned off by the common Cornish x Rock cross that has come to dominate the broiler industry. We figure if we are raising our own meat birds, why support the industry standard? After researching Heritage meat birds we came up with the Delaware.

Delawares, originally called "Indian Rivers," were developed by George Ellis of Delaware in 1940 and were used for the production of broilers. It was once of relative importance to the U.S. chicken industry, but today is critically endangered. It is primarily suited to meat production but also lays reasonably well. Perhaps if we get attached to a hen or two we'll keep some as layers to keep the other girls warm in the winter.

May 10th: Here is an article I just came across that spotlights the Delaware Chicken. I found the link while reading the Slow Food USA blog on Heritage Chickens.