The Delaware is a [[Chickens|chicken]] breed developed in the U.S. state of Delaware in the 1940s. It was originally created as a commercial broiler chicken before the Cornish Cross hybrid became dominant. The breed is a white bird with black barring in the neck, hackle, and tail feathers, giving it a distinctive two-tone appearance. Delawares are dual-purpose birds kept for both eggs and meat and are classified as a critically endangered heritage breed by the Livestock Conservancy.
The Delaware breed originated from a project by George Ellis of the Delaware Agricultural Experiment Station in 1940. Ellis was working with Barred Plymouth Rock and New Hampshire crosses when he discovered a color mutation in a batch of chicks: a few birds had white bodies with black barring limited to the neck region. He selected for this color pattern and developed a line of birds that were more productive than the parent Barred Plymouth Rocks. The breed was named the Indian River after the area where it was developed, and later renamed the Delaware.
The Delaware gained commercial interest in the 1940s and 1950s as a dual-purpose bird for the broiler industry. It was one of the early meat-type chickens used in the Delmarva Peninsula poultry industry, the region that became the center of broiler production in the United States. However, the development of the Cornish Cross hybrid in the 1950s, with its superior growth rate and feed conversion, quickly displaced the Delaware from commercial production.
By the 1980s, the breed was nearly extinct. The Livestock Conservancy (then the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy) placed the Delaware on its critical list, with fewer than 500 breeding birds known in North America. Conservation efforts by heritage poultry breeders have since increased the population, and the breed was upgraded to threatened status. The Delaware was admitted to the American Poultry Association's Standard of Perfection in 1952.
Delawares are medium to large birds with a broad, deep body. Hens weigh 2.5 to 3 kilograms (6 to 7 pounds) and roosters weigh 3 to 3.5 kilograms (7 to 8 pounds). The plumage is white with black barring on the neck, hackle, and tail, while the body feathers are solid white. The comb is single, upright, and medium-sized. The legs and skin are yellow. The body is rectangular and meaty with a broad breast and good depth.
Delawares are calm, docile birds that tolerate confinement well while also being capable foragers. The hens are good layers for a dual-purpose breed and will occasionally go broody. The roosters are known for their friendly, non-aggressive temperament.
Delawares are a true dual-purpose breed suitable for homesteads where both eggs and meat are desired from a single flock. The hens lay 200 to 240 brown eggs per year, producing well through winter months. The birds reach a good meat weight at 16 to 20 weeks, with a well-fleshed carcass and high meat-to-bone ratio.
The breed's calm temperament makes it a good choice for small homesteads and family flocks. Delawares handle confinement in the chicken tractor system as well as free-range conditions. Their white feathers produce a clean carcass when processed, a trait valued by homesteaders who process their own birds. The breed is cold-hardy and performs well in northern climates, though the single comb requires some frostbite protection in extreme cold.