Delaware Chicks ordered

"...when the last individual of a race of living things breathes no more, another Heaven and another Earth must pass before such a one can be again."
-William Beebe

The American Livestock Breeds Conservancy is a nonprofit membership organization working to protect over 180 breeds of livestock and poultry from extinction. Included are asses, cattle, goats, horses, sheep, pigs, rabbits, chickens, ducks, geese, and turkeys.  It is such a shame that so many breeds have already been lost and so many more on the endangered to critical lists.  Since I was ordering new chicks this year, I decided to check some of the endangered breeds.

The Delaware is on the Threatened list and since it has an above-average rate of lay and large to jumbo egg size, I decided to order them.  There were several breeds I was interested in, but I had to narrow it down to only one, so I chose the Delaware.  

"Delawares, originally called “Indian Rivers,” were developed by George Ellis of Delaware in 1940 and were used for the production of broilers. The breed originated from crosses of Barred Plymouth Rock roosters and New Hampshire hens. "

The remainder of the article can be found HERE.

I have ordered 20 pullets and 1 rooster.
I realize this is a really small scale effort to help the breed survive, but it is something I want to do.  Besides, I just LOVE chickens. 

If you are interested in any endangered livestock breeds, be sure to go to the ALBC web site.  They have an extensive listing of breeds of cattle, horses, sheep, goats, hogs & others that are endangered.