Delaware
Dual purpose · United States · 🌱 Beginner friendly
White with light black barring at the neck and tail, the Delaware matures fast, lays generously, and stays friendly — the complete package it was designed to be in 1940s America. It nearly vanished when industrial broilers took over, and small flocks are helping bring it back.
Eggs per year
200–280
Egg color
Brown
Egg size
Large
Hen weight
6–7 lbs
Temperament
Calm and friendly
Broodiness
Rarely goes broody
Did you know?
For about a decade the Delaware was the broiler chicken of the East Coast, until the Cornish Cross displaced it almost overnight in the 1950s.
Is the Delaware right for your flock?
Expect roughly 200–280 brown eggs a year from a healthy hen in her prime — production dips during molt and the short days of winter, and eases off as she ages. Planning space? A Delaware hen runs 6–7 lbs, so size the coop with our coop size calculator and estimate the feed bill with the feed cost calculator.
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