The Delaware Blue Hen is a

blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when ...

strain of American gamecock. It was adopted on April 14, 1939, as the

state bird A state bird is the insignia of a nation or a state (sub-national entity). For lists of these animals, see: * List of national birds, national birds on country level * List of Australian bird emblems, for the Australian states * List of Brazilian ...

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent ...

. It is one of three U.S. state birds that is not a species native to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

History

The Blue Hen is not a recognized chicken breed. According to one story, during the Revolutionary War, the men of Captain Jonathan Caldwell's company, recruited in Kent County, took with them game chickens that were said to be of the brood of a famous Blue Hen and were noted for their fighting ability. The sports teams of the

University of Delaware The University of Delaware (colloquially UD or Delaware) is a public land-grant research university located in Newark, Delaware. UD is the largest university in Delaware. It offers three associate's programs, 148 bachelor's programs, 121 ma ...

are called the Blue Hens, and their

mascot A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name. Mascots are also used as ...

, YoUDee, derives from the bird. In the 1960s S. Hallock duPont, who bred Blue Hens (though not derived from the original Kent County stock), gave twelve birds to the University, which keeps a small flock at its College of Agriculture & Natural Resources. The birds have been

cross-bred A crossbreed is an organism with purebred parents of two different breeds, varieties, or populations. ''Crossbreeding'', sometimes called "designer crossbreeding", is the process of breeding such an organism, While crossbreeding is used to mai ...

with birds of the

Blue Andalusian The Blue Andalusian, es, Andaluza Azul, italic=no, is a breed of domestic chicken indigenous to the autonomous community of Andalusia in south-west Spain. It is distributed through much of the countryside of Córdoba and Seville, and is co ...

breed from Spain, and have acquired many of its characteristics. They are Mediterranean in appearance, and no longer resemble the original fighting birds. The Blue Hen is also the emblem of the 166th Airlift Wing and its 142d Airlift Squadron, stationed in Delaware.

References

Symbols of Delaware {{Delaware-stub