Recent content by AnthNDacula

Hi there Clayhillcoo, I was just wondering what your Dorking status is at the moment? Are you shipping eggs, chicks, etc.? Anthony

Would you not consider breeding pure Bresse? They are supposed to be one of the finest eating birds in the world as they are, and I'm not sure you can improve on that thru cross breeding. They should also be relatively heat tolerant. If you are committed to cross breeding you might consider...

I recently got New Hampshires from Jeremy Woeppel of XW Poultry Ranch in Nebraska. He doesn't track data on them because Barred Rocks and White Dorkings are his main breeds, but he does have good, production bloodlines. His New Hamps are a blend of Good Shepherd and German strains. I'll be...

I just began collecting data for the first time yesterday on my Silver Gray Dorkings from the P. Allen Smith line. I was amazed at the differences once you actually start measuring chicks. My first group was only 5 chicks but at 4 weeks they ranged from 9 ounces to 12 ounces. I checked all...

Point taken. I won't cull particularly heavy at first because I'm trying to establish genetic depth in a fairly rare breed. I will pair up complimentary cockerels with pullets to balance traits. Once I establish three distinct lines I'll cull much more vigorously.

I just collected data for the first time on my oldest group of Silver Gray Dorkings from P. Allen Smith's line. These birds will ultimately be part of my Christmas Capon project. At 4 weeks there is a clear winner and loser at 12 and 9 ounces. The leader appears to be a cockerel and is...

So I just collected data on my chicks for the first time. These were the first 5 Silver Gray Dorkings from P. Allen Smith's line to reach 1 month. It was really interesting that when I actually recorded data on each numbered chick (thanks to Lpatelski's chicken jewelry) I was able to see...

Haven't been here in a while... too busy with chicks. Long awaited chicks are starting to arrive, and I'm very grateful to the committed breeders who have provided them. 10 White Dorkings from Yellow House line via J. Woeppel (15 more coming soon) 10 Silver Gray Dorkings from P...

Joseph is right. Never, ever breed a chick with that kind of deformity. I can understand that you love it, and it might survive and make a good pet, but there is a high probability it will pass on this condition and similar problems. That is particularly important with rare breeds like...

Hey there. I'm new to Dorkings as well and have a dozen Silver Gray eggs in a friend's incubator. They came from P. Allen Smith's line. I'm also waiting on White Dorking chicks from a breeder up North. I'll repeat what everyone with more experience has said to me... have patience and be...

Sorry. I mis-spoke. I'm waiting on the White Dorkings to move my project forward, but they will all be grown out to select future breeders from. I'm also ordering Silver Gray Dorking cockerels from a hatchery to practice caponizing on. From what I understand most hatchery cockerels go into a...

Oh, on the topic of infection, newly castrated capons should be kept in a clean cage with a wire floor away from the barnyard for a few days. That helps keep the flies situation under control. Apparently there can also be bubbles that occur under the skin of some capon chicks that need to be...

Actually this tabl Actually this table is very widely used in China at the commercial level. Many caponizers are initially trained using it. I've seen a video of a team doing this procedure with several operators going at once with another team member handing each of them a fresh chick. The...

For at least 2000 years the procedure has not included sutures. The skin should be pulled back during the operation so that when you release it the incision in the skin moves away from the wound, therefore there is no opening thru to the chicken's insides. The procedure is done millions of...