B.Y.C. Dorking Club! - Page 201

Quote:

Originally Posted by LilyD 

Everyone was hale and hearty when I got home from work and actually seemed glad to see me lol. No fear in those babies at all. They aren't flighty at all just want to hang out. It's so cool.

mine are the same way. i've got 5 color-crossed chicks hatched on the 24th, and 4 hatched today, plus 2 more crossed and 1 sg pipped (and 2 cross 3 sg waiting for pips)...

hubby loves playing 'chickie football' with the chicks. gives them whacked houseflies. these guys run up and take it out of your fingers before you can drop it. LOL

night and day difference between these guys and the sandhill chicks for personality.  the sg and sg/colored are calm and bold, the sandhill ones are practically 'wild'.  i doubt i'll ever have a pet from that pen. these little ones already hop to the edge of the brooder and want to visit. one even pecked the dog on the nose today LOL.

oh and I added a new rooster to my collection!  one of Craig Russell's reds. he's a bit smaller than my sg roos, but every bit the dorking.  once his quarantine is done, he'll free range for a bit until i finish another breeding pen for a pair, then i'll start isolating eggs from specific hen/roo combos, including red/silver cross.

I am getting 7 Dorking eggs on Wednesday! So hopefully I will be joining this club in 23 days 

I am waiting on 8 silver grey dorking chicks...and these will be my first foray into chickens.  (I spent alot of time researching breeds and Dorking seemed to be the best fit for me.) I fear it will be a while though so I will start workign my way thoug these posts while I wait.

Why am I so nervous?  I feel like I am waiting for a child to be born. and afraid I will be too ignorant to care for it properly.

I have read that they like to roost really high...so do I make it easy for them with ramps or can they get there on their own?

oh, and I have goats...will they get along with the chickens or will I have to keep them separate?

Quote:

Originally Posted by pysankigirl 

I am waiting on 8 silver grey dorking chicks...and these will be my first foray into chickens.  (I spent alot of time researching breeds and Dorking seemed to be the best fit for me.) I fear it will be a while though so I will start workign my way thoug these posts while I wait.

 

Why am I so nervous?  I feel like I am waiting for a child to be born. and afraid I will be too ignorant to care for it properly.

 

I have read that they like to roost really high...so do I make it easy for them with ramps or can they get there on their own?

 

oh, and I have goats...will they get along with the chickens or will I have to keep them separate?

typical to most chickens, they will choose the highest roost they can reach.  my breeding pen has 2 roosts high enough for them to walk under easily, my horse trailer coop the roosts are staggered at about 2' and 4' (2 at each level) and they use one to hop up to the other.  i'd say give them what you're comfortable with and leave it at that.  they are capable jumpers but kinda heavy to fly higher than 3 or so.  lucky for my oegb hen LOL  the dorking roos seem to be VERY infatuated with her. when she's had enough she just launches to the top of whatever's near and they can't follow. (aka trees, coops/pens, the sailboat, horse trailer, me...)

as for goats, the question isn't on the chickens, it's on the goats. my dorkings love working the horse pasture. i've only lost one bird in there, and that's because my blind horse stepped on him. his fault for not moving faster, Grace isn't exactly a speed demon LOL. But i'd say if your goats aren't agressive to other birds and small animals (cats dogs etc) then the chickens should be just fine. and they should help with any fly problems too if you let them free range (like i do).

oh and welcome to byc and the world of dorkings.  they are awesome birds. where are yours coming from?

Quote:

Originally Posted by pysankigirl 

I am waiting on 8 silver grey dorking chicks...and these will be my first foray into chickens.  (I spent alot of time researching breeds and Dorking seemed to be the best fit for me.) I fear it will be a while though so I will start workign my way thoug these posts while I wait.

 

Why am I so nervous?  I feel like I am waiting for a child to be born. and afraid I will be too ignorant to care for it properly.

 

I have read that they like to roost really high...so do I make it easy for them with ramps or can they get there on their own?

 

oh, and I have goats...will they get along with the chickens or will I have to keep them separat

I hope you enjoy your chicks and I'm sure you will will do great; we really enjoy ours.  This is a great resource if you have questions.  I did put a ramp in the coop, they use it more to come down than fly up.   I do not know this for fact but I was told to keep goats and chickens separate.  Something to do with parasites.  Good Luck and enjoy!

no ramps for my birdies...  they all fly up to the perches in the horse trailer. even the youngest one is perching at the top with the big birds.  the perches are at 2 and 4' off the floor.

the only one that needs a stepladder is my frizzle pullet. and she's got a milk crate to jump onto to get to the first perch.

How can I find out the inheritability of defects? I'm trying to concentrate on breeding for better type at this point. All of my birds with the best size & type have some sort of defect. I could ignore those that can be bred out in the future, but I don't want to breed birds with dq's that are going to be impossible to get rid of, once I have better size & type. And, I know tail angle is something I need to correct, but again all my birds with the best type have too high of tail. Do I ignore that for now or is it linked closely with body type?

Here are some pics from yesterday:

Kim

Quote:

Originally Posted by capayvalleychick 

How can I find out the inheritability of defects? I'm trying to concentrate on breeding for better type at this point. All of my birds with the best size & type have some sort of defect. I could ignore those that can be bred out in the future, but I don't want to breed birds with dq's that are going to be impossible to get rid of, once I have better size & type. And, I know tail angle is something I need to correct, but again all my birds with the best type have too high of tail. Do I ignore that for now or is it linked closely with body type?

Here are some pics from yesterday:

 

Kim

i would say don't worry about things like tail set, feet, etc. side sprigs on combs seem to be difficult to eradicate.  i know for sure that foot problems are easy to get rid of, having bred my (very) duckfooted roo to normal footed hens, the chicks are for the most part normal. fewer with problems than without.  i have one hen with a side sprig in her comb, though, and i'm pretty sure all her chicks are messed up. (she's a dark colored girl, with a silver grey roo so the chicks are easy to tell apart.)

i would say concentrate on type and size, and the rest will follow. color issues would be the last thing i'd worry about.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ki4got 

Quote:

i would say don't worry about things like tail set, feet, etc. side sprigs on combs seem to be difficult to eradicate.  i know for sure that foot problems are easy to get rid of, having bred my (very) duckfooted roo to normal footed hens, the chicks are for the most part normal. fewer with problems than without.  i have one hen with a side sprig in her comb, though, and i'm pretty sure all her chicks are messed up. (she's a dark colored girl, with a silver grey roo so the chicks are easy to tell apart.)

 

i would say concentrate on type and size, and the rest will follow. color issues would be the last thing i'd worry about.

That has been my experience, also. Feet are an easier fix. My hen with the split comb/sprigs has passed it on to probably all her offspring. That's what is making me question what other defects might be as bad... like earlobe color etc. How can I find out for sure?

I'm doing better at ignoring color for now, but I've heard that brickiness in the Silvers can be a pain to get rid of.

Kim