CSU - Chicken State University- Large Fowl SOP

[3riverschick]

Just delighted to see all the neat Dorking pics. I don't have any Dorkings, but they are behind my Sussex, so a real breed of interest.
Found some pics of Dorkings from breeders I know and respect. Thought I would share:

Red Dorkings from Horstman Poultry in PA, USA
http://www.horstmanspoultry.com/largefowlhome/reddorking.html

White Dorkings from Yellow House Farm
http://www.yellowhousefarmnh.com/content/865

Photo essay on Silver Grey Dorkings from Skeffling Lavender Farms in Ontario , CAN. Skeffling bought
the Euskal Oilia from a defunct company CAN. and helped import them to the USA.
http://tinyurl.com/nanhxh6 (click on the pic of the 2 Dorkings and it will take you to a photo essay of 9 pics. (1-9)
Best,
Karen

 

[capayvalleychick]

Here are Silver Gray Dorkings, all out of my breeding. Early on, I made every rookie mistake and I'm trying to make up for that now. So, these birds are a work in progress.

I know that they need improvements in many areas, so I have long range goals and short range goals. My immediate goals are 1. BETTER TYPE 2. More weight 3. Lower tail angle 4. Red ear lobes. Things like color, comb etc. are long range goals.

This is one of my cock birds, born in 2012. He is 14 months old in this photo.



The best thing about him is that he has more length and width of back where it meets the tail, than my previous males. The high tail is a big issue that I need to correct, in most of my flock. He could use a rounder, fuller breast- more weight. Legs are a bit long. His wings look low but he usually holds them a bit more level. Comb should have 6 points.



This is a young hen, born in 2012, 13 months old in this photo.
This photo doesn't show it well, but she is one of my favorites for type. She has the low profile and round breast carried forward that makes her look definitely Dorking as she waddles about. Her tail had the correct 35 degree angle until she turned a year old, then it kept rising and now it's too high. Her back should be longer. One ear lobe is white, the other is red, streaked with white. Her fifth toes could be longer and held higher. She should be heavier to meet the standard.



Another hen, this one born in 2011. She's one of my larger hens, almost meets the standard weight. Her tail is close to the right angle (I think) but is too spread out. Ear lobes have too much white. She has good length to her back.

I do have some hens with the proper tail angle and red ear lobes, but they are small in size and weight. My challenge is to try and get all the proper qualities together in the same bird.

 

[Yellow House Farm]

Hey Kim! I agree with your general assessments. Good calls.

Two thoughts, you mentioned the cocks legs are a bit long. I pause. The SOP for males read "Shanks--short and stout", but is that relative to medium length? Dorkings are not creepers. I have the benefit of being able to measure my Dorkings against my Anconas which are "Shanks--[...] moderately long". In comparison to the Anconas, my Dorkings are short. I am reticent about overly short males and the possible fertility implications--not that they are sterile but that they may not be successful breeders. Compare male body "long, broad, deep" to the female body "long, broad, deep low-set." I'm not convinced that the Standards committee is guilty of a simple oversight here. I think there may be a reason for this discrepancy, and I believe it has to do with breeding utility. For the same reasons, it says of male back "declining to tail". I am convinced that this is very important to offset the breast which is "broad, deep, full, well-rounded, carried forward." I have witnessed on more than one occasion that males that are overly horizontal in the back do not breed successfully. When they mount they fall forward and do not connect to their goal. Although they are not sterile, they are not successful breeders. If you follow the link given above, it shows one of our males with the back clearly "declining to the tail". I think your cock there is borderline on that quality. I did, though, see the back right away as showing some length. I believe that the image of our male needs to show more length.

 

[Yellow House Farm]

http://www.yellowhousefarmnh.com/content/865

In general, the Dorking is a breed of angles. It is sort of the opposite of the Leghorn which is breed of sweeps and curves relatively free from angles. At the juncture where the hackle meets the back and where the back meets the tail, there are clear angles.

Earlobe color ins females especially is a problem in general that seems to be fairly present in many strains, although it can be bred out.

The female tail is fairly well folded. Many female Dorkings seen on-line have tails that are too spread.

In the photo of our white pair, one can see the red earlobes, which were/are definitely a process of selection. The birds show the requisite angularity and the front and back junctures of back. The females tail is folded properly, although she is holding it too high The male also shows the needed hackle "very full and abundant, flowing well over shoulders, making it appear very broad, tapering to head." If anything, he needs more.

 

[ramirezframing]

Just delighted to see all the neat Dorking pics. I don't have any Dorkings, but they are behind my Sussex, so a real breed of interest.
Found some pics of Dorkings from breeders I know and respect. Thought I would share:

Red Dorkings from Horstman Poultry in PA, USA
http://www.horstmanspoultry.com/largefowlhome/reddorking.html

White Dorkings from Yellow House Farm
http://www.yellowhousefarmnh.com/content/865

Photo essay on Silver Grey Dorkings from Skeffling Lavender Farms in Ontario , CAN. Skeffling bought
the Euskal Oilia from a defunct company CAN. and helped import them to the USA.
http://tinyurl.com/nanhxh6 (click on the pic of the 2 Dorkings and it will take you to a photo essay of 9 pics. (1-9)
Best,
Karen

I don't know much on the dorking, but why does the white dorkings have a rose comb and not a single like all the other colors of dorkings?

 

[aveca]

absolutly loving the dorking tour..nice work kim. and yellow house farm..wonderful birds..

 

[3riverschick]

Quote: In the old books, they say Dorkings came in both styles of combs. I can't remember if rosecomb was limited to just one color or not.
Best,
Karen

 

[Yellow House Farm]

All Dorking varieties were first available in both rc and sc. The whites were very quick to gravitate toward rc and early on were taken to be only rc. SG, Coloreds, and Reds are traditionally both, but only the SC are in the Standard. The SC of the Dorking is very large. We had abysmal luck with SC hardiness here in NH. The rc is generally impervious to the cold, wet winters we get.

 

[thedragonlady]

All Dorking varieties were first available in both rc and sc. The whites were very quick to gravitate toward rc and early on were taken to be only rc. SG, Coloreds, and Reds are traditionally both, but only the SC are in the Standard. The SC of the Dorking is very large. We had abysmal luck with SC hardiness here in NH. The rc is generally impervious to the cold, wet winters we get.

Loved your farm tour ! The Dorkings should interest all Orp breeders too, as they are part of Orp genetics.Those big breasts are something we can thank them for.

 

[aveca]

In the old books, they say Dorkings came in both styles of combs. I can't remember if rosecomb was limited to just one color or not.
Best,
Karen

That is true. there were both rosecomb and single comb in dorking and many breeds orpingtons too ....today you see mainly single combs ....Im not going to show the pictures from the old books because I just want to enjoy seeing the dorkings not start something..

I wonder how many different breeds were founded out of dorking..I had often wondered if they played any part at all in the RIR past just by the shape? or was that just selective over time by breeders of RIR ... because of the 5th toe maybe they wernt used a lot by breeders....they were one of the foundation breeds in the white orpington and to this day you can see little things in the white orp from them..occasionally a little yellow in the leg or on beak from the old dorkings a hint of that shape.but most of that was worked out to orp breeders satisfaction.....it took the white orp creator 5 yrs to work out the 5th toe..that is why the white looks just a little different than blk and buff due to that dorking ....the vass buff orp may have been based in dorking too but blk orp was not.