The Dorking Breeders thread

[Tracydr]

Hi. I've been hoping to get Dorkings for about 4 years to use as my dual purpose/primarily meat goals. I expect a hardy, meaty bird but want the type and color to be correct.
I really don't care which color, except it don't want white. I love the Reds. Either comb is fine, maybe a slight preference for straight comb. I recently moved to the southern border of NC and have plenty of space to start breeding. I do need to build some pens and coops.
Anybody near me? I'm starting my hunt for chicks, anticipating that I won't get them until next spring. I'm also planning to get an incubator this winter so I could go with hatching eggs.

 

[Yellow House Farm]

I expect a hardy, meaty bird but want the type and color to be correct.
.

You mean after you breed them for ten plus years, I'm assuming....

 

[Tracydr]

You mean after you breed them for ten plus years, I'm assuming....

Of course. I don't expect to hit the jackpot on my first batch. I realize this breed is not the strongest,yet. I love the old-fashioned colors, short legs and boxy frame.
I also have old English bantams but I mainly just have them for the cuteness factor.

 

[Tracydr]

Jennifer, that's awesome.  Horstman's Reds are a good place to begin.  I handled a Red pullet of his at the North Eastern Poultry Congress.  She was highly typical.  Carcass-wise she needed work; she was one of those birds that looked good to the eye but when handled lacked in substance.  However, though that statement might seem harsh, it really isn't.  It means that the frame is there; it will simply require selection criteria that make weight part of the process.  My experience has been that change in this area can be had fairly quickly.

Your age goals are appropriate.  I go over birds at 24-26 weeks, too.  I weigh them before I put them into show cages for observation.  I tend to eliminate the lower 50% weight-wise right from the start.

However, it has been my experience that appropriate levels of productivity for traditional standard-bred fowl can be had with relative ease.  It's the other standard qualities that are harder to achieve.  Saying that, mass of frame, is tough.  It's a bit of a wild card.  Without question, the most massive, non-industrial fowl I have ever seen have been the product of the fancy.

I emailed him yesterday. Still waiting on a reply. Hoping I can reserve some red chicks and maybe some eggs,too.

 

[kimberly35042]

I had a color cropout in my pullets. Is she an acceptable color of the SOP red or is she colored? Somehow I feel she isn't quite dark enough to be colored so mainly wondering if she is acceptable as red?

I don't think her type is as good as the majority of my other reds so this is really just a color clarification. She will probably end up on CL as an egg layer unless she really puts on some size/weight.

 

[Yellow House Farm]

She has too many melanizers. It's something you want to cull away from. The Reds have not been consistently bred to strong standards and often show variance.

 

[MacCana]

I finally got the test results in. I don't want to muck up this thread anymore, so unless requested, I will message it to anyone who thinks they can help. I need someone with more knowledge of clinical vocabulary to help me figure out what to do. I will at least say that it says bacterial enteritis.

 

[Bluefield]

Its week 19 and my bresse are ready for processing... My silver Dorkings have size but no meat on their bones. My bresse leave next weekend. Will mg Dorkings be ready by mid December?

 

[kimberly35042]

She has too many melanizers. It's something you want to cull away from. The Reds have not been consistently bred to strong standards and often show variance.

Thanks Joe -- that is what I was thinking. She is striking to look at, and I'm sure that she is a product of the one Sandhill hen. I have since put her in the layer yard and only have the Tice/Troxel stock left in the breeder runs. I'd like to maintain that line as it is, but the feathering is too loose, and I need help tightening that up. Any suggestions?

 

[kimberly35042]

Its week 19 and my bresse are ready for processing... My silver Dorkings have size but no meat on their bones. My bresse leave next weekend. Will mg Dorkings be ready by mid December?

If they are hatchery SG, it could be they never have meat on their bones. Mine were 8 months when I gave up and culled to go with the reds. The difference in type and weight was immediately obvious. There are quite a few people that have worked with the SG, and I think they have increased the weights so it can be done.