The Dorking Breeders thread

[sandiklaws]

I had a similar concern with egg size in one of my hens.  I kept all seven hens from my June 2012 Sandhill Reds.  Three are not good quality birds, but lay a beautiful, extra large egg with a little too much tinting.  They sell quite well, and will never be hatched.  Of the other four that are fairly nice birds in various ways, one is amazing.  Her frame is exactly what I want, she's over 7 lbs, her feet and head are nice, she's got a wonderful personality (I know, not an SOP requirement, but important to me), and she has all the appropriate farm behavioral instincts intact (again, not in the SOP, but I need utility farm birds that thrive with free-range management).  Her color is a little more CD than RD, but I don't care at this stage in my breeding program.  But her pullet eggs were too small.  Honestly, I wasn't even sure that a chick could survive in one, as they were only market medium on a good day.  She started laying in November 2012 and continued through July of 2013 with very little increase in egg size.  But her eggs this year are excellent.  Large size, ideal shape, good shell porosity, normal shell strength, and classic ivory white color.  I don't know if the shift in egg size at year two is a genetic issue with her, or if she had a medical issue that has resolved, but if her daughters do the same thing then that will tell me.  It's not a desirable trait, but given her other qualities she'll still be one of my foundation hens.  Have your hens with small eggs gone into their second year yet?

I have found most of my Faverolles girls (close cousin to Dorking as Dorkings are one of the foundation breeds of Faverolles) always increase in egg size going into their second year. A long time Faverolles breeder recommended to me to not breed until the girls were a minimum of 11 months, partially to allow time for the egg size to come up, but more importantly to allow true evaluation of mature structure before selection for breeding pens.

 

[LilyD]

I had a similar concern with egg size in one of my hens. I kept all seven hens from my June 2012 Sandhill Reds. Three are not good quality birds, but lay a beautiful, extra large egg with a little too much tinting. They sell quite well, and will never be hatched. Of the other four that are fairly nice birds in various ways, one is amazing. Her frame is exactly what I want, she's over 7 lbs, her feet and head are nice, she's got a wonderful personality (I know, not an SOP requirement, but important to me), and she has all the appropriate farm behavioral instincts intact (again, not in the SOP, but I need utility farm birds that thrive with free-range management). Her color is a little more CD than RD, but I don't care at this stage in my breeding program. But her pullet eggs were too small. Honestly, I wasn't even sure that a chick could survive in one, as they were only market medium on a good day. She started laying in November 2012 and continued through July of 2013 with very little increase in egg size. But her eggs this year are excellent. Large size, ideal shape, good shell porosity, normal shell strength, and classic ivory white color. I don't know if the shift in egg size at year two is a genetic issue with her, or if she had a medical issue that has resolved, but if her daughters do the same thing then that will tell me. It's not a desirable trait, but given her other qualities she'll still be one of my foundation hens. Have your hens with small eggs gone into their second year yet?

2 will be entering their second year the end of May and 2 are just a year old as of June. I am not planning on getting rid of any of them at this point since I have a shortage of birds to use right now, but I am not putting any eggs in the incubator that are small or oddly shaped. I was told that chickens lay what they came from and I can see that in some of my Light Brahmas that hatched out from small size eggs. I am still getting pullet size eggs from them two years later. So as part of the experiment I am trying out what I was told and only putting eggs that are the size I would consider normal for a dorking into the incubator. Hopefully the next generation will give me some larger eggs. My 2 year olds have started giving me eggs that are larger. Last year they were tiny for the most part, barely a small and definitely not a medium. This year I am getting smalls from the two new birds and larger ones from the older birds, but not much for fertility. I will be setting one more set of eggs next week once the ones in the incubator are done and then I will have to be done for the year because the rooster I have needs to meet my stew pot.




Personality and free ranging skills are also big for my birds. I didn't mention those either because of the fact that they don't have anything to do with the SOP. That's one of the reason I won't be keeping the McMurray rooster I currently have. He is an absolute jerk. He has gotten me 4 times this spring since I lost my other rooster who was keeping him in line. Not what I want with two and three year old kids playing on the farm as often as they do. All the birds I have are amazing free rangers. In fact I set up fencing around my property, which is 2 acres other than my driveway, and I can't keep them inside the fencing. They never go far from home so I don't worry, but they also don't eat much for food either. Maybe a little before bed but usually they are so stuffed with bugs and whatever other goodies they have found that they don't really need to eat. I love it.

Here's a picture of my older Dorking Hen


One of the younger ones and the McMurray rooster I have.

 

[capayvalleychick]

Over the years, I have found that the Dorking egg size increases with the age of the hen.

Egg size for my mature hens tends to be in the Med-Large range. I have never had a Dorking that laid Jumbo size eggs.

 

[Sydney Acres]

Over the years, I have found that the Dorking egg size increases with the age of the hen.

Egg size for my mature hens tends to be in the Med-Large range. I have never had a Dorking that laid Jumbo size eggs.

Only my poor quality hens lay the extra large eggs, whereas the better quality hens lay a medium to large egg. In reading breeder's journals from the late1800s and early 1900s in England, one of the ways a hen's breeding quality was evaluated was by the quality of her eggs. Eggs that were the wrong color or of excessive size were considered a sign that the hen was likely outcrossed a few generations back to improve egg production. Leg color was also considered important, for the same reason. Considering that the larger eggs come from the poorer quality birds in my small group, I am inclined to believe their observations.

 

[ki4got]

I have found most of my Faverolles girls (close cousin to Dorking as Dorkings are one of the foundation breeds of Faverolles) always increase in egg size going into their second year. A long time Faverolles breeder recommended to me to not breed until the girls were a minimum of 11 months, partially to allow time for the egg size to come up, but more importantly to allow true evaluation of mature structure before selection for breeding pens.

IMO that is sound advice for any breed, but especially so on the slower growing breeds like the Dorking or Wyandotte. so I've been letting the 'underage' girls free range and collect their eggs for eating.

 

[SusanCatt]

Hello my name is Susan Catt, I have recently been appointed to the region 3 directorship of the Dorking Breeders Club (the official Dorking club in America). The region consists of these states;
Colorado
Kansas
Montana
New Mexico
North Dakota
Oklahoma
South Dakota
Texas
Wyoming

Please email me at [email protected] if you are a member or non member but an enthusiast, breeder, non breeder, show goer, or backyard Dorking lover. If you have an interest or need an answer about this wonderful heritage breed please feel free to ask. If I do not know the answer I will go to one or more of our long standing mentors to find it for you.

Once I locate our spread out Dorking folk in region 3 I would like to hold an online get together to talk about our birds and individuals interests. It would be awesome to meet each of you and hear your stories.

Again my email is [email protected] and I am looking forward to hearing from you. Remember you do not need to own Dorkings, if you are curious or just love the idea of the breed feel free to contact me. If you are a paid member of the Dorking Breeders Club and have concerns or information you would like to share, please contact me, lets get to the bottom of whatever it is.

I intend to make our region the model for the club and its other regions.

Please PM me for an email to reach me.

 

[ki4got]

The Dorking Breeder's Club is in the process of getting going again. Here is the message from the club Secretary, Jimmy Parker, from the recent newsletter.

"Hello fellow Dorking enthusiasts. I think spring is finally here. I never thought it
would make it. The club continues to grow. We are in the beginning stages and we will
continue to get stronger with your help. Craig Russell has volunteered to fill the
Presidency roll. We still need a Vice President and directors. Our President will make
our day to day decisions to make us a successful club. The Vice President will back up
the President and know his/her duties. They will also help develop a welcome pack for
new members so we can help them feel welcome when they join the club. The Directors
will help with placing meets throughout their districts. So I ask that you, the member,
volunteer for some of these open jobs. I must apologize as I recall some of you did get in
touch with me. A email server problem (Hacker) had me reset my email and I lost
months of correspondence."

Susan Catt has taken the position of Region 3 Director, but to my knowledge the other Directorships have not been filled yet.

here's a map of the various regions, if you might be interested in this.
(to be added later, byc's not letting me post pictures again)

 

[capayvalleychick]

My name is Kim Consol and I am the Director for Region 2 of the Dorking Breeders Club. Region 2 includes the states of AK, AZ, CA, HI, ID, NV, OR, UT and WA.

Director's duties include helping to place meets throughout their region. The problem is that very few people with Dorkings exhibit them at shows. That's a shame. This historic breed deserves to have a presence beside all the other standard bred fowl that are exhibited for the public's pleasure and education.

Why aren't Dorkings seen at shows? Because the breed has been neglected by breeders who know how to breed to standard and bastardized by hatcheries and breeders who don't have the education or desire to preserve the breed true to it's type.

The Dorking breed has deteriorated into a trace of it's true regal form.

The first thing every Dorking owner needs to understand is that the Standard of Perfection is not just for people who show birds. The SOP is the tool with which we preserve the true Dorking breed for prosperity.

All those who appreciate the Dorking can help the breed in some way. Let's work together to give support and education to breeders who need it and offer camaraderie to all who have or revere Dorkings.

If interested, you can contact me at [email protected]
To join the Dorking Breeders Club, or find the director for your region:
http://dorkingbreedersclub.webs.com/

 

[Yellow House Farm]

Because the breed has been neglected by breeders who know how to breed to standard and bastardized by hatcheries and breeders who don't have the education or desire to preserve the breed true to it's type.

This has been an on-going problem. Knowledgeable breeders tend not to work with Dorkings. A couple of APA judges have picked up the Whites. I'm hoping it has an effect. I now know of six experienced, knowledgeable, and disciplined breeders who are working with them. It's not a lot, but it's something.

 

[neftaball]

 


Because the breed has been neglected by breeders who know how to breed to standard and bastardized by hatcheries and breeders who don't have the education or desire to preserve the breed true to it's type.

This has been an on-going problem.  Knowledgeable breeders tend not to work with Dorkings.  A couple of APA judges have picked up the Whites.  I'm hoping it has an effect.  I now know of six experienced, knowledgeable, and disciplined breeders who are working with them.  It's not a lot, but it's something.