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  1. Dirt Farmer

    B.Y.C. Dorking Club!

    If you can't get any, you can always have Murray McMurray ship you chicks to a US Post Office on the border. I've read that they have the best hatchery SGD, and they provide the paperwork you need to get them back across into Canada (for a charge). I think many breeders that participate in NPIP...
  2. Dirt Farmer

    B.Y.C. Dorking Club!

    You can try XW PoultryRanch for whites. I bought Rocks from them and they were excellent quality and good customer service. May have to wait until spring. http://xwpoultryranch.com/
  3. Dirt Farmer

    B.Y.C. Dorking Club!

    I should have added that I consider this a minimum. I can't think of a downside to giving them more space if you can.
  4. Dirt Farmer

    B.Y.C. Dorking Club!

    As a rule of thumb I like to provide four square feet per bird of indoor space and ten square feet of outdoor space per bird. I find this adequate to keep bad behavior and disease at bay, and with deep; litter, smells and cleanliness tolerable. I also get them free ranging a couple times a week...
  5. Dirt Farmer

    B.Y.C. Dorking Club!

    Here's a scholarly article. It costs money to see the whole PDF but the first page has some information and pictures for free. http://jhered.oxfordjournals.org/content/50/3/137.extract
  6. Dirt Farmer

    B.Y.C. Dorking Club!

    I poked around the internet and found several sources that say the SGD carry a lethal gene that causes short necks and beaks in embryos and death at about day 9 of incubation. Apparently this has been known since the 1950's but its the first I've heard of it.
  7. Dirt Farmer

    B.Y.C. Dorking Club!

    Were the eggs shipped? I'm currently taking eggs from the hen house and each evening putting them into the incubator, no shipping or storage. I'll be curious to see how the hatch goes.
  8. Dirt Farmer

    B.Y.C. Dorking Club!

    There are the rose comb varieties, the whites, the cuckoos (if you can find one) and sometimes reds. My Dorkings have rather large single combs which my not bode well for freezing temperatures. No problems with our wimpy winters here where I live. I think to make a sex link the female would...
  9. Dirt Farmer

    B.Y.C. Dorking Club!

    At four months its probably too early to judge these birds. If you see obvious defects like four toes, wrong comb type, roach back, or wry tail, then those can be put aside as unsuitable for your breeding pen. Otherwise enjoy some watchful husbandry with these slow growers. I just noticed one of...
  10. Dirt Farmer

    B.Y.C. Dorking Club!

    Sorry about Pixie, thanks for the update. Glad you got a companion bird for the Wyandotte. Rocks are a great overall chicken, hard to beat.
  11. Dirt Farmer

    B.Y.C. Dorking Club!

    I had a Dorking chick like this in my last brood, but occurred at a younger stage. Seemingly ate and drank, and early on had periods of perking up and looking normal; but failed to grow and ultimately didn't make it. Never had frank signs of illness. My impression was that maybe it just couldn't...
  12. Dirt Farmer

    B.Y.C. Dorking Club!

    I'm thinking you'll get more response if you re-post here. We've got some helpful Dorking people on the thread. Welcome to BYC.
  13. Dirt Farmer

    B.Y.C. Dorking Club!

    I've not kept any Australorps but in general find a patterned bird more interesting than a solid bird. I like to be able to tell my birds apart. The Dorking will present more challenges in terms of obtaining and breeding stock that are close to the APA standard. Australorps are more commonly...
  14. Dirt Farmer

    B.Y.C. Dorking Club!

    My Colored Dorkings from Sand Hill laid surprisingly early, 4 to 5 months. They laid tiny little 1 to 1.25 ounce eggs. Now at about 7 months the eggs are 1.25 to 1.5 ounces. I'm hoping that they get bigger. I think the fact they they were hatched at the end of Sept and Oct last year started them...
  15. Dirt Farmer

    B.Y.C. Dorking Club!

    I have four pullets that came from two hatches, Sept 29, 2014 and Oct 22, 2014. I got my first egg at 4 1/2 months; today I got three eggs if you count the one I pulled from one of the pullet's cloaca. It was trapped pointy end first and hanging out the vent, in a bright red bubble. This is the...
  16. Dirt Farmer

    B.Y.C. Dorking Club!

    Thank you. That's a rare sight. I had read the Standard of Perfection color description many times and still was having trouble forming a picture in my mind for the hen. What few pictures I've seen have shown considerable variation. I like the look of your bird. The Standard description seems to...
  17. Dirt Farmer

    B.Y.C. Dorking Club!

    Thanks for the pictures and congratulations. I would be terribly interested in seeing your Colored.
  18. Dirt Farmer

    B.Y.C. Dorking Club!

    I noticed a pair of Silver Grey Dorkings in Buy/Sell/Trade about a couple hundred miles from Oklahoma City. Pricey but point of lay (they're listed in 8 weeks and older). Good luck.
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