B.Y.C. Dorking Club!

[Kibi78704]

Thanks!
That's what I was thinking. I have a flock of young Ameraucanas who free range on about 1/4 of an acre. They have a few favorite shrubs they nap under after foraging. Most of the yard is shaded by huge live oaks. If I do get some dorkings, which so far is the plan, they will have a separate yard which also has plenty of shade - it's currently the fenced off pool area, but the pool is covered 100% of the time.

 

[capayvalleychick]

Does anyone have any thoughts about raising them in a very hot climate? I'm in Central Texas, where we had about 70 days of 100+°F last year. It's already in the high 80's and low 90's.

We have very hot summers. Low humidity but temps are above 100 for most of the summer. I have been very impressed with how well Dorkings do in the extreme heat. I've had a couple individual birds that didn't fare well, but overall, the breed is tolerant of heat.
I always have shade and water for them. They will even stand under a sprinkler!
One year, we had a temperature spike, over 110. I was out of town for the day and had left the Dorks in a chicken tractor, on grass pasture. I expected them to be dead but they were all fine. There were stories in the paper about chickens deaths all over the county that day due to the heat.

Kim

 

[Kibi78704]

Excellent, and thanks! I think they will do well here, then. We had many days around 110 here last year, but this year is much wetter and milder (so far).
I'm building a new coop next week under some 60-year old oak trees. They will be able to free range in their own private pasture/yard once they are big enough, and there are many shady places to nap or scratch. I may put in a mister for those really hot days. My buddy even put a window AC unit in his coop after losing a young hen to the heat, and that may be on the table for me, as well.
Now all I have to do is find some chicks (or eggs in a pinch). Anyone have a lead on about 25-50 decent straight run chicks? (Am I dreaming about that many?) . I'd like some good breeding stock, if possible, and can wait as long as it takes. I'd prefer silver grey, but would take any single comb chicks. I've been searching the net, but don't see that many available. The local feed store had some a few weeks ago, but I wasn't ready, and wasn't sure where they came from.

 

[DeannaOR]

Is anyone in Oregon or Washington breeding Dorkings?

 

[WhiteMountainsRanch]

Well my Dorkings hatched yesterday, I only got 2 out of 24 eggs so I will be on the hunt for more!!!

 

[DeannaOR]

Removed =)

 

[neopolitancrazy]

My black and dark grey Sandhill Dorking chicks are a week old today, and they are amazing! In the hundreds of hatchery chicks my family and I have raised, none were ever so calm and curious, I can hardly get them to move over so I can put clean paper underneath them! Karen, I tried to get pictures of them but shooting down into the brooder produced pictures of a black hole with a red light and when I put some babies atop the half-opened brooder, the little boogers jumped down into the brooder again before I could focus the camera. I fancy I can see a cinderblock shape to them already, wish I could share that with you all. Maybe they will slow down as they mature

 

[ki4got]

Yay! I found two Dorking pullets. Happy Mothers Day to me

Edited: He got me three!

They are colors I've not seen in Dorkings..but I'm new to them.


Dorking 1






Dorking 2




Dorking 3

not to burst your bubble, but dorkings have white skin not yellow. and no clue what those colors are. my guess is they are dorking cross, but not pure dorking.
and yellow skin is recessive to white. so that's at least a second generation cross.

 

[DeannaOR]

No worries, you are not bursting my bubble...I don't know a lot about Dorkings, but I kinda figured they were crosses. I have only seen one set of pictures where they were black and white and grey and these colors weren't in the description for the standard. They are cute all the same, and they were a gift from my boyfriend who is not a Dorking expert. He drove an hour away to get them..I'm not gonna burst his bubble =)
Thank you though..if I had not had a clue, I would have appreciated hearing the truth.
DeAnna

 

[DeannaOR]

My black and dark grey Sandhill Dorking chicks are a week old today, and they are amazing! In the hundreds of hatchery chicks my family and I have raised, none were ever so calm and curious, I can hardly get them to move over so I can put clean paper underneath them! Karen, I tried to get pictures of them but shooting down into the brooder produced pictures of a black hole with a red light and when I put some babies atop the half-opened brooder, the little boogers jumped down into the brooder again before I could focus the camera. I fancy I can see a cinderblock shape to them already, wish I could share that with you all. Maybe they will slow down as they mature

The ones I saw pictures of that were black and white and grey were on a website called Dorking Breeders Club and they were titled "Sandhill dorkings".

Were they yours?