B.Y.C. Dorking Club!

[Rockashelle]

 

[Rockashelle]

I will post better body shots of him

 

[ki4got]

i'd probably let them grow out a bit more to see how the cockerels color in, if they do... they look a lot like a few of the cockerels i've got too, and that's my plan as well. someone told me never to judge them by their chick feathers, and i'd agree. i'm culling by feet right now, and will wait another month or 2 to see how the color comes in for the boys.

 

[Rockashelle]

And finally.... There's Alfred. He is the one my daughter will not let me get rid of. I tried today. He has what I believe is a rose comb (never had a chicken with one) and only 9 toes with unfortunately the BEST "cinder-block" body.

 

[Rockashelle]

My plan was to keep Hope & Spartacus.. but I'm having a hard time! Theseus seems to have a pretty good body, but his 5th toes are stuck to the 4ths... Urg!

 

[Rockashelle]

Do you have pictures of feet you keep? I have a pretty good idea, but it would be nice to see what the "standard" looks like exactly.

 

[greenhorn]

When it rains it pours. Left for Canada with zero Dorkings came home to a couple flocks. The fishing trip was great and the surprise when I got home was also!

We got a batch of whites from Joe Marquette and a batch of 20 blacks and 5 SG's from Sandhill. The original intention was to get whites from Sandhill until we found out Joe was going to let some whites fly the coop Spring of 2012. We did not hesitate and ordered 40 whites from Joe. We even have a rooster at 5 weeks crowing, it's the cutest thing to see. They are very nice birds and like to be petted Thanks big time Joe!

The Sandhill birds are happy and look nice too, I didn't take a count yet but none of the Sandhill birds were lost in shipping so there might be an extra or 2 in there.

I'll start taking pictures today, been a little wiped out from the fishing trip. We are so geeked to have Dorkings on the farm now.

 

[ki4got]

Do you have pictures of feet you keep? I have a pretty good idea, but it would be nice to see what the "standard" looks like exactly.

well what i started out with looked like this... - this is The Big Guy at about 6or 7 months old.

the hens were slightly better.
this next is one of his daughters and one of hers (not sure whether he or junior is the daddy tho)
sorry it's a bit fuzzy, they were on the move. and no she's not a broody momma, they just free range one big happy family.

not great pics of feet, but maybe you can get an idea...
the 2 toes are separated at the base where they attach to the leg, and the extra toe is roughly half again longer than the other. and they should point toward the rear more than middle or front (ideally).

duckfooted-ness (top pic of the big guy) isn't necessarily a death sentence for a flock, but not ideal if you have others to pick from. since he was my only roo with 2 hens when i started, he got to stay. but now that feet are improving, i'm selecting chicks with better feet first and letting them grow out to 4-6 months to see what i've got then. the big guy is still in the flock with Junior (his son) and 10 hens currently, with more growing out.

this guy is a red from Craig Russell, and probably has the best feet of all the birds i've got.

 

[pysankigirl]

I have 5 dorking babies and a couple each of welsummers, black copper marans, and barnvelders
anyone have any idea what the temperment differences will be?

 

[WhiteMountainsRanch]

My two Dorking babies are growing, albeit slowly. We have plans to drive to AZ to pick up 50 more, and have 25 on order from Sandhill Preservation.