B.Y.C. Dorking Club!

[ki4got]

well, my dorking babies typically start out super sweet, then go outside, where they are penned (and sometimes a bit crowded) and turn semi-schizoid, but as soon as i let them start ranging they all typically turn into puppydogs. i go outside, the youngest run up to me, and as soon as i stand still, they're crawling all over my boots, looking for tidbits of food that might be hiding in my laces. LOL

when it's feeding time, it looks like this... i pasted about 6 photos together, so yeah some of the weeds and water tanks are duplicated. LOL but the birds are all there. i did a sports stream capture about 1 photo a second for the whole flock and just pivoted, but not everyone stood still so i had to do a bit of creative editing. (nobody is duplicated tho!) the only one missing is the big guy, who was inside with pneumonia but has recovered since. click on the image for the full version. it's kinda crammed as a thumbnail.

 

[dorkings]

well, my dorking babies typically start out super sweet, then go outside, where they are penned (and sometimes a bit crowded) and turn semi-schizoid, but as soon as i let them start ranging they all typically turn into puppydogs. i go outside, the youngest run up to me, and as soon as i stand still, they're crawling all over my boots, looking for tidbits of food that might be hiding in my laces. LOL

when it's feeding time, it looks like this... i pasted about 6 photos together, so yeah some of the weeds and water tanks are duplicated. LOL but the birds are all there. i did a sports stream capture about 1 photo a second for the whole flock and just pivoted, but not everyone stood still so i had to do a bit of creative editing. (nobody is duplicated tho!) the only one missing is the big guy, who was inside with pneumonia but has recovered since. click on the image for the full version. it's kinda crammed as a thumbnail.

Great picture, thanks for sharing.

 

[Rockashelle]

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.

Thanks for the pictures! Beautiful! I've been looking at mine. Spartacus's fifth toe is COMPLETELY seperated from his forth toes. Every picture I see on this thread, doesn't look like his. Hmmm?

I now wonder if this is a bad fault. They are up 1/8th of an inch away from his forth toes. I will try to take pictures if it ever stops raining.... urg. So if I choose by feet, I believe that Theseus will have the best. His looks most like what I've seen. When you mentioned "duck feet". My guys too have webbing about the same as your guy. On a good note... I did find a friend of mine that wants one of my cockerels so and will allow me to borrow him back if he turns out nice. Yay!

Thanks again for posting. Sorry I didn't see it the other night.

 

[Yellow House Farm]

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.

Well, toes are fixable. I'd keep him around until you see what's up. If he's typey with a good head, you can pair him up with a hen with strong toes.

 

[ki4got]

Thanks for the pictures! Beautiful! I've been looking at mine. Spartacus's fifth toe is COMPLETELY seperated from his forth toes. Every picture I see on this thread, doesn't look like his. Hmmm?

I now wonder if this is a bad fault. They are up 1/8th of an inch away from his forth toes. I will try to take pictures if it ever stops raining.... urg. So if I choose by feet, I believe that Theseus will have the best. His looks most like what I've seen. When you mentioned "duck feet". My guys too have webbing about the same as your guy. On a good note... I did find a friend of mine that wants one of my cockerels so and will allow me to borrow him back if he turns out nice. Yay!

Thanks again for posting. Sorry I didn't see it the other night.

duck footed doesn't refer to the webbing, all chickens have a little. it refers to the 4th and 5th toes pointing forward rather than to the back of the leg... look at big guy's toes and you'll see that.

but i don't think it's a horrible thing, as long as the 5 toes are all there. it seems to breed out fairly easily in just 2 generations using hens with better feet than the roo. (or roos with better feet, if you have a duckfooted hen?) either way, if all you've got to work with is iffy feet but good body structure, take the body structure and worry about feet later. side sprigs on the combs, now that's something to toss asap. it's a dominant trait and will show up more often than you care to see.

i've got a couple hens from my original trio with 'odd' combs, not really side sprigs but sort of a curling of the back edge, making it sort of cup shaped. they're off to the sale. i can spare the 2 now that i've got more growing out. the most recent hatch, i think i've got 2 pullets 2 cockerels. growing nicely at about 2 weeks old now.

 

[Rockashelle]

He is extremely friendly as well... I'm considering building a coop that I could house the four boys in until they 4mos old or so. (Unless of course they decide they don't like each other). Then I could use the additional coop once I've made my decision to house the second roo and two pullets in. I can see how easy it is to get quite the collection of Dorkings started.

 

[Rockashelle]

duck footed doesn't refer to the webbing, all chickens have a little. it refers to the 4th and 5th toes pointing forward rather than to the back of the leg... look at big guy's toes and you'll see that.

but i don't think it's a horrible thing, as long as the 5 toes are all there. it seems to breed out fairly easily in just 2 generations using hens with better feet than the roo. (or roos with better feet, if you have a duckfooted hen?) either way, if all you've got to work with is iffy feet but good body structure, take the body structure and worry about feet later. side sprigs on the combs, now that's something to toss asap. it's a dominant trait and will show up more often than you care to see.

i've got a couple hens from my original trio with 'odd' combs, not really side sprigs but sort of a curling of the back edge, making it sort of cup shaped. they're off to the sale. i can spare the 2 now that i've got more growing out. the most recent hatch, i think i've got 2 pullets 2 cockerels. growing nicely at about 2 weeks old now.

Awh... Thanks! Well in that case, all toes are pointed back. The only pullet I have right now had pretty good feet. Her coloring seems off though. She's quite dark with brown and black feathers. I don't see any difference in her chest feathers either. She is laying next to one of the cockerels in one of my pictures. I'm hoping to find other breeders in WA to purchase some pullets from. Mine are Sand Hill line and I would like to find some that are not. I'm happy I found this thread... I obviously have a lot to learn.

 

[Rockashelle]

It stopped raining enough... Here's feet pictures of Spartacus & Hope (again... the kids named them

)

 

[Rockashelle]

Beautiful girl! I wish I was close enough to come pick up some pullets....

 

[Rockashelle]

for anyone interested that might be willing to travel a bit, i've got 2 nice silver grey pullets (december hatch) and a year old colored girl that i'm looking to sell, to make room for the many many MANY chicks growing out... i lost count but i think i have close to 60 chicks under 12 weeks old now. plus more hatching... 4 sg's have hatched in the last 2 days. 8) one a day early, 2 on time and 1 a day late...

and for you all to drool over. one of the best pics i've taken of the girls.

Beautiful girl! I wish I was close enough to buy your pullets...