B.Y.C. Dorking Club!

[Sazbaby]

Did you guys get dorkings that were hatched around the same time that had crooked toes? I ask because I was going to get some SG dorkings from mcmurray next year but I don't want to get over my head with genetic issues. I want to maybe hatch once in a while. (depends on whether or not the rest of the family catches the chicken bug as bad as I have.

Which I'm sure they will)

Yep, apparently both of us got sg Dorkings from McMurray's June 3rd hatch, and both ended up with crooked toes... :/

 

[Mickey Lou 04]

Has anybody else that has ordered there had the same issue?

 

[ki4got]

Has anybody else that has ordered there had the same issue?

I have several dorkings that came from mcmurray, but I didn't get them until adults, so can't say. but the adults I've got are all very nice...

 

[neopolitancrazy]

Has anybody else that has ordered there had the same issue?

I have 30 three-week-old Dorkings from McMurray on my screened-in-porch, none have crooked or curled toes. Last year I ordered 25 black and dark grey Dorkings from Sandhill and had 2 with curled toes in the delivery box, and 1-2 more developed crooked/curled toes after moving to the barn at 3 weeks of age.
Angela

 

[cukooformarans]

There was recently a discussion on the heritage large fowl thread about leg spacing. I have not paid much attention to this in the past, but made note of it this morning on my red dorkings which are about 2.5 months old. I noticed that some can stand in one position and look terribly knock kneed but the spacing up top is there. They can stand another way and look fine. Can someone post some pictures of correct and incorrect leg spacing on dorkings?? I will try to get some pics in the next couple of days for you guys to look at, too. It was too dusky this morning to get good pics. It looked like all of the cockerels' fifth toes overlapped each other. But then again their feet are really really massive for such small birds, so I wondered if this may correct itself when they grow into them??

 

[ki4got]

Quote:

There was recently a discussion on the heritage large fowl thread about leg spacing. I have not paid much attention to this in the past, but made note of it this morning on my red dorkings which are about 2.5 months old. I noticed that some can stand in one position and look terribly knock kneed but the spacing up top is there. They can stand another way and look fine. Can someone post some pictures of correct and incorrect leg spacing on dorkings?? I will try to get some pics in the next couple of days for you guys to look at, too. It was too dusky this morning to get good pics. It looked like all of the cockerels' fifth toes overlapped each other. But then again their feet are really really massive for such small birds, so I wondered if this may correct itself when they grow into them??

I wouldn't worry in chicks, they may look knock kneed right now, but as their body widens, so will their stance.

I found the same thing in horses. foals with perfectly correct legs tended to be more bowlegged as adults while those who were 'in at the knees/hocks' tended to mature much straighter as their body got wider. not always, but most of the time...

here's 'orangey' one of my red hens... she went thru several changes, and at one point I was going to cull her for type, but didn't get around to it and i'm glad now I didn't.

in this pic her hocks just about rubbed together when she walked...


and as a 'mature pullet'... about 5 months old.


looking for a better pic from front shot.

 

[cukooformarans]

Thank you, Ki4got, for your response. I think you must be right. I looked more closely this morning at the pullets that are the same age this morning and their legs look fine. Their feet are nowhere near the size of the cockerels, so the cockerels must be at a clumsy looking stage. also, the 6 month old pullets I have from the same source don't seem to have a problem. Now I just wish they would start laying already! .

 

[ki4got]

Thank you, Ki4got, for your response. I think you must be right. I looked more closely this morning at the pullets that are the same age this morning and their legs look fine. Their feet are nowhere near the size of the cockerels, so the cockerels must be at a clumsy looking stage.

also, the 6 month old pullets I have from the same source don't seem to have a problem. Now I just wish they would start laying already!

.

waiting for pullets to lay is the easy part... it's getting them to KEEP laying that's my issue right now.

not dorkings, but my bantam blrw. she started laying at close to 8 months old, went broody almost immediately. I gave her chicks for a while then sold them all off and she started laying again, so I put her in the breeding pen with her roo. and she went broody again after 6 eggs! this is my ONLY bantam blrw hen... so now i'm trying to break the broody cycle AGAIN.

 

[ki4got]

ok... this has been bugging me for a couple days, so I want to get opinions on it...

I received an email from someone who found my website and was excited to see that I had sg dorkings. straight off the bat says they have some older girls that weren't cared for very well that were just starting to lay again, and "Our roos are show quality, nice white 5 toed legs, red rose combs and waddles" at 16 weeks old... (exact wording/spelling).

so I replied that yes, I had eggs available, had some eggs in the incubator as well but I won't be selling the chicks until they are grown out a bit, so I can see how they develop. I also mentioned that sg's don't have rose comb but singles. and I DO have some 1-2 year old hens that I'd be willing to part with, since I have more than I need at the moment. They've been broody and are moulting currently, but overall have good type and average size for mcmurray sg's. I was honest and did mention that none of the sg's I've seen meet SOP for the size standard, though conformation isn't bad. told him what i'd be willing to take for these girls, since he seemed so desperate to get his hands on some that were laying and in better shape than his current girls (3 years old is NOT old IMO but the way he wrote about them in his initial email, they were ancient).

i'm not actively trying to sell these girls, but I really don't NEED 16 sg dorking hens.

the response I got just hit me wrong, and I don't know if it's me, or what... bold sections are what bother me most...
Quote:
my initial thoughts... who refers to a roo's comb as 'rose colored'? was he implying I was trying to pawn off problem birds? and 'in molt too early'... ??? most of my girls who go broody usually moult as soon as they're done. typically july thru august. some girls hold off till later in the year, but they also probably didn't go broody on me...

i'll stop here and see if anyone else has any thoughts.

 

[bethbug74]

Haha, that guy. Pay him no mind, he obviously doesn't bother to understand his birds or to give them what they need in order to be productive...it's just "their fault" that they "aren't good enough."
People like that tend to treat everyone that way, including humans.
I would be VERY interested in a hen or two of yours. Would you pm me with lineage/specifics/photos, please?