B.Y.C. Dorking Club!

[Rare Feathers Farm]

I'm still looking for white rosecomb...I found some hatching eggs but apparently the PO wasn't very nice with them in shipment (both times I tried) and I got no eggs. Now that person doesn't seem to be selling them anymore and I'm still looking for some more!

 

[Raven81]

here are my new youngins

not sure what sex they are yet

 

[chickenmum]

Wow haven't been on in a while. This thread has grown!
Maybe this weekend I will have time to put up some more pics of my
NEW DORKINGS!!

A few months ago a really well know breeder I know was retiring and gave me her show-quality Dorkings!

I was so excited!
I got them home and they looked like they had gone through a food processor, and had lots of lice because the breeder hadn't had time to check and treat them lately. After some lice treatments and time, they look great.

There are two red cocks two white cocks 6 red hens and 3 white hens. I forgot to take before pictures and i am really kicking myself because they are so pretty now! XD
Raven 81, those are some cute "ugly" teenage chickens! XD Are those little chick-sized legbands? cute!

 

[Inkheart]

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I for one would LOVE to see the pics - this is a breed i am intrigued by - but cannot ever find them! So if you get around to it

 

[Raven81]

Quote:
lol yes they are chick sized legbands.. they have outgrown the bands now. & are not so 'ugly' teenage looking.

they are now about 12 wks old.
dorkings aren't that widespread here in NZ so im rapt to have 2 pullets & 1 roo

 

[hensonly]

I got a batch of Dorkings in September from Sand Hill. I don't really know what to expect as far as growth rates... they are thirteen weeks old. Some of the ones I know are boys seem to be doing ok in terms of size, while some of the pullets seem pretty small to me. They were two short for my order, so they filled in with two white Orps (with my permission), and they sent two extra chicks, which were also white Orps. The orps seem to be two boys and two girls, one of which looks more like a dove than a chicken, so small and slim, not built like an orpington at all...I hope the Dorkings get a little more size, but the website did say they are slower to mature than the average hatchery bird. Whatever that means, in a practical sense!

I plan to keep one roo, as part of my plan is to raise my own next generations - hopefully, the hens will do the work for me! If the Dorkings don't put on some size in the next couple of months, I may be tempted to keep an Orp roo, as they are at present a much stockier, heavier-built bird than the Dorkings! After all, I do want to raise birds with enough meat to eat!

I'll post pics as soon as I take some more (my last ones were at about six weeks), and figure out how to post them.

I've noticed that the black Dorkings are in general much less friendly than the others, very unwilling to be touched. The other colors (colored, rose comb colored, silver grey, light grey, white) are friendlier. I've had a hard time finding pictures of all the colors, so I've been trying to figure out which bird is which color based on written description, and of course the colors are developing and changing as they mature, so I still don't know which color all of them will turn out to be! I thought it would be easier than this.

One or two of the Dorkings have a few feathers on a couple of toes, and some of them have green legs. I don't plan to show them, so does this matter? Should it affect my decision about which roo I keep?

Oh - what age do Dorkings generally begin to lay? I got them this fall, hoping they'd start laying by spring, as my hatchery laying hens have slowed WAY down. They'll be six months old the third week in March...might they start then, or would they wait for a bit longer days??



Any suggestions, ideas, or advice are welcome, welcome, welcome!! Thanks in advance!

 

[Mrs MIA]

6-8 months is what I've seen on the laying. They're a little slower to develop.
There should be NO feathers on the toes, and NO green legs. Dorkings are known for their white skin and clean legs... and that fifth toe!... so I would not keep those for the breeding program.
Would you be able to post some photos (side shots) of the birds you got? I've toyed with ordering some from SH, but haven't yet...

 

[BlackBrookPoultry]

I've posted this elsewhere, but what color is this? It's from Sandhill and was labeled as a black dorking. I ended up with black, birchen and this. It does not have a brown chest.

 

[punky rooster]

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silver-gray

 

[DaveK]

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Joe, This is a great post and should be read by anyone seriously thinking of taking on one of our wonderful old but often neglected breeds. I will say a couple of things about Dorkings as I have some experience with them and love the breed in all it's various variety and both combs. Craig Russell once said that it can be amazing how even third rate stock would respond OVER THE YEARS to plenty of good breeding and selection as strict as present results would allow. And some folks do get very bogged down in minor details before type and size and type and utility and type (you get the picture) are firmly established. It can be hard to figure out, especially from photos, just what is what in Dorkings and what color variety one what like to work with. There are several forms of "red" Dorking complicated by the cocks being a typical red duckwing but the females might be the stippled, partridge bred sort, the English red spangled or even the beautiful "clay" or wheaton hens. And while they may look basically alike these cocks all have different genetics according to what they have as dams and sisters. A "red" cock from the English spangled sort is not a suitable partner for a stippled or clay colored hen under normal circumstances. Coloured are another bear. So much of what is being bred and honestly thought of as coloured is in reality more of a golden duckwing than anything. Pictures on the internet will show some of the confusion that exists. Again more than one legitimate (historically, I'm not talking APA here) hen color exists as well. Craig Russell wrote an excellent article on the coloured Dorking for one of the APA Yearbooks if anyone can get their hands on it. Good, good reading. None of this is meant to be discouraging in the least. As Joe mentions a venture into a somewhat neglected breed is going to involve a commitment in time and work. Patience serves the breeder well. There is good information out there, most notably from Craig Russell himself. If one takes the time to do some homework and establishes contacts with serious breeders the journey down Dorking Lane can be a very interesting and satisfying one. [email protected]