B.Y.C. Dorking Club!

[sueblack]

Scott,

Thanks for posting that information. I never knew it was possible to sex them that early. Very useful!

 

[greenhorn]

the question is now, what to do with the next almost 90 eggs from the free rangers.

I don't keep offspring from matings that I have no clue as to the parentage. Those sound like breakfast eggs to me.

 

[Sydney Acres]

I don't keep offspring from matings that I have no clue as to the parentage. Those sound like breakfast eggs to me.

I have to agree. Unless you just want lots of birds of whatever breed or mix, then only hatch the ones that are from your breeding pens from known parents. Alternatively, if you only want to hatch out one breed, you can allow them all to free range but get rid of all roosters except those of breeding quality from your chosen breed. Then you know who the sire is for all the eggs, or at least one of several similar sires. Then monitor your hens carefully and only collect the eggs from specific hens that are breeding quality. (If you don't have the time to monitor them, you can put video cameras near the nests and replay the recording every night to tell which hen used which nest. Or you can install trap nests - but free range hens don't tend to use those reliably.)

There's no easy answer. You either have to aggressively cull, or cage your birds to prevent undesired breeding, or accept eggs from parents that don't really promote the breed. All less-than-ideal for those of us that like to free range and don't mind feeding the extra (not breeding quality) birds, or have multiple breeds.

 

[ki4got]

Quote: actually, i've got about 30 hatched/hatching, plus 20 from the last batch... MOST are pure dorking. the mutts are easy to tell.

if it's wyandotte cross, it's got a rose comb. ee's are fuzz-faced, orps are buff. pure wyandotte has 4 toes and a rose comb. the rest are dorking. so far of the 20 i've taken out of the hatcher, only 4 are buff, 3 have rose comb. i know that 6 or 7 are ee's just because of the blue eggs they came from.

i've got 4 dorking roos, 1 wyandotte 1 ee, over 14 dorking hens, 2 wyandotte and 2 orps... and the bantams are all cochin, so they'd be fuzzy footed too.

oh. and i've already got a waiting list for my dork/ee crosses (nice colorful utility bird that makes a decent dinner too), my 'wyandorks' are the first ones out the door so far, and the 'dorkingtons' are turning out quite colorful too, and should find good homes as dual purpose whatevers. (eggs/meat like the wyandorks)... i don't know. dorkingdotte or wyandork? lol

 

[SoCal Dorkings]

actually, i've got about 30 hatched/hatching, plus 20 from the last batch...  MOST are pure dorking. the mutts are easy to tell.

if it's wyandotte cross, it's got a rose comb. ee's are fuzz-faced, orps are buff.  pure wyandotte has 4 toes and a rose comb. the rest are dorking.  so far of the 20 i've taken out of the hatcher, only 4 are buff, 3 have rose comb. i know that 6 or 7 are ee's just because of the blue eggs they came from.

i've got 4 dorking roos, 1 wyandotte 1 ee, over 14 dorking hens, 2 wyandotte and 2 orps...  and the bantams are all cochin, so they'd be fuzzy footed too.

oh. and i've already got a waiting list for my dork/ee crosses (nice colorful utility bird that makes a decent dinner too), my 'wyandorks' are the first ones out the door so far, and the 'dorkingtons' are turning out quite colorful too, and should find good homes as dual purpose whatevers. (eggs/meat like the wyandorks)...  i don't know. dorkingdotte or wyandork? lol

Lol! I have a "Dorky Egger" from year before last year's incubator testing. Great hen, smart, hardy, good tempered bird that lays a big green egg.

Like you, I don't have any breeds that one could confuse any mixed offspring as being pure Dorking, but I've dumbed it down even further The only non Dorking Roo on the place is a bantam Ameraucana that was supposed to be a pullet, and he free ranges with the breakfast club ladies. All of my non Dorking hens lay different colored eggs which helps keep life very simple.

 

[Kilsharion]

actually, i've got about 30 hatched/hatching, plus 20 from the last batch... MOST are pure dorking. the mutts are easy to tell.

if it's wyandotte cross, it's got a rose comb. ee's are fuzz-faced, orps are buff. pure wyandotte has 4 toes and a rose comb. the rest are dorking. so far of the 20 i've taken out of the hatcher, only 4 are buff, 3 have rose comb. i know that 6 or 7 are ee's just because of the blue eggs they came from.

i've got 4 dorking roos, 1 wyandotte 1 ee, over 14 dorking hens, 2 wyandotte and 2 orps... and the bantams are all cochin, so they'd be fuzzy footed too.

oh. and i've already got a waiting list for my dork/ee crosses (nice colorful utility bird that makes a decent dinner too), my 'wyandorks' are the first ones out the door so far, and the 'dorkingtons' are turning out quite colorful too, and should find good homes as dual purpose whatevers. (eggs/meat like the wyandorks)... i don't know. dorkingdotte or wyandork? lol

Wyandork....I like that.

The potential of having an "oops" and getting a dorking marans mix had me laughing and saying I'd call them Dorans (doh-rahns).

 

[pysankigirl]

Dorkings were used in creating many of the more modern breeds. Crossing them back probably makes really nice birds for a home flock. what are you getting for the x-bred chicks if I may ask?
I have a Dorkingvelder I need to get rid of

nice bird. but we all have limited space.

My husband is FREAKING OUT at how many chicks I have right now. LOL I see some chicken swaps in my future. but I don't know how to choose what to get rid of yet!
the teenaged ones are eating quite a bit, so I do understand, but until they grow out, I cant get rid of them.

 

[Yellow House Farm]

Hmmm.....The difficulty with all of this is that, in virtue of this thread, none of this is indicative of strong Dorking breeding programs, or of strong breeding programs in general.

There are a lot of folks hatching chicks, but relatively few strong breeders that predictably put out outstanding stock. Without exception, one finds that persistently good breeders exercise high levels of discipline in pairings, record keeping, multiple breedings, and specialization in a very limited number of breeds.

Here's a great tool: Dr. W. C. Carefoot's work Creative Poultry Breeding, which can be procured from the British private bookseller, Veronica Mayhew, at [email protected]. The cost is just over $50.00, which includes shipping from Britain.

The spreading around of mongrels just makes mongrels the practice of folks who aren't thereby beginning with good stock. If folks come to your place and walk away with mutts, they're getting common refuse. What does that serve and how does it benefit them?

Hatching Dorking eggs does not make one a Dorking breeder. You can hatch random Dorking eggs for 50 years and still not be a breeder of Dorkings. Pairings need to take place that balance specific strengths with specific weaknesses in order to bring stock forward along specific lines. It is hatching the maximum feasible number of chicks from the minimum best stock available, e.g. from over 150 Dorkings last year, we are currently breeding from 9. All need to be toe-punched, paired, balanced, weighed, inspected for colors, and, for those breeding reds and sg's, they have to be paired for strengths in color that will lead to a strong inheritance.

The current state of Dorkings is such that exceedingly few--perhaps a few dozen birds nationally-- are of anything close to good quality. The only way that that will improve is through disciplined breeding practices; otherwise, existing stock will simply continue to deteriorate in quality until the Dorking resembles the Houdans, Crevecoeurs, and La Fleche one sees today, which are mere remnants of former glory. Ask any of the top judges and they will tell you that they haven't seen a good Dorking in over 30 years.

Free-ranging is great most of the year, but it is in no way part of the breeding season--at all, save, perhaps, the rotating of singular pens that have run of the yard on any given day with absolutely no possibility of cross-contamination.

 

[ki4got]

Dorkings were used in creating many of the more modern breeds. Crossing them back probably makes really nice birds for a home flock. what are you getting for the x-bred chicks if I may ask?
I have a Dorkingvelder I need to get rid of

nice bird. but we all have limited space.

My husband is FREAKING OUT at how many chicks I have right now. LOL I see some chicken swaps in my future. but I don't know how to choose what to get rid of yet!
the teenaged ones are eating quite a bit, so I do understand, but until they grow out, I cant get rid of them.

i sell all my chicks for $5 each. but the pure dorks stick around longer than the mutts, just so i can see how they develop.

 

[ki4got]

If folks come to your place and walk away with mutts, they're getting common refuse. What does that serve and how does it benefit them?

i just typed up a long detailed message, justifying what i'm doing, but you know what? i don't NEED to justify myself to you or anyone else.

my dorkings are mine and i love having them around. yes i want to improve the breed, but that will have to wait until my breeding pens are done.

until then, i sell mutt chicks (keeping the pure) to people who want birds that will either lay eggs or can be eaten if they crow. and that in itself is paying for the materials and feed to keep these precious dorkings around...