B.Y.C. Dorking Club!

[dalalune]

FYI for any folks who do not frequent the Facebook scene. Jimmy Dean Parker, president of a now struggling national Dorking Breeders Club has made this request on Facebook:

“Great afternoon fellow Dorking enthusiasts! I have finally finished school and am catching up on chicken stuff. I need to get the Dorking club back on its feet. It’s been almost a year so I'm looking for volunteer officers to get rolling. Officers direct the club and write articles for the newsletters. Let get this ball rolling again!! Feel free to PM me.”

… you can contact Jimmy via ‘Dorking Club USA’ on Facebook.

I never joined this club but did have a little contact with Jimmy in the past. Restoring a faltering national breed club can be a monumental TEAM effort. It will require the work of many folks to help Jimmy with this effort.

Why it is so important to have an active breed club? WOW! In this day and age, a single, unified, well-oiled club can the face and voice of a dying breed (like the Dorking) to the whole world; drawing together many talents & resources to represent and support the breed. Without a national breed club – there is no contact point for other important organizations such as the APA, ABA, ALBC & SPPA to go to. A national club can use its resources to provide advertisement in important poultry venues and promote the breed and its exhibitors by recognizing and even rewarding them in local and national meets.

There is also the issue of internal politics. I do not know the history of this club. I do know that the failure of a lot of clubs is usually not a result of a loss of interest in the subject but a division among the members. I would hope that if this was the case here, that past members would be able to let bygones be bygones and support this effort/breed. I know it can be done because I have seen and been a part in the restoration of another national breed club after an alarming decline in its activity. It required the work of folks who were dedicated and DRIVEN to make the club work. The camaraderie has been contagious and the Dominique breed is now experiencing a renewed fan-base. It has been AWESOME to see how this has worked!

Personally, I will be in touch with Jimmy to find out what I can do to help with this effort. PLEASE, if you love the Dorking breed and have LOTS of energy to put into this effort, drop Jimmy a note and see what you can do too.

Thanks! Julie

 

[Kilsharion]

FYI for any folks who do not frequent the Facebook scene. Jimmy Dean Parker, president of a now struggling national Dorking Breeders Club has made this request on Facebook:

“Great afternoon fellow Dorking enthusiasts! I have finally finished school and am catching up on chicken stuff. I need to get the Dorking club back on its feet. It’s been almost a year so I'm looking for volunteer officers to get rolling. Officers direct the club and write articles for the newsletters. Let get this ball rolling again!! Feel free to PM me.”

… you can contact Jimmy via ‘Dorking Club USA’ on Facebook.

I never joined this club but did have a little contact with Jimmy in the past. Restoring a faltering national breed club can be a monumental TEAM effort. It will require the work of many folks to help Jimmy with this effort.

Why it is so important to have an active breed club? WOW! In this day and age, a single, unified, well-oiled club can the face and voice of a dying breed (like the Dorking) to the whole world; drawing together many talents & resources to represent and support the breed. Without a national breed club – there is no contact point for other important organizations such as the APA, ABA, ALBC & SPPA to go to. A national club can use its resources to provide advertisement in important poultry venues and promote the breed and its exhibitors by recognizing and even rewarding them in local and national meets.

There is also the issue of internal politics. I do not know the history of this club. I do know that the failure of a lot of clubs is usually not a result of a loss of interest in the subject but a division among the members. I would hope that if this was the case here, that past members would be able to let bygones be bygones and support this effort/breed. I know it can be done because I have seen and been a part in the restoration of another national breed club after an alarming decline in its activity. It required the work of folks who were dedicated and DRIVEN to make the club work. The camaraderie has been contagious and the Dominique breed is now experiencing a renewed fan-base. It has been AWESOME to see how this has worked!

Personally, I will be in touch with Jimmy to find out what I can do to help with this effort. PLEASE, if you love the Dorking breed and have LOTS of energy to put into this effort, drop Jimmy a note and see what you can do too.

Thanks! Julie

Sweet - I paid my membership, jeez.....back in Feb(?)...he responded about three weeks later and told me he got it; but, then nothing. I'm very glad to see that things may get rolling to get the breeder's club back up and running again.

With him out of school, now, maybe communications won't be so sparse/difficult.

 

[CFellows]

This is my first year working with Dorkings. I have been hatching some of my eggs to grow my flock. In doing so I have found that the dorking eggs are taking an extra day to hatch. They are not piping until day 22 and do not usually make it out of the shell until day 23. At first I thought it was just a temp issue, but all the other breeds have been hatching right on time. Is this normal for Dorkings, Or is it just the line of birds I have?

 

[SoCal Dorkings]

[SIZE=12pt][COLOR=333333]FYI for any folks who do not frequent the Facebook scene.  Jimmy Dean Parker, president of a now struggling national Dorking Breeders Club has made this request on Facebook:[/COLOR][/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt][COLOR=333333]“Great afternoon fellow Dorking enthusiasts! I have finally finished school and am catching up on chicken stuff. I need to get the Dorking club back on its feet. It’s been almost a year so I'm looking for volunteer officers to get rolling. Officers direct the club and write articles for the newsletters. Let get this ball rolling again!! Feel free to PM me.”[/COLOR][/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt][COLOR=333333]… you can contact Jimmy via ‘Dorking Club USA’ on Facebook.[/COLOR][/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt][COLOR=333333]I never joined this club but did have a little contact with Jimmy in the past.  Restoring a faltering national breed club can be a monumental TEAM effort.  It will require the work of many folks to help Jimmy with this effort.[/COLOR][/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt][COLOR=333333][SIZE=12pt][COLOR=333333]Why it is so important to have an active breed club?  WOW!  In this day and age, a single, unified, well-oiled club can the face and voice of a dying breed (like the Dorking) to the whole world; drawing together many talents & resources to represent and support the breed.  Without a national breed club – there is no contact point for other important organizations such as the APA, ABA, ALBC & SPPA to go to.  A national club can use its resources to provide advertisement in important poultry venues and promote the breed and its exhibitors by recognizing and even rewarding them in local and national meets.  [/COLOR][/SIZE][/COLOR][/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt][COLOR=333333]There is also the issue of internal politics.  I do not know the history of this club.  I do know that the failure of a lot of clubs is usually not a result of a loss of interest in the subject but a division among the members.  I would hope that if this was the case here, that past members would be able to let bygones be bygones and support this effort/breed.  I know it can be done because I have seen and been a part in the restoration of another national breed club after an alarming decline in its activity.  It required the work of folks who were dedicated and DRIVEN to make the club work. The camaraderie has been contagious and the Dominique breed is now experiencing a renewed fan-base.  It has been AWESOME to see how this has worked![/COLOR][/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt][COLOR=333333]Personally, I will be in touch with Jimmy to find out what I can do to help with this effort.  PLEASE, if you love the Dorking breed and have LOTS of energy to put into this effort, drop Jimmy a note and see what you can do too.  :yiipchick [/COLOR][/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt][COLOR=333333]Thanks!  Julie[/COLOR][/SIZE]

Well said dalalune. We may not yet be seeing the full benefit of membership yet, but I am very appreciative of Jim Parker's efforts on behalf of the breed, and I will continue to pay my dues willingly, encourage others to join, and look forward to watching it grow and flourish.

 

[greenhorn]

This is my first year working with Dorkings. I have been hatching some of my eggs to grow my flock. In doing so I have found that the dorking eggs are taking an extra day to hatch. They are not piping until day 22 and do not usually make it out of the shell until day 23. At first I thought it was just a temp issue, but all the other breeds have been hatching right on time. Is this normal for Dorkings, Or is it just the line of birds I have?

My black Dorkings are usually right on time but it seems most of the whites have been taking an extra day but not all of them....

 

[ki4got]

Quote: some of them take a bit extra some don't, seems to be regardless of color for me. red, silver grey or colored.

 

[CFellows]

some of them take a bit extra some don't, seems to be regardless of color for me. red, silver grey or colored.

Is this something I can fix, if so how? If I start only saving the first few to hatch, will it get better over time? Or should I just not worry about it?

 

[Sydney Acres]

Is this something I can fix, if so how? If I start only saving the first few to hatch, will it get better over time? Or should I just not worry about it?

I would think that if you were consistent with your selections, then you could develop your line to hatch in 21 days instead of 22 or 23.

But the real question is should you do that? Realistically, culling can select for anything, but it cannot select for everything at once. If you had a common breed of chicken (i.e. RIR) that is already commonly bred to the SOP, and you had a line with prolonged incubation, then selecting to correct that one trait wouldn't "cost" anything because the breed is already up to the SOP and readily available at that level. On the other hand, Dorkings are rare, and even the best ones are still not quite to the Standard. So if you select for something like incubation time, then you might eliminate from your breeding program a longer-incubated bird with excellent conformation or size or temperament or vigor or egg production or meat tenderness or leg length or etc,etc,etc, -- all of which contribute more towards reaching the goal of breeding a Dorking that finally meets the SOP in every way.

So can you reduce your incubation time, yes. But unless it's adversely affecting the chicks in some way (i.e., reduced survival, poor vigor, need for assistance at hatch, etc), then I wouldn't think it would be worth the "cost" your line would pay in lost opportunity to select the best overall birds from among ALL your chicks, not just the 21 dayers.

 

[ki4got]

Quote: i'm not sure it's something 'fixable'... just hatch everything you can and keep the best for breeding.

 

[BGMatt]

I would think that if you were consistent with your selections, then you could develop your line to hatch in 21 days instead of 22 or 23.

But the real question is should you do that?  Realistically, culling can select for anything, but it cannot select for everything at once.  If you had a common breed of chicken (i.e. RIR) that is already commonly bred to the SOP, and you had a line with prolonged incubation, then selecting to correct that one trait wouldn't "cost" anything because the breed is already up to the SOP and readily available at that level.  On the other hand, Dorkings are rare, and even the best ones are still not quite to the Standard.  So if you select for something like incubation time, then you might eliminate from your breeding program a longer-incubated bird with excellent conformation or size or temperament or vigor or egg production or meat tenderness or leg length or etc,etc,etc, -- all of which contribute more towards reaching the goal of breeding a Dorking that finally meets the SOP in every way.

So can you reduce your incubation time, yes.  But unless it's adversely affecting the chicks in some way (i.e., reduced survival, poor vigor, need for assistance at hatch, etc), then I wouldn't think it would be worth the "cost" your line would pay in lost opportunity to select the best overall birds from among ALL your chicks, not just the 21 dayers.

On the contrary, late hatch is a sign of poor health and vigor. Track your chicks that hatch late. You will notice reduced health an vigor, reduced activity levels, stunted growth, poor fertility as adults and other problems. Dorkings are still a chicken, they should hatch at 21 days. If they don't there is a reason, and once you eliminate human error (too low temp) you are doing a disservice by allowing weaker genes to infiltrate your breeding program.