B.Y.C. Dorking Club!

[CFellows]

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.

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

Thank you both so much for your input. This really helps. It is so nice to have you all here when I have questions. I'm sure ther will be many more to come

 

[ki4got]

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.

basically what I said works out well too, with the same results... hatch everything you can, keep the biggest, which will usually be the ones with more vigor, better health and fertility.

the "reduced health an vigor, reduced activity levels, stunted growth" will end up as culls most likely anyways.

with my group, free ranging from as soon as possible until they're ready for a breeding pen, I notice the weaker ones end up disappearing more often than the others. nature takes it's toll too.

 

[ronott1]

SG Dorking eggs at day 7





It's Alive!

 

[dixieflyer]

Well, on a different note, here are our "teenagers", 3 weeks old this last Saturday.

The big group shot is during a "meal worm frenzy", LOL!

Warren

 

[Alaskan]

The only breeder of rosé comb colored Dorkings that I can find, is Sandhill.

Are there any others?

I want some Dorkings next spring, but I only want the rose comb ones. I could live with a different color, if the Dorkings were of good quality, but I find the colored Dorking are my favorite by far!

Thanks!

 

[BGMatt]

In the US only the White is supposed to have rose comb according to APA standard. Which might explain your difficulties.

Luckily probably the best Whites in the country are bred by BYC member YellowHouseFarm. Who I'm sure will check in here soon enough.

 

[Alaskan]

Thanks for the info........

That would explain things.....why I haven't found them.

There is a very pretty rose comb rooster at the top of the page on
Chickenbreedslist.com/Dorking

I wonder where he came from, because I would be happy to own him.

Actually...on the Dorking Club page
Www.poultryclub.org/dorkingclub
They say "the Dark is much darker than the Silver Grey and can have either a single or rose comb". It goes on to say that the White and Cuckoo have the rose comb.

On this site
Www.raising-chickens.org/dorking-chickens
They say that the Colored, Cuckoo, Red, and white all come in both single and rose. Also, that the Silver Gray comes only in single. So, I guess this page isn't thinking about standards, just what you might come across.

 

[BGMatt]

Bingo. I've seen them. Think there's even a lady in WA that might have one, but the majority of the time people aren't going to be breeding a rare breed in a rare color and not be shooting for standard.

 

[SoCal Dorkings]

The only breeder of rosé comb colored Dorkings that I can find, is Sandhill.

Are there any others?

I want some Dorkings next spring, but I only want the rose comb ones. I could live with a different color, if the Dorkings were of good quality, but I find the colored Dorking are my favorite by far!

Thanks!

Sandhill recently acquired Ed Hart's RC Colored line, so you might actually end up with some decent birds from them.

 

[Alaskan]

Oh, bother!

I have been thinking that I would like to stop the "mixed flock that I keep replacing about every two years" and go to two, maybe three pure breeds.

I don't actually want to show, but I did want "breeder stock" instead of "hatchery stock" birds. Simply from a quality standpoint. I also like the idea of helping out a breed that is both very old, has great history, and is rare.

BUT, there is no way I am gong to talk myself into those single comb Dorkings. They can have huge combs, and I would freeze them all off. Actually, even the rose comb have very large wattles. I kept looking at them wondering if they would freeze easily. I haven't had any trouble with breeds with smaller combs, but when I tried larger combed breeds, the combs did freeze.

I simply don't find the white Dorking as pretty.

Maybe this means I need to pick a different breed. Phewy. Nothing else has such a great history.

Thanks very much for your help.