B.Y.C. Dorking Club!

[kimberly35042]

Kim, great pictures of your dorkings from February. I waited until the end of April to hatch some of our dorking chicks because it had been so cold up here. I ended up culling the rooster after the hatch because he threw three 4 toed chicks and he was so darn mean to us. I was super excited to get 7 girls and only 3 roosters. We now have a new 8 month old rooster in with the girls and he is such a nice boy we have harmony once again.

Thanks! I thought the silver greys were boring colors till I started seeing these guys against the grass. They are just stunning.
Personally, I like the dark red hens over normal red or the silver grey pullets.

Good for you not putting up with a mean rooster of any breed. My last swedish flower cocks get the crock pot for just that reason. It's amazing how easy life gets when harmony prevails!

 

[budsbirds]

Quote:
Hi Matt: I don't have a ton of recent experience, but I raised birds for 15 years back in the 70's and 80's and have recently gotten back into them. My dorkings are really quite docile, they are Dick Horstman lines. My grow out pens have dorkings, reds, barred rocks and standard cornish within a couple of weesk of age of each other and they do fine. I'm in Hockinson, so it can't be the water! There was a thread on another discussion board not too long ago about someone else with a similar problem, first time for him in 20 years.

 

[BGMatt]

BGMatt, would you mind sharing what someone pm'd you? Are you saying the cochins might have been the problem? Are they also LF?

I had toyed with getting a couple of cochin hens, but I only want the dorkings for the breeding project. 

Sure, was told that young Dorking get bored easily and even if they have plenty of space sometimes pick when confined.

Yes I was saying Cochins could have been problem, they were large fowl but because they feather so much slower (14 weeks and the male still had mostly pin feathers on back and rear, the first time one got bloodied was 10 weeks and it was still bald other than wings/breast/legs) it might have been overly tempting for others birds to pick at, so that combined with that ultra passive attitude all Cochins seem to have could have been more of the issue.

 

[LilyD]

It seems like the McMurray chicks were timid for a while, but treats warmed them up into a swarm of tiny velociraptors in no time. They still didn't care to be handled, and I'm ok without cuddling chickens so we're good.

Now they are several months old and friendly and docile. They run when I call to feed them which is nice when you need to put them somewhere without trying to catch them. All in all, I like them a lot. The cockerals are adolescents now, but not one of the 5 have tried anything that will get them a crockpot before fall.

Mine are getting treats and fermented feed and they will approach the feed when I put it in the dish but absolutely do not want me to pick them up or carry them at all. All my chickens are very people friendly so I guess I am just not used to this. I will have to win them over with better food I guess. If I try and give them treats they huddle and wait until I am gone and then devour them. They really want nothing to do with me. My older ones that I got from a breeder are so friendly I can call to them from any area of the yard and they will come running whether I have treats or not. Even my big ole rooster lol.

I will keep working at it though we'll see where we get.

 

[dixieflyer]

Out of 23 from M-M we ended up with 12 pullets and 11 cockerels from a straight order of 25. They seemed timid at first, but after buying a bag of "Mealworm Frenzy" from TSC we're they're very bestest friends!

Now we can go in the run, much less the coop, and they'll just walk right up in your hand. We have a few who have turned out to be "pets" who just like to hang with you. This is our experience four weeks into this adventure.

Warren

 

[LilyD]

Out of 23 from M-M we ended up with 12 pullets and 11 cockerels from a straight order of 25. They seemed timid at first, but after buying a bag of "Mealworm Frenzy" from TSC we're they're very bestest friends!

Now we can go in the run, much less the coop, and they'll just walk right up in your hand. We have a few who have turned out to be "pets" who just like to hang with you. This is our experience four weeks into this adventure.

Warren

That's what I am hoping for. I want the birds to be loving and trusting not to run when I come in the room lol. Interesting that you got an even mix like that. I think they have trouble telling the girls from the boys. I ordered all boys and have only about 8 boys and the rest are all girls lol. Not that I'm complaining extra girls are always good hehe.

 

[speedy2020]

Out of 23 from M-M we ended up with 12 pullets and 11 cockerels from a straight order of 25. They seemed timid at first, but after buying a bag of "Mealworm Frenzy" from TSC we're they're very bestest friends!

Now we can go in the run, much less the coop, and they'll just walk right up in your hand. We have a few who have turned out to be "pets" who just like to hang with you. This is our experience four weeks into this adventure.

Warren

I may end up doing the same thing like you. My ran away to the far end corner when I open the coop door. I tried with cracked corn twice, but still no success.

 

[dalalune]

It's never fighting. Just picking. They've been bloodied by the other birds chasin into a corner and trying to eat their butts off. So don't think it's a stubborn thing as much as the Cochin looks different. Doesn't have covering. And doesn't fight back. No biggie. Got some good advice pm-ed too. Just a bit surprised but I'm leaning more towards the Cochins being the problem and the Dorkings are just a bit more interested in chicken dinner than other breeds I've raised.

BGMatt - I have had the same issue with my Red Dorkings that I got from Sand Hill a couple years back. Once the feathers start to show up on their backs, necks and behinds, they start to pick to crap out of each other. I have lost so many chicks due to this issue. I too have had chickens for over 20 yrs. and have never run into this kind of issue. I have tried adding roughage in the pen for them to work on (anything...grass clippings, sticks, pine cones, rocks...), red lamps, blu-coat on the picked areas of the victims. They seem to zero in on one at a time. BTW - I also have a line of Dorkings from another breeder and I have not had this issue with them. It seems to definitely be a source issue. If it were not for the fact that these birds have a couple nice features and that it is SOOO hard to get Red Dorking chicks, I would do away with that line. I am hoping to cull it out of this line a bit before I begin to cross them with the other bloodline. It is very frustrating

and disappointing...

 

[PineTopFarm]

Just an observation: I have red and SG chicks which were hatched and shipped on the same day. They share a brooder and are two weeks old today. The reds are literally twice the size of the SGs. It's not an access to food issue as I've seen the SG get their share. I find it curious that the reds grow so much faster.

 

[dalalune]

I totally agree. Temperment is so important. I won't have a breed that is too mean to enjoy.

.... I think this breed, or at least the line I have (2012 Sandhill Reds), needs some meat protein in addition to the plant proteins in standard chicken diets. ...... The problem has not returned, so they either outgrew it, or they're getting enough animal protein outside to make cannibalism unnecessary.

It is interesting that your are also Sand Hill Reds

Yes, the temperament was one of the things that drew me to this breed. Had it not been for the testimonies from you folks on this thread, I would have tossed these guys out a long time ago! Plus I found hope with the second line of Red Dorkings and their more reasonable temperaments. I really like the history of this breed and hope to have a flock of SOP quality birds with the temperament, meat quality and broodiness that I have heard so much about. It just looks like it is going to take a while for this to pan out.

Has anyone here ever successfully culled for better temperament? I was once told that you could not "breed the devil" out of a mean rabbit and to get rid of it ASAP! Is the same true for chickens?