B.Y.C. Dorking Club!

[capayvalleychick]

I finished a small hatch for capayvalleychick yesterday.

Thanks for the video! All of them have such dark head markings, they look like pullets. But, in the previous hatch, there were also some with the same dark markings & eyeliner. I need to take a picture because one is getting salmon breast feathers and the other has black chest feathers. So, the dark marking does not guarantee a pullet.

A couple of these, newly hatched chicks, have perfect toe placement. An improvement over their mama hen, so I was glad to see it.

 

[ellieseggyeggs]

Hi,
I have a (first time mum) broody Dorking hen which has been sitting on eggs for the full 21 days. The first chick hatched earlier today, but my broody doesnt seem to have any maternal instincts. If the chick pops her head out from beneath the hen, mum pecks at it ( and this hurts as i have found out to my peril when checking on the eggs) Would i be best to remove the chicks and put them under a heat lamp as they hatch or give mum more time to adjust????
When i have taken mum off the eggs today she just sits next to the nest and makes no attempt to go back on them until i lift her on- the chick has made its own way under mum.
Many thanks

 

[ellieseggyeggs]

Hi,
I have a (first time mum) broody Dorking hen which has been sitting on eggs for the full 21 days. The first chick hatched earlier today, but my broody doesnt seem to have any maternal instincts. If the chick pops her head out from beneath the hen, mum pecks at it ( and this hurts as i have found out to my peril when checking on the eggs) Would i be best to remove the chicks and put them under a heat lamp as they hatch or give mum more time to adjust????
When i have taken mum off the eggs today she just sits next to the nest and makes no attempt to go back on them until i lift her on- the chick has made its own way under mum.
Many thanks

 

[Alaskan]

Hi,
I have a (first time mum) broody Dorking hen which has been sitting on eggs for the full 21 days. The first chick hatched earlier today, but my broody doesnt seem to have any maternal instincts. If the chick pops her head out from beneath the hen, mum pecks at it ( and this hurts as i have found out to my peril when checking on the eggs) Would i be best to remove the chicks and put them under a heat lamp as they hatch or give mum more time to adjust????
When i have taken mum off the eggs today she just sits next to the nest and makes no attempt to go back on them until i lift her on- the chick has made its own way under mum.
Many thanks

That doesn't sound very good. I would take the chicks out as they hatch.

My broody never pecked at her chicks.

 

[ellieseggyeggs]

Thanks. Will set up the brooder now.

 

[Sazbaby]

honestly, I think you have more pullets than cockerels... or maybe a 4/4 split, but i'm leaning more towards pullets for the top pic, and maybe one pullet in the bottom one.

then again I use strictly the head markings, not the eyes.

Thanks for the input, more pullets would be better... except I was hoping for a number of boys to pick the best from! lol Couple more weeks and my curiosity will be satisfied...

 

[CFellows]

Could someone please post the american poultry standard of perfection for silver gray dorkings, or at least some key points? I need to make some more room in my grow out pen, so my first batch of dorkings are going to the freezer this weekend. I just want to make sure I'm keeping the right ones for breeding.

 

[ki4got]

Could someone please post the american poultry standard of perfection for silver gray dorkings, or at least some key points? I need to make some more room in my grow out pen, so my first batch of dorkings are going to the freezer this weekend. I just want to make sure I'm keeping the right ones for breeding.

first, I would ask how old are the birds you're culling? if they're under 6 months old, you'd be doing a disservice to cull anything but obvious culls at this point... ie too upright of a stance, wry tail, missing toes, side sprigs on a comb, any leg color but white/pink, etc.

if you go to the dorking breeders club website, the basic description is given there.

under 6 months old though, choosing the largest bird may not be the one that attains the most growth, simply the one that grew fastest. and as a slow growing breed, you don't want to pick the fastest growth, as they're just as likely to peak before the slow grower is done.

6 months would probably be my earliest pick for potential breeders, but ideally waiting until at least a year to evaluate overall size and type.

 

[ronott1]

Could someone please post the american poultry standard of perfection for silver gray dorkings, or at least some key points? I need to make some more room in my grow out pen, so my first batch of dorkings are going to the freezer this weekend. I just want to make sure I'm keeping the right ones for breeding.

We get in trouble for doing that. The APA needs the money and the SOP is one of the few ways they make money.

 

[CFellows]

first, I would ask how old are the birds you're culling? if they're under 6 months old, you'd be doing a disservice to cull anything but obvious culls at this point... ie too upright of a stance, wry tail, missing toes, side sprigs on a comb, any leg color but white/pink, etc.

if you go to the dorking breeders club website, the basic description is given there.

under 6 months old though, choosing the largest bird may not be the one that attains the most growth, simply the one that grew fastest. and as a slow growing breed, you don't want to pick the fastest growth, as they're just as likely to peak before the slow grower is done.

6 months would probably be my earliest pick for potential breeders, but ideally waiting until at least a year to evaluate overall size and type.

They are only four months. I know this is a little young, but my main goal in acquiring the Dorking breed was to fill our freezer and we are running out of room. I guess I can put up a temporary pen, but I was hopping I could get out of that. What is the best age to butcher?

Thanks for you help. I will see if I can rearrange some birds and keep the Dorks a bit longer. That will give me time to purchase the APA SOP

We get in trouble for doing that. The APA needs the money and the SOP is one of the few ways they make money.

I did not know that, I am soo sorry! I was not trying to get anyone in trouble. I just figured if I am going to keep a few hens and a back up rooster this year I better have some idea as to what I am looking for.