B.Y.C. Dorking Club!

[heartsizedfarm]

yep, i would say that its pretty accurate. I really do hope its a rooster, then i can have baby dorkings. Is this breed generally uber sweet or just my chicks. Really loving my little dorkings. 

It's an uber sweet breed, that's the best way to put it!

 

[Sydney Acres]

I ordered one female dorking from MM and i just noticed today i have 2 with 5 toes, but one has a much bigger comb.. dorris and daren??

The darker one is almost certainly a rooster, and the lighter one is almost certainly a hen. They will molt out many times before they get their final color in, so don't worry if its not perfect at this age. Many Dorkings will have one fifth toe that is larger than the other, and some of the males have very large fifth toes. It's only a concern if it's so large that it interferes with walking, or is longer than his spur and at the same angle (he can break his fifth toe while flogging someone, although hopefully he'll be so sweet you'll never see that). Sometimes the fourth toe can be a problem, if it points down at such an angle that it puts too much pressure on the tip while standing. I had one cockerel that I was trying to decide whether or not to cull him. He was a sweet lap chicken, had some nice conformational traits, but was a little small. Then he injured the tip of his fourth toe -- not a serious injury, but despite appropriate medical treatment I couldn't get it healed. Eventually it became infected and painful. The angle was almost straight down, and it pressed into the ground with each step. Eventually that was the deciding factor, as I didn't want to propagate that trait, and I would have had to amputate the toe to make him comfortable.

If you decide to breed over multiple generations you will eventually want to select for things such as size and angles and attachment sites of the forth and fifth toes, but with only one of each gender to select from, at this point you just want to make sure that their feet are functional. If you do continue breeding you'll want to prioritize you selections in the following order. First, be sure everything works well and the bird is vigorous and healthy. Second, remove any birds from your breeding program with any genetically dominant disqualifications (such as side spurs on the comb). Then select for conformation (also called frame, which is the shape of the body), then size (because most Dorkings in the U,S. are quite undersized), then feet and face details (toes, comb, wattles, head width, etc), then color is last on the list. There are numerous breeds that are the same color as the Silver Grey Dorking (which is the basic silver duckwing pattern), but it's the other features that make the breed unique. And while it's not listed as part of the breed requirements, many breeders also select for a good temperament, since that's a part of the breed's reputation than we all want to preserve and enjoy.

Enjoy your Dorkings. They're a wonderful breed.

 

[pysankigirl]

the personality is why I like them so much...

 

[wendychicklawyr]

It's an uber sweet breed, that's the best way to put it!

I want to breed them now ..do they boys not have any salmon on them? Gonna really look todau

 

[Sydney Acres]

Quote:
No, the silver grey males are only black with beautiful contrasting silvery white. Here's a link to the Dorking Breeders Club website, silver grey page: http://dorkingbreedersclub.webs.com/silvergraydorkings.htm. There is a description of what the breed should look like and numerous pictures on that page. If you move around on that website there are also photo galleries of member's birds (some may not be breed standard, but most probably will be for silver-grey color). There are some areas of that page that are restricted to members only, but if you're interested in the breed you should join. It's not a highly active club, but it's still a great resource.

 

[wendychicklawyr]

Yeah there is no salmon on his chest he's a boy

There is quite a bit of salmon on my pullets breast ..trying to
Get a pic but I have them melon so they are playing chick football lol

 

[wendychicklawyr]

The darker one is almost certainly a rooster, and the lighter one is almost certainly a hen.  They will molt out many times before they get their final color in, so don't worry if its not perfect at this age.  Many Dorkings will have one fifth toe that is larger than the other, and some of the males have very large fifth toes.  It's only a concern if it's so large that it interferes with walking, or is longer than his spur and at the same angle (he can break his fifth toe while flogging someone, although hopefully he'll be so sweet you'll never see that).  Sometimes the fourth toe can be a problem, if it points down at such an angle that it puts too much pressure on the tip while standing.  I had one cockerel that I was trying to decide whether or not to cull him.  He was a sweet lap chicken, had some nice conformational traits, but was a little small.  Then he injured the tip of his fourth toe -- not a serious injury, but despite appropriate medical treatment I couldn't get it healed.  Eventually it became infected and painful.  The angle was almost straight down, and it pressed into the ground with each step.  Eventually that was the deciding factor, as I didn't want to propagate that trait, and I would have had to amputate the toe to make him comfortable. 

If you decide to breed over multiple generations you will eventually want to select for things such as size and angles and attachment sites of the forth and fifth toes, but with only one of each gender to select from, at this point you just want to make sure that their feet are functional.  If you do continue breeding you'll want to prioritize you selections in the following order.  First, be sure everything works well and the bird is vigorous and healthy.  Second, remove any birds from your breeding program with any genetically dominant disqualifications (such as side spurs on the comb).  Then select for conformation (also called frame, which is the shape of the body), then size (because most Dorkings in the U,S. are quite undersized), then feet and face details (toes, comb, wattles, head width, etc), then color is last on the list.  There are numerous breeds that are the same color as the Silver Grey Dorking (which is the basic silver duckwing pattern), but it's the other features that make the breed unique.  And while it's not listed as part of the breed requirements, many breeders also select for a good temperament, since that's a part of the breed's reputation than we all want to preserve and enjoy.

Enjoy your Dorkings.  They're a wonderful breed.

Thank u for that, I would love to propagate them since they are rare and their personalities are awesome. What do you think of my babies since you seem to know them well?

 

[wendychicklawyr]

the personality is why I like them so much...

Yeah all I can say is wow they are really sweet. Also what in noticed today since I just noticed I have 2 and one is a boy ( I have 78 babies) is they are always together lol
The boy follows the girl everywhere she goes ...omg soooo cute!!

 

[wendychicklawyr]

No, the silver grey males are only black with beautiful contrasting silvery white.  Here's a link to the Dorking Breeders Club website, silver grey page:  http://dorkingbreedersclub.webs.com/silvergraydorkings.htm.  There is a description of what the breed should look like and numerous pictures on that page.  If you move around on that website there are also photo galleries of member's birds (some may not be breed standard, but most probably will be for silver-grey color).  There are some areas of that page that are restricted to members only, but if you're interested in the breed you should join.  It's not a highly active club, but it's still a great resource.

Someone posted a pic of their dorkings from Mcmurray! that's where mine are from

 

[ki4got]

Quote: silver grey roo. "Big Guy" plus a few others scattered here and there.




silver grey hen "Pinky" on the right, and my colored girl on the left.