B.Y.C. Dorking Club!

[punk-a-doodle]

Thanks all who offered advice a while back. My eggs have gone from infertile to fertile. Most recently, out of a pile of 7 eggs, one chick hatched. Super healthy chick (red dorking) and I hope it will be a hen as I need chicks much more than I need chicken dinners right now. Three other eggs had started developing (veins, hearts) but stopped during the process. One egg was completely clear, one had a crack early on that I missed and had to be pulled from the nest when bacteria started growing, and one got smashed early on by the hen. Hoping to keep improving hatch rate, and want to thank you all again for the help so far!

 

[twotwinsfarm]

Hi!

Does anyone have white SINGLE combed Dorkings? I realize whites are only recognized with a rose comb, so they don't have to be of great quality. Just looking for eggs or started/adult birds that are white and single combed. Thank you!

 

[Sydney Acres]

Hi!

Does anyone have white SINGLE combed Dorkings? I realize whites are only recognized with a rose comb, so they don't have to be of great quality. Just looking for eggs or started/adult birds that are white and single combed. Thank you!

Sandhill Preservation Center keeps their single combed and rose combed white Dorkings together, so you would likely get a mix of both if you ordered from them. Here's a link to their poultry page -- the Dorkings are not in the alphabetical listing, they are in a separate category about 75-80% down the page: http://www.sandhillpreservation.com/catalog/chickens.html

If you do decide to order from them, be sure that you read their ordering policy. This is not a standard hatchery. There is no customer service department, everything must be prepaid, and there is typically a long wait with no updates from the business, which infuriates some people. The quality of bird will not be as good as many private breeders, but they try their best and have many breeds that are very difficult to find anywhere else. It may or may not be too late to get Dorkings this time of year, as winter layers tend to stop laying during the summer. When I order from them, I typically order in September-October for the following year, and include some extra money to account for any price increases that may occur (because their catalog with prices won't be available for the following year at the time that I order). That gets my order in line early, and saves any extra back and forth getting payment to them. They have always refunded me whatever extra I've paid, typically in the fall when they have time to catch up on some bookkeeping. But they have a strict "first paid, first shipped, when/if it's available, we'll refund you at the end of the season if we couldn't fill your order, we're way too busy to answer every inquiry" kind of policy. I'm fine with it -- I appreciate the effort they make to keep rare breeds available, and recognize that it's impossible to improve the quality of your stock when you're working with over 100 different breeds. Only devoted breeders can substantially improve their breeding lines. But at least people can get a start with these birds, and then breed for improvement later.

 

[RoosterLew]

Sandhill Preservation Center keeps their single combed and rose combed white Dorkings together, so you would likely get a mix of both if you ordered from them. Here's a link to their poultry page -- the Dorkings are not in the alphabetical listing, they are in a separate category about 75-80% down the page: http://www.sandhillpreservation.com/catalog/chickens.html

If you do decide to order from them, be sure that you read their ordering policy. This is not a standard hatchery. There is no customer service department, everything must be prepaid, and there is typically a long wait with no updates from the business, which infuriates some people. The quality of bird will not be as good as many private breeders, but they try their best and have many breeds that are very difficult to find anywhere else. It may or may not be too late to get Dorkings this time of year, as winter layers tend to stop laying during the summer. When I order from them, I typically order in September-October for the following year, and include some extra money to account for any price increases that may occur (because their catalog with prices won't be available for the following year at the time that I order). That gets my order in line early, and saves any extra back and forth getting payment to them. They have always refunded me whatever extra I've paid, typically in the fall when they have time to catch up on some bookkeeping. But they have a strict "first paid, first shipped, when/if it's available, we'll refund you at the end of the season if we couldn't fill your order, we're way too busy to answer every inquiry" kind of policy. I'm fine with it -- I appreciate the effort they make to keep rare breeds available, and recognize that it's impossible to improve the quality of your stock when you're working with over 100 different breeds. Only devoted breeders can substantially improve their breeding lines. But at least people can get a start with these birds, and then breed for improvement later.

Great Post!!

In todays "Get it now" society too many people expect everyone to deliver everything right now.
Sandhill is doing what they can do, and it helps!
From the Home Page of their web-site:
"We are genetic preservationists that are in this for the genetic diversity of this planet we all call home."

"If you are impatient and absolutely have to have something by a certain date, please do us and yourself a favor and order from somewhere else."

Personally, I applaud them for what they are doing.

 

[TRUE5]

Hello Dorking thread! I have a question for you all. I googled the Silver Grey Dorking SOP and got nothing. I was hoping someone could tell me what I need to look for as for picking out a pullet (I have 4 to choose from for my Daughter's 4-H that are 3mo old). I would greatly appreciate it!

 

[ronott1]

Hello Dorking thread! I have a question for you all. I googled the Silver Grey Dorking SOP and got nothing. I was hoping someone could tell me what I need to look for as for picking out a pullet (I have 4 to choose from for my Daughter's 4-H that are 3mo old). I would greatly appreciate it!

Web sites are not allowed to put the SOP online.

Someone on here likely has it though. Does your 4-H poultry leader have an SOP that you could borrow?

 

[Sydney Acres]

Quote:
The Dorking Breeder's Club has the SOP posted on their website: http://dorkingbreedersclub.webs.com/

 

[countrygoddess]

Due to fertility issues, I was forced to bring new blood into my Silver Grey flock. Last year I spoke with a gentleman from a hatchery in upstate NY who very proudly proclaimed that his SG's are "very near standard". I was so excited to get my babies this spring and drove 12 hours there and back to pick them up.

Now I'm feeling disappointed because it seems like so few of them are breedable. Clearly, they are further from standard than even my MMcM birds. I only got 13 and now I know I should have gotten more because I think I'm down to two okay cockerels and maybe 3 or 4 pullets. Not only do almost all of them have bad toes (very webbed 4th and 5th toes, duck toes, knobs where a 6th toe started) but they also have questionable coloring.

Here's my question: are incorrect breast colors on pullets shed during the first moult (when is that, around 6 months?)? And if not, is incorrect color an easy thing to fix if the pullet is put with a correctly colored male?

I have pictures so let me show you what I mean. The first picture is of a girl with a great salmon color to her breast, but her head is very dark. Breedable?

 

[ki4got]

Due to fertility issues, I was forced to bring new blood into my Silver Grey flock. Last year I spoke with a gentleman from a hatchery in upstate NY who very proudly proclaimed that his SG's are "very near standard". I was so excited to get my babies this spring and drove 12 hours there and back to pick them up.

Now I'm feeling disappointed because it seems like so few of them are breedable. Clearly, they are further from standard than even my MMcM birds. I only got 13 and now I know I should have gotten more because I think I'm down to two okay cockerels and maybe 3 or 4 pullets. Not only do almost all of them have bad toes (very webbed 4th and 5th toes, duck toes, knobs where a 6th toe started) but they also have questionable coloring.

Here's my question: are incorrect breast colors on pullets shed during the first moult (when is that, around 6 months?)? And if not, is incorrect color an easy thing to fix if the pullet is put with a correctly colored male?

I have pictures so let me show you what I mean. The first picture is of a girl with a great salmon color to her breast, but her head is very dark. Breedable?

they all look like the sg's I got from sandhill a couple years ago. I ended up culling the whole lot of them. that dark head will pass along about half the time. the majority of the ones I had were so far off type, the only one I have left from that group is my dark girl (silver base colored)

 

[countrygoddess]

*sigh* Great. #backtothedrawingboard