I got a batch of Dorkings in September from Sand Hill. I don't really know what to expect as far as growth rates... they are thirteen weeks old. Some of the ones I know are boys seem to be doing ok in terms of size, while some of the pullets seem pretty small to me. They were two short for my order, so they filled in with two white Orps (with my permission), and they sent two extra chicks, which were also white Orps. The orps seem to be two boys and two girls, one of which looks more like a dove than a chicken, so small and slim, not built like an orpington at all...I hope the Dorkings get a little more size, but the website did say they are slower to mature than the average hatchery bird. Whatever that means, in a practical sense!
I plan to keep one roo, as part of my plan is to raise my own next generations - hopefully, the hens will do the work for me! If the Dorkings don't put on some size in the next couple of months, I may be tempted to keep an Orp roo, as they are at present a much stockier, heavier-built bird than the Dorkings! After all, I do want to raise birds with enough meat to eat!
I'll post pics as soon as I take some more (my last ones were at about six weeks), and figure out how to post them.
I've noticed that the black Dorkings are in general much less friendly than the others, very unwilling to be touched. The other colors (colored, rose comb colored, silver grey, light grey, white) are friendlier. I've had a hard time finding pictures of all the colors, so I've been trying to figure out which bird is which color based on written description, and of course the colors are developing and changing as they mature, so I still don't know which color all of them will turn out to be! I thought it would be easier than this.
One or two of the Dorkings have a few feathers on a couple of toes, and some of them have green legs. I don't plan to show them, so does this matter? Should it affect my decision about which roo I keep?
Oh - what age do Dorkings generally begin to lay? I got them this fall, hoping they'd start laying by spring, as my hatchery laying hens have slowed WAY down. They'll be six months old the third week in March...might they start then, or would they wait for a bit longer days??
Any suggestions, ideas, or advice are welcome, welcome, welcome!! Thanks in advance!
