B.Y.C. Dorking Club!

[DaveK]

This is the best advice I can think of for your situation. Everything Rudy has said here is true, 10,000%. When starting off it's a huge help to have used more than one mating and be able to see what is going on and create your own options for future matings. I understand not liking the described temperament of what I will say to me sounds like the far better (TYPE!!!) rooster but since Dorkings are generally very pleasant what can it hurt to try and see/ You either get a more typical Dorking temperament in at least some offspring or you've got some wonderful eating which after all is usually part of the point. Earlobes, even DQed ones, color and a whole host of things are details that can be attended to to a greater degree when those details are occurring on quality Dorkings. No good having birds that honestly have no faults but at the same time are anything but awesome as far as their virtues. It's only my own mindset and the free advice is maybe worth what you paid but for me faultless mediocrity is a sure road to hell for any breed, especially one that needs more and better breeding. This was supposed to include Rudy's remarks about not culling down to only one cock to breed from and for some reason would not post as a quote. In response to the inquiry about which of the cocks to keep though on second thought I think there was already a first choice? If so can we be curious about why he is THE #1? l

 

[X2Farm]

Quote:
you can do that, but use buttermilk, as its cultured and has some good bacteria stuffs in it. ( I meant adding to raw milk)

I don't think you can jump start the store bought regular milk... but I don't know for sure. I've got an unlimited supply of the raw stuff grazing in the pasture, thankfully. I'll see what I can find out about adding raw milk to store milk, though.

 

[1muttsfan]

Here is a link to a poultry leg band size chart, hope it helps

http://www.cutlersupply.com/cart/index.php?main_page=page&id=5

 

[rtroxel]

Quote:
I will be trying the metal bands this year. I don't like plastic ones. The numbers wear off after a year or two and by then I already know the birds by sight. For another idea, check out this website:

http://www.kuhlcorp.com/cgi-bin/cp-app.cgi?pg=cat&ref=poultry

Look at the hen badges. I have seen them used for research at universities and maybe for show lines would be too small, but I think they would work great for visual ID.

Kuhl also sells trap nests and lots of other great stuff for research/pure breeding

I wish I had an unlimited budget to get everything I wanted...

 

[Schweiger]

Here is a picture of my old Silver grey Dorking

I just hatched out 18 chicks 2 months ago, and just my luck I got 10 pullets and 8 cockerels

. Oh well. dorkings are great birds. I am looking to get some red Dorkings and the colored dorkings as well.

 

[capayvalleychick]

Quote:
I would be happy with those numbers! Several of us have much smaller numbers make it to hatch.

Kim

 

[ki4got]

well, some good news, and a

of the last 11 eggs I set, 6 were fertile, 5 hatched!

so that puts me up to 12 chicks from the trio, plus the unrelated pair who will be going in with the others as soon as they're ready. until then they get to be free range chicklets.

and I sat 7 eggs a week ago, ALL clear... but I think I figured it out. the big guy's been breeding all my bantams in preference for his own girls.

but I should have the coop/pen done to restrict his 'activities' hopefully by this afternoon. so I hope to start hatching here in a few more weeks.

ETA: oh! and my ratio? i've got 7 pullets, 4 cockerels, and 1 who isn't done fuzzing up yet. but

for pullet. (from the big guy and his girls)

one of the cockerels is definetly a cull prospect tho, he's about half the size of his hatchmates. unless i want to start a line of bantams maybe?

 

[capayvalleychick]

I did something without thinking, yesterday.

Forgive my rambling, have to vent after a scare.

Most of my chickens are all out in pasture for the winter, together in the large mobile coop. I have my 2 Dork roos in another coop, near our house. I'm keeping four, 9 week old, Dork pullets in there, also. They were a late hatch from my last broody hen. I'm very happy with their type and have hopes that they continue to mature nicely.

This coop is the only one with power for a heat lamp, so I'm also brooding some (very valuable to me) Delaware chicks in a big stock tank in this coop. I know that I need a lot better set up for breeding birds but I have to make do with what I have at this point.

Everyone is getting along fine with this set up.

I usually open the coop doors during the day, so that the birds can all range and forage. My cats never bother chicks, but I am cat sitting a bird hungry Siamese for a friend. So, I let the Dorks out and close the coop door, to protect the small chicks from the cat. At sunset, I let them back inside for the night.

I work here full time on this ranch, but yesterday I had to leave for the day. I got home a couple hours after dark and remembered that the roos & pullets were locked out of the coop. My husband helped me look for them, outside the coop, in the shrubs & trees, on the deck, around the house. He gave up and said that they were gone. Just like that. They are just chickens to him.

Now, I realize what a stupid mistake I made, but I kept searching. My English Shepherds were left in the dog yard area, since we were going to be gone so long. They were barking at me and I hadn't been paying attention. I opened the gate to let them out. One was sitting in the corner. The other kept running to me, then back to where the other was sitting. It flashed to my mind that they must have a dead chicken. These dogs are fine with the poultry but they have to have all the critters in the proper places. Chickens who have refused to go in the coop at night sometimes have their tail feathers removed as punishment.

I walked over and discovered the 4 pullets, cuddled up next to the dog, all unharmed!

Good dogs! But the roos were still missing.

Lucky always likes to scratch through the horse paddock, so I checked the stall. There in the straw, was a sleeping roo. Unfortunately it wasn't Lucky, so I was still worried about finding my favorite Dorking. I searched for another hour, checked everywhere that I could think of, even crawled under vehicles to check axles for a roosting roo. My husband's a building contractor and has materials in and around the barn. There were so many places a chicken could hide. I discovered that the back of a commercial sized air conditioning unit looks a lot like nest boxes. I found Lucky nestled inside it, looking perturbed at me for disturbing his sleep... or maybe for locking him out of his coop in the first place!

Next time, I'll lock up the cat for the day!

Kim

 

[ki4got]

Quote:
glad you found them all. 8) my cats even look at the baby chicks (mutt bantams) cross eyed and the big guy (my only adult dorking roo) will flat out stomp them. LOL fortunately none of the cats are birders. heck, the dogs catch more mice than the cats do...

right now, everyone except the youngest chicks are outdoors free ranging. I'm still having to help one of the bantam babies 'find' her way home, instead of walking up the ramp she keeps running under it and around the coop again. she's known as 'crow' since she's solid black, black skin beak etc. not a bit of white anywhere. she looks more like a crow than a chicken.

thought one of my dorking hens had gone broody too, but am relieved to say she hasn't. but she did spend one night out under the deck a few days ago. we got home late and just shut the coop for the night. she was sleeping in the cat's house. (doghouse with an old quilt in it under our deck) apparently the cats share well. LOL

 

[Yellow House Farm]

Phew!