B.Y.C. Dorking Club!

[ki4got]

Karen, so glad to see that article by Craig Russell out where folks can actually read and make use of it. Is there any way you can post the photo of that "dark" Dorking I sent? Would give some who are still wondering a very good idea of what to look for in a cock bird as long as they remember that he is to be straw and not silver based, visually. I actually hate all this discussion about color as I feel the emphasis should be on TYPE, SIZE and TYPE

which were the original priorities that made the Dorking what it once was. However, wiith so much interest in certain colors I feel we should all be operating with some sort of knowledge base and not just flying by the seat of out pants or forming ideas based on birds posted and incorrectly labeled. It would be great if some jaw dropping birds were being produced that could then be further refined as to color requirements.

 

[DaveK]

Hey There, the "DarkMan" cometh to BYC. And he looks great. Thanks Karen. Kind of hate to lift a photo from a book but this lets so many others see him. As I have experienced and understand the color my own answer to your question is basically yes. I wonder how the striping is passed along and/or lost. Not sure it's part of the melanizing factors but I don't know. Still more mystery.

 

[Yellow House Farm]

Well, I finally got to weighing this pair. The pullet weighs 5 3/4lbs, which is 1/4lb below standard weight. The cockerel weighs 8lbs on the money, which is precisely standard. His confrere in the neighboring pen leads in the weight category--a cockerel reaching 9 1/4lbs (not pictured). I'm glad of the weights; now it's time to go at type full steam ahead.

 

[Jwhip]

The male has a excellant head.

 

[RedBugPoultry]

Well, I finally got to weighing this pair. The pullet weighs 5 3/4lbs, which is 1/4lb below standard weight. The cockerel weighs 8lbs on the money, which is precisely standard. His confrere in the neighboring pen leads in the weight category--a cockerel reaching 9 1/4lbs (not pictured). I'm glad of the weights; now it's time to go at type full steam ahead.

I love your birds!

 

[007medic]

Reading through and lookin' round. Dave those white Dorkings are about beautiful enough to tempt me away from my colored Dorking dreams...I do think that old pic of the Dorking male exemplifies the body type/shape I'll be shooting for.... Thus far I've yet to see any Dorkings of any variety that have the placement of their legs like that fella does. To illustrate what I'm seeing, draw an imaginary line up and down across that fella's breast, then one across where his vent would be. Next imagine a horizontal line along the line of the back and another along the line of the keel. Do you see that rectangle? Now look at the placement of that fella's legs on his body- if that rectangle you imagined earlier had hash-marks like a football field, his legs would fall somewhere about the 55-60 yard line. Look at the way he's standing and how the placement of the legs affects his balance bringing the breast forward and flattening out the back to just a slight slope and giving it a longer visual line. Look at his shoulders and imagine the heart girth on that bad-boy and look at how consistently broad he appears from the cape and through the saddle almost to the break of the tail. Dave I'm really heartened to hear the pullets and cockerels of your flock are doing so well making size. I don't know squat about rose combs but they sure look elegant on your birds
J

 

[ki4got]

Reading through and lookin' round. Dave those white Dorkings are about beautiful enough to tempt me away from my colored Dorking dreams...I do think that old pic of the Dorking male exemplifies the body type/shape I'll be shooting for.... Thus far I've yet to see any Dorkings of any variety that have the placement of their legs like that fella does. To illustrate what I'm seeing, draw an imaginary line up and down across that fella's breast, then one across where his vent would be. Next imagine a horizontal line along the line of the back and another along the line of the keel. Do you see that rectangle? Now look at the placement of that fella's legs on his body- if that rectangle you imagined earlier had hash-marks like a football field, his legs would fall somewhere about the 55-60 yard line. Look at the way he's standing and how the placement of the legs affects his balance bringing the breast forward and flattening out the back to just a slight slope and giving it a longer visual line. Look at his shoulders and imagine the heart girth on that bad-boy and look at how consistently broad he appears from the cape and through the saddle almost to the break of the tail. Dave I'm really heartened to hear the pullets and cockerels of your flock are doing so well making size. I don't know squat about rose combs but they sure look elegant on your birds
J

I agree the shape of the guy in the old photo isn't what i'm used to seeing with my guys, but color aside, that's almost a mirror image of the whites that YellowHouseFarm has... and I'm wondering if that isn't more along the "historic" body type hasn't evolved over the years to what we have now... I like both, actually, and reading the SOP, i think both fit with how it's described.

 

[DaveK]

Karen, I understand and agree with what 007 is seeing and saying but I'm confused by your last post. Are you saying that your own birds don't mirror the type of "DarkMan" or the YHF whites? Long, broad and deep, fore and aft is what we should be seeing. As was noted by 007 when everything falls into place there isn't the impression of very definite upright carriage either. No shallow or high breasts and none of that business of having everything in front of the legs.

 

[ki4got]

Karen, I understand and agree with what 007 is seeing and saying but I'm confused by your last post. Are you saying that your own birds don't mirror the type of "DarkMan" or the YHF whites? Long, broad and deep, fore and aft is what we should be seeing. As was noted by 007 when everything falls into place there isn't the impression of very definite upright carriage either. No shallow or high breasts and none of that business of having everything in front of the legs.

ok maybe i mis-read that. i thought he was saying the 'darkman' looked too upright, or the leg placement was wrong.

ok re-read it, now i get it... sorry been a long day

my own guys are long and low, hubby calls them 'low riders' LOL. i don't have a good pic of the big guy, except this one, and one of the girls...
and yeah i know he's got bad feet... that's a goal for down the road.

 

[ki4got]

ok i give up... i tried editing to say i misread 007medic's post, but the edit won't show the changes. even tho if i go back to re-edit, it's there. so if you see this twice, ... oh well.

it's been a long day and i'm off to bed. but the chickies are all in their new home (lets hope they continue going back LOL)