B.Y.C. Dorking Club!

[Yellow House Farm]

Thought everyone would get a kick out of this photo. It's a hatch of White Dorkings and RC Anconas. Check out the little rose combs.

This was a very good hatch; fertility and hatchability are high.

 

[langshan]

Nice looking birds. Where did you send your White Houdans to? Those White Dorkings are looking very nice.


Mike in NC

 

[007medic]

Those lil' chicks make me just all that more frustrated with my incubator right now... Looks like I'm gonna lose an entire hatch and what's weird is they all look like they quit a different times. I've checked temp, humidity, turner and ventilation and the only thing I can come up with is either it's the vents (too few) or it's the eggs. Luckily one of the game hens I keep for brooding got stuck to her nest about the same time so I won't be completely hatch-less (and she'll raise 'em for me too- yay for less work).

Butchered off last falls cockerels today, so fresh freezer campers are squared away. Any one got a sure-fire pin feather picking strategy?

 

[capayvalleychick]

I'm equally frustrated. All 40 eggs from one breeding pen are not fertile, showing no development. Only 9 developing from the second breeding pen. I broke my own no hatchery rule out of desperation, and ordered from McMurray. Only 8 survived the first shipment, all dead in the second. I won't be doing that again.

It was great to see so many breeders in the new directory! Joseph, your chicks and adults are beautiful.

Kim

 

[Yellow House Farm]

Medic, Hmmm....what kind of incubator do you have? What's the birds' diet?

The trick to pin feathers is in the scald, the thumbs, and rapidity.

 

[Yellow House Farm]

Hi Kim! I hope you were in touch with the hatchery. We once had a huge dead-on-arrival mess. I called them instantly, and two weeks later we had a brand new order free of charge.

Thank you for your kind words. We're happy with what's going on.

I'm sorry that you're being so thwarted! How frustrating! I hope the next hatches come better!!

 

[DaveK]

Spring has sprung. Very cool.

Thought everyone would get a kick out of this photo. It's a hatch of White Dorkings and RC Anconas. Check out the little rose combs.

This was a very good hatch; fertility and hatchability are high.

 

[Yellow House Farm]

That's exactly what I say!. When the chicks are in the brooders, and the incubators are full, whatever happens spring is a'comin'. March 1st = 8 inches of snow: in like a lion, out like a lamb!

Spring has sprung. Very cool.

 

[Yellow House Farm]

So, I am finally able to post a photo of a Dorking roaster. This new BYC format makes easier for technology nimrods such as myself.

Notice the full breast that bulges and rounds around the wishbone; the whole breast is convex and not concave. Notice the length of keel that is meated all the way down to the tip. Notice the legs which are thick and well meated. They still have a ways to go, but they're definitely table quality. Ultimately, this is why type and vigor come before color. Which is not to say that color isn't important; it is an integral part of the Standard. However, when color is our focus, i.e. color projects and raising multiple varieties for the sake of colors, it impedes our ability to "build the barn."

 

[ki4got]

So, I am finally able to post a photo of a Dorking roaster. This new BYC format makes easier for technology nimrods such as myself.

Notice the full breast that bulges and rounds around the wishbone; the whole breast is convex and not concave. Notice the length of keel that is meated all the way down to the tip. Notice the legs which are thick and well meated. They still have a ways to go, but they're definitely table quality. Ultimately, this is why type and vigor come before color. Which is not to say that color isn't important; it is an integral part of the Standard. However, when color is our focus, i.e. color projects and raising multiple varieties for the sake of colors, it impedes our ability to "build the barn."

makes me curious what i've got now LOL but nobody's getting culled until they grow out some more so i can assess what we've got.

and as for breeding, type always comes first but color can also be worked on at the same time IMO, if you are careful in your selections.