B.Y.C. Dorking Club!

[ki4got]

sorry to hear of the problems with hatching and shipped chicks...

for me, i've got 2 due today (sg) and 7 red, 2 sg, and 2 red/colored due to hatch on the 7th, and 1 more sg on the 8th.

hoping i didn't lose any, my incubator ran cool for a bit yesterday, i checked it, it was 95 deg. for maybe 5-6 hours. but it's back running good again. not sure what happenned either.

and i should get 2 doz or so colored eggs either tomorrow or wed.

my new 'bator is warming up for em. i really need to get my new shelf built so i can put all 3 incubators on it LOL.

 

[Yellow House Farm]

That amount of cooling should have practically no impact at all. Incubating eggs are much more capable of dealing with cooling than overheating. That's nothing. You can lose power for a day--keep your incubator SHUT--and still pull off a respectable hatch. Overheating, though, cooks them quickly.

PS: Cooled eggs often take a little longer to hatch, say the 22nd or 23rd day.

 

[Yellow House Farm]

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.

One most certainly can!!!

Yet it comes down to certain number basics, especially considering the current state of Dorkings. For each hatching season, you're going to get:

1. a high percentage of junk
2. some with good color but poor type
3. some with good type, but poor color,
4. a very few with good type and color--these are those one hopes to keep.

The expected percentage for number 4 is 10%. Last year we raised 150 white Dorkings and kept 13 as breeders--with rare breeds the 10% can be a bit tough. So, when wanting multiple color varieties, one of a few things will happen:

1. You have capacious facilities and time to raise out enough chicks in each variety to be able to cull effectively, which allows you to do multiple colors properly--full steam ahead.
2. You don't have the facilities and time, in which case you end up with sloppy seconds because you're forced to keep as breeders stock you otherwise wouldn't, were you to have a larger pool from which to select. In this case progress is made very slowly, if at all.
3. A random miracle happens.

The scenario for number two happens uber-frequently. One of two things tend to happen:

1. Only as many chicks are hatched as the smaller facilities can maintain, which would be adequate for one variety but cannot house enough in multiple varieties. At the end of the season the breeder has a pen of healthy birds, but the percentage of birds worthy of the breeding pen per variety is miniscule, if there are any at all.
2. One tries to raise out more chicks than one's facility can house properly in which case cannibalism, disease, poor growth rates, and stress lead to a mammoth mess of unhealthy birds, none of which are worthy of the breeding pens and an entire season is wasted.

Ultimately the result of these scenarios tends to be that one becomes disgusted and quits or opts for limitation which leads to eventual success and a deeper enjoyment of the hobby. In the second scenario, the breeder is proud of his or her accomplishments and the breed is advanced by the development of an outstanding strain. Substance is often more satisfying than illusion.

PS: Random miracles are always cool, though. We saw one at the fair last year. One can always:

 

[capayvalleychick]

So, I am finally able to post a photo of a Dorking roaster.

AWESOME.

That is my goal.
Kim

 

[capayvalleychick]

You can lose power for a day--keep your incubator SHUT--and still pull off a respectable hatch.

Is that true? The power company is going to shut down power for the day where the guy lives, who is incubating my eggs. He has plans to rig up a car battery for power.

Kim

 

[Yellow House Farm]

Is that true? The power company is going to shut down power for the day where the guy lives, who is incubating my eggs. He has plans to rig up a car battery for power.

Kim

By all means, if he can do that, go for it! However, yes, if the power goes out, the eggs can stand cool to an extent. It has happened to us on a couple of occasions. One evening I even took eggs out to go into the hatcher and got distracted. Not the following morning, but the one after, I saw them on the work bench and panicked. I ran outside and threw them under a broody game hen, and half of them hatched!

If you have to face a day without power:

1. Don't open the doors!!!!
2. Depending on the type of incubator, wrap it in good blankets---be aware of all fire danger with the blankets should the power come back on!!!!! and do not plug the ventilation!
3. Lot's of prayers to Saint Anthony
   

 

[Purdy]

Sign me up
Don't have any, want a pair of hens
will to make a road trip.
We first saw these wonder hens at Plymouth Rock Heritage Farm MA
What not love about a chicken who took a ride on the Mayflower 1n 1692!

 

[jgervais]

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."

How old was the rooster? Weight?

 

[ki4got]

One most certainly can!!!

Yet it comes down to certain number basics, especially considering the current state of Dorkings. For each hatching season, you're going to get:

1. a high percentage of junk
2. some with good color but poor type
3. some with good type, but poor color,
4. a very few with good type and color--these are those one hopes to keep.

The expected percentage for number 4 is 10%. Last year we raised 150 white Dorkings and kept 13 as breeders--with rare breeds the 10% can be a bit tough. So, when wanting multiple color varieties, one of a few things will happen:

1. You have capacious facilities and time to raise out enough chicks in each variety to be able to cull effectively, which allows you to do multiple colors properly--full steam ahead.
2. You don't have the facilities and time, in which case you end up with sloppy seconds because you're forced to keep as breeders stock you otherwise wouldn't, were you to have a larger pool from which to select. In this case progress is made very slowly, if at all.
3. A random miracle happens.

The scenario for number two happens uber-frequently. One of two things tend to happen:

1. Only as many chicks are hatched as the smaller facilities can maintain, which would be adequate for one variety but cannot house enough in multiple varieties. At the end of the season the breeder has a pen of healthy birds, but the percentage of birds worthy of the breeding pen per variety is miniscule, if there are any at all.
2. One tries to raise out more chicks than one's facility can house properly in which case cannibalism, disease, poor growth rates, and stress lead to a mammoth mess of unhealthy birds, none of which are worthy of the breeding pens and an entire season is wasted.

Ultimately the result of these scenarios tends to be that one becomes disgusted and quits or opts for limitation which leads to eventual success and a deeper enjoyment of the hobby. In the second scenario, the breeder is proud of his or her accomplishments and the breed is advanced by the development of an outstanding strain. Substance is often more satisfying than illusion.

PS: Random miracles are always cool, though. We saw one at the fair last year. One can always:

well i'm fortunate in several respects. I have the room to do as large or small scale as I want, plenty of room for more/larger coops/pens as needed, and a patient hubby. oh and a need for 200+ carcases for the freezer. LOL

what i've found works best for me, is to keep the breeders penned, and everyone else is free ranging daily. it's an amazing sight to watch a flock of dorklings running across the yard in pursuit of someone who has a tastier tidbit than they did. LOL

granted, i HATE plucking, so most birds i process are peeled... but the dogs don't seem to care what their dinner looks like, and hubby hates to pick bones. so skin is a bit non-essential. maybe some day i'll get an auto plucker, but until then, i'll keep peeling them. - side note, i've got several people lined up who want feathers for fly tying and crafts. so consider that for future processing days...

of course, right now all i have are silver greys, but i've got one pullet getting ready to lay, and 7 more that should within the next 2 months. so then i'll be able to start hatching seriously. it's kind of hard to plan a hatch with 1 here and 2 there. LOL and even if i hold off a week that's still less than a dozen eggs set at a time...

on the plus side, I have 2 doz colored eggs coming in this week, and i'm picking up about 4 doz red eggs on saturday, as well as 3 colored hens. now i just need eggs to hatch and chicks to mature for those girls. until then they'll get one of the cockerels when he's ready, so i can start learning the color genetics.

oh! and i finally finished the horse trailer coop! so that's way more room than i need right now for the 20+ birds living in it. LOL not that they wanted to come out today either. nobody was brave enough to venture into the frozen white wilderness called snow (all 1 inch of it), until i shoveled a path for them to the driveway LOL. wimps. all of em.

 

[Yellow House Farm]

Awesome, Ki4got! It's that large capacity that can lead to success in multiple varieties. It sounds like you're "cokking on the front burner" as my grandmother used to say. Full steam ahead!