B.Y.C. Dorking Club!

[LilyD]

Wow, they look great! Those are the best pics I've seen of Dorks from that breeder. If that hen always carries her tail like that, it's wry tail. Wry tail is a defect and you shouldn't breed birds with it, if you are breeding to Standard.

I will keep an eye on her and see if she always holds it that way. It's the first time I noticed it but there again I get to see her front side much more than her back because she is always running towards me lol. I am thinking that it might be the way she was scrounging at the moment because I don't remember her having a tail sideways before.

I am going to try and breed to standard as much as I possibly can. I was talking to other breeders and I was told to pick the top thing I want to work on and then once I feel that is where I want it to pick the next thing I want to work on. I think the major things are good in these three. They have the block shaped body and are very flat backed. Their feet also look good and their temperament is amazing. My main things now to work on are coloring and continuing to pick good body type and temperament in my future breeders. Is there anything else I should watch out for? These guys hatched out in May and are just 5 months right now. They should be laying by next month hopefully.

Edited to add: I went back out to check because I got worried and her tail is totally normal now. I think maybe she was just being goofy since both their tails are straight. She does have a very long tail though much longer than I have seen in girls before. Maybe that has something to do with it.

 

[capayvalleychick]

I will keep an eye on her and see if she always holds it that way. It's the first time I noticed it but there again I get to see her front side much more than her back because she is always running towards me lol. I am thinking that it might be the way she was scrounging at the moment because I don't remember her having a tail sideways before.

I am going to try and breed to standard as much as I possibly can. I was talking to other breeders and I was told to pick the top thing I want to work on and then once I feel that is where I want it to pick the next thing I want to work on. I think the major things are good in these three. They have the block shaped body and are very flat backed. Their feet also look good and their temperament is amazing. My main things now to work on are coloring and continuing to pick good body type and temperament in my future breeders. Is there anything else I should watch out for? These guys hatched out in May and are just 5 months right now. They should be laying by next month hopefully.

You probably would have noticed it before, if it is wry tail. Chickens move their tails around so much, it's easy to get goofy shots. I hope she's fine because you have a wonderful start.
Always maintain and breed for type first. Color last, the icing on the cake. I always recommend to buy the APA SOP because that has helped me the most in my breeding. I was keeping many birds for years that should have been culls.
You might ask one of the judges or master breeders what they recommend. That's what I do, since they are better at noticing things and have the experience to know what works.

 

[ki4got]

Quote: i was referring to the flouro aquarium/plant bulbs... who uses incandescent anymore for them? didnt know cfl came in those spectrums... good to know

 

[ki4got]

Quote: which breeder?

 

[LilyD]

I broke down and bought the SOP last year and am very glad that I did even though it's probably the most expensive book I own lol. I use it for my Dorkings and my Brahmas but sometimes the way that they talk is confusing to me so it's good to get other people's opinions as well who have more experience than I do. My brahmas are easier because their description seems much more straightforward but I still like to know what others think just to be safe.

Ki4got: The breeder I got them from was Emma Ruggiero through the poultry palace. I ordered eggs from her last year and these three hatched out from the ones I got. Next year I hope my hatches go much better.

 

[Chickhick]

If anyone has Colored Dorkings and can sell me some hatching eggs or chicks, please contact me.
Thanks!

 

[QuartzRidgeRanch]

Hey thanks cappavalleychick. I was checking out your friends site the other day and originally got the idea from FarmTek. The FarmTek Fodder System is way too expensive imo. I think we'll start out small and work our way up if we like the results. I think it will be an extra bit of work but i think the savings and benefits may be worth it. I can get feed grains right up town so thats not an issue at all.

I was looking at these grow tents on newegg and think they would be perfect. Not super expensive and think it could easily be set it up in my garage. This would allow us to control heat and humidity much better and they come in several sizes. May have to buy a vent fan and maybe set up some compact floro light bulbs (the twisty ones that save energy and last a long time) and fixtures and mount them up top. May also need to add a humidistat or maybe a humidifier with a humidistat and a temp control switch but that would be way cheaper than buying the system from FarmTek. Might need some kind of heater in there once it gets cold.

I have been watching a bunch of YouTube video's and i think the trick is to use staging racks and put the final stage up top to offer a little light. Many set ups don't even use any light but the ones that do seem to have greener fodder. One lady gets over 6 lbs of fodder per flat with 1 lb of seed. Think i'm going to start a couple trays in my mud room today and see how it turns out. It only takes a week from start to finish. Once I figure out how much my birds will consume we'll go from there. Probably should start a new thread in the correct category now. Thanks again cappa.

Hi! I am the on that has the fodder system. I wanted to make sure that you buy seed not feed when you purchase your barley/wheat etc to grow. The germination rate is higher and sometimes they are de-hulled and will not germinate at all.

Temperature is the most important factor. If it is too hot it will mold, if it is too cold it will take forever to sprout and grow. I have found 65-70 is the best range.

Right now I put in about 1.5lbs of seed and get 10-15lbs of fodder in one tray. We feed my 30 birds one tray a day and they get to forage during the day.

Regarding the FarmTek system...we are planning on purchasing their trays as soon as we save up enough money. They have a 20 year warranty on them! The system that they sell does not include any type of temperature or humidity control. You also have to purchase PVC pipes to build the watering and drainage system. So keep that in mind.

If you have any other questions you can always e-mail me at quartzridgeranch(at)gmail.com or I am on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/quartzridgeranch



As far as lighting goes, we have a small LED light in the room pointed at the entire rack system. The lighting on the FarmTeck trailers look like this:




That gives the entire system enough light to grow. You do not need expensive grow lights! You can even leave the tray that is going to be fed in the sunlight for a day and it will green up.

 

[greenhorn]

Hi! I am the on that has the fodder system. I wanted to make sure that you buy seed not feed when you purchase your barley/wheat etc to grow. The germination rate is higher and sometimes they are de-hulled and will not germinate at all.

Temperature is the most important factor. If it is too hot it will mold, if it is too cold it will take forever to sprout and grow. I have found 65-70 is the best range.

Right now I put in about 1.5lbs of seed and get 10-15lbs of fodder in one tray. We feed my 30 birds one tray a day and they get to forage during the day.

Regarding the FarmTek system...we are planning on purchasing their trays as soon as we save up enough money. They have a 20 year warranty on them! The system that they sell does not include any type of temperature or humidity control. You also have to purchase PVC pipes to build the watering and drainage system. So keep that in mind.

If you have any other questions you can always e-mail me at quartzridgeranch(at)gmail.com or I am on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/quartzridgeranch



As far as lighting goes, we have a small LED light in the room pointed at the entire rack system. The lighting on the FarmTeck trailers look like this:




That gives the entire system enough light to grow. You do not need expensive grow lights! You can even leave the tray that is going to be fed in the sunlight for a day and it will green up.

Hi QRR. Thanks for posting that reply. I would only use an expensive grow light during the cold months to help keep the grow tent warm. They burn hot enough to heat a grow tent quite well. It's either that or some kind of heater... During warm months I would probably switch to some type of LED lighting or just move to growing outside.

One thing I do need help with is figuring out how much fodder each chicken uses per day on average. One good thing, during the cooler months we won't have as many birds to feed. We may use fodder during the warm months if it's practical.

We can plant seed directly in the ground and till it under and replant every 7 days outside when it's not too hot or cold. Probably will depend on which is more practical for the season.

Thanks for the advice about using seed instead of feed. I have planted feed wheat and oats from the elevator in the ground several times without any problems. Just thought it would be a less expensive alternative and noticed somewhere on the web someone stated that they use feed grain for fodder seed.

How about water PH and TDS? Are there any parameters for that or does it not matter much because we only grow for 7 days?

 

[greenhorn]

We keep getting more eggs, still small but more each day. We are getting brownish eggs from some of the birds. Yesterday I found 2 small brownish eggs where there are only black hens. I am getting nice white eggs and brownish eggs in the coop where we have black and white hens together.

I think some of these eggs are a little too brown to be considered creme. Are the browner ones acceptable colors for Dorking eggs?

 

[ki4got]

We keep getting more eggs, still small but more each day. We are getting brownish eggs from some of the birds. Yesterday I found 2 small brownish eggs where there are only black hens. I am getting nice white eggs and brownish eggs in the coop where we have black and white hens together.

I think some of these eggs are a little too brown to be considered creme. Are the browner ones acceptable colors for Dorking eggs?

i think the description reads "white to lightly tinted" but i'll take whatever i get. usually a variety about like what you're seeing. my sg's are nearly white, the reds a bit more tinted. but the more tinted eggs also show less white on the earlobes IMO. so it's a trade-off.

and until the breed becomes more commonplace, ANY eggs are a good thing. even if they were purple IMO.