B.Y.C. Dorking Club!

[countrygoddess]

CountryGoddess, well have to get you down to the NH Poultry Fanciers Association (straight down 89 near Concord, NH) and the North Eastern Poultry Congress (straight down 91, in Springfield, MA) There are several new breeders of Dorkings in NE, we need to start meeting up. Let's make 2013 the year NE Dorking breeders come out of their closet.

Do start families right off the start. Do it matrilinearly. If you end up with two males, that's perfect. Retain three to four of your best females. Use one male over two of the females, and the other male over the other two. Have them four females separate, if possible, when the breeding season comes and alternate the males between their two females. Hatch out the chicks in such a way that you're sure who's the mother of whom. Toe punch each chick immediately with the punch that represents the particular female. As you move forward, keep all daughters, granddaughters, great-granddaughters, etc... in the same pen as the original mother. Never use a son in the pen of his mother. This is referred to as clan breeding at it will do just fine for you, protecting from in-breeding, while still in-breeding enough by not introducing superfluous blood.

I think I just need to sit down to coffee with you one day. It's not that long of a drive... ;-)

 

[neopolitancrazy]

If I may, YHF, can I rephrase the mating system you just described to see which parts I do/don't understand?

Start with 2 trios, call the males A and B, call the females red, yellow, blue and green. Assign male A to females red and blue, male B to females green and yellow. Mark each egg/segregate them in the incubator, and mark the chicks immediately so the parentage will be certain. Each pullet is assigned to her mother's color group, ad infinitum.

Do you then send the red cockerel to the blue hens, and the blue cockerel to the green hens, green cockerel to the yellow hens and yellow cockerel to the red hens?

Each original cock stays with his 2 original color groups. Now, this is the part I am a little murky on..when do you add in another 2 males? And when do you cull out the original birds?

Thanks,
Angela

 

[countrygoddess]

If I may, YHF, can I rephrase the mating system you just described to see which parts I do/don't understand?

Start with 2 trios, call the males A and B, call the females red, yellow, blue and green. Assign male A to females red and blue, male B to females green and yellow. Mark each egg/segregate them in the incubator, and mark the chicks immediately so the parentage will be certain. Each pullet is assigned to her mother's color group, ad infinitum.

Do you then send the red cockerel to the blue hens, and the blue cockerel to the green hens, green cockerel to the yellow hens and yellow cockerel to the red hens?

Each original cock stays with his 2 original color groups. Now, this is the part I am a little murky on..when do you add in another 2 males? And when do you cull out the original birds?

Thanks,
Angela

My understanding is that a trio is, say blue. Another trio is white, let's just suppose. First year, blue male to blue females. Treat eggs as you described, keeping them segregated and marking for the mother as soon as hatched (blue #1 and blue #2, for instance). All chosen blue pullets, regardless of specific mother, go in with both blue hens. Same with white. Mark your chosen blue cockerel(s) as blue, mark white cockerel(s) white. Next year, blue cocks are put in with white pullets and hens and white cocks with blue girls. Am I close to right, Yellow House?

My questions (and one of the many reasons why I want to sit down to coffee to get this figured out): do you cull last year's cock and just use this year's cockerels next year or do they both get used? And would last year's cocks still stay in their same family, same as last year, while this year's cockerels go in with the next family over? Do you cull out any of last year's hens? Otherwise, it would seem you would become overrun with chickens. Who do you cull and who do you keep?

I have three families set up. Which is better, two families or three? I guess 2 would be more manageable, but does one want to keep several lines going rather than just a couple?

 

[capayvalleychick]

They are discussing the various breeding methods on the Heritage Large Fowl thread right now, also.

 

[countrygoddess]

They are discussing the various breeding methods on the Heritage Large Fowl thread right now, also.

Thank you!

 

[ki4got]

there are several articles i found along the same lines, using 3 or more lines, and is referred to as rotational line breeding. a couple by bob blosl. (does rocks and reds)

 

[neopolitancrazy]

Hi, fellow Dorking enthusiasts!
I have been reading on Dorkings > 1 year, tried a batch of non-standard-colors Dorkings and would like your input on making the final choice between rose-combed white OR single-combed silver gray Dorkings.

As I see it, the whites have the advantage of being a single solid color (supposedly easier/better for a new fancier to breed properly,) and the comb should be less prone to frost damage. The silver grays were the variety I wanted for over 35 years, (I did not know other varieties existed) but I don't care for the many photos I have seen of dark/rust colored hen breast feathers, and breeding the color pattern properly sounded difficult when I read an OEG article on the silver duckwing pattern.

Could any or all of you chime in on the relative historicity/availability/quality of these 2 varieties?

Thank you,
Angela

btw, the anticipated relocation this winter means I get to build my dream chicken house-probably this summer-which I can then populate with a pair or trio of my "chosen" chickens.

 

[pysankigirl]

well I do know it is alot easier to GET the SG dorkings. the white have a much smaller breeding pool.

 

[neopolitancrazy]

ok, thanks!

 

[pascopol]

Keep this Dorking thread going folks!

I decided to get on the bandwagon and help to improve this magnificent breed.

So if anybody has laying Dorkings now and does not hatch them at the moment I am on the market for eggs, since down here in Fl we are hatching birds year around.

Please decent stock, Sandhill acceptable, no Ideal or other mass producers (Ideal etc) stock.

Just shot me PM what you've got.

Thanks