Crossing my Red Ranger Hens.

[Morrigan]

That's a nice looking Dorking rooster.

 

[Compost King]

That's a nice looking Dorking rooster.

Thanks, he is one of the few breeds I got from a breeder. I couldn't get hatchery Dorkings to live very long so when a breeder popped up on craigslist I snagged me a breeding trio. He is actually a cull though, I got a discount by offering to buy a cull provided he still sized up for good meat quality. I never show chickens so the flaw in his comb (hard to notice in pictures) doesn't matter to me. It might show up in my final Light Dorking product but I do not plan on showing them. If someone wants to take what I have and improve upon it with a higher quality Silver Grey Dorking they can. I just want to make a nice sustainable flock of Dorking's for meat and winter eggs. The females go broody when other breeds are laying like crazy so I see them as a great supplemental layer providing eggs when eggs are in short supply and hatching out chicks during the summer. So far none of the crosses have gone broody but I do not leave piles of eggs around to encourage it.

 

[Compost King]

It look's like you can come up with all sort's of colors when you start the mixing!

I am wondering if I have space for other colors. I can always keep the females however I am lacking pens to keep males in. I would like to make a small dorking flock of ever color that gets produced.

 

[BlueBaby]

I am wondering if I have space for other colors. I can always keep the females however I am lacking pens to keep males in. I would like to make a small dorking flock of ever color that gets produced.

Me too, but I might need at least 40 acres then!

 

[aliciaplus3]

Sounds like I am not the only one lacking space for projects. I would like to set up more breeding pens, just haven't gotten there. I have decided to move my Delaware rooster in with my turken girls.... move the white turken rooster in with the Delaware hens... we will see what happens

 

[Compost King]

I have squeezed about 20+ Coops/breeding pens and a Production Evergreen nursery on 1/8th of an acre... I have 1/4 acre but half of it is house and front yard so I have a packed back yard. Yeah things get tight but I sure do love working back there so its worth it.

 

[Morrigan]

That's some great land management there. A lot of productivity on that 1/4 acre.

My biggest obstacle is how rocky and hilly our land is. Everything we build, requires earth moving equipment and lots of planning. We have a lot of acreage, but virtually none of it usable without tons of work.

 

[BlueBaby]

I have squeezed about 20+ Coops/breeding pens and a Production Evergreen nursery on 1/8th of an acre... I have 1/4 acre but half of it is house and front yard so I have a packed back yard. Yeah things get tight but I sure do love working back there so its worth it.

I guess that I have more room than you do then. I'm on 3 1/2 acres.

 

[aliciaplus3]

I guess that I have more room than you do then. I'm on 3 1/2 acres.

I have 3... but on a hill with probably 2 1/2 acres used for horse pasture and creek bottom. We had a 50 foot by 60 foot piece leveled out several years back and it's about full.

 

[Compost King]

6 and a half week old 3/4 dorking 1/4 Red Rangers. My new trail cam is helping pick out culls and breeders. I can never get a good look at my chicks because they run around the brooder and away from me. I just watching about 400 Ten second videos on my lunch break and I had the best look at these chicks ever without picking a single one up. They have so much more energy than pure bred dorking. I am hoping I can make a much hardier line of Dorkings for a sustainable meat and winter egg flock.

I just hatched out 2 Ayam Cemani x Red Ranger chicks. Had 5 eggs. 3 eggs are still in the incubator but from my experience if they have not pipped yet they aren't going to. maybe I will hand pip them and see if I can get any of those 3 out.