Dorkings?

[BlackBart]

Does anybody have them? if so, what can you tell me about them.
I was looking at getting some Silver Dorking chicks.....

 

[Krys109uk]

It seems very difficult to find good examples of this breed in USA.
They are a large docile breed, slow maturing. That said I have a few here which are maturing faster than my orps, which is different to the way my Dorkings were back in UK.

 

[tgrlily]

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We have five 3 month old Dorkings. They are beautiful & very good natured. My 9 year old son wanted them as a conservation project and is very passionate about them... which I think is wonderful! It was very difficult to find eggs, but well worth it.

What kind of information are you looking for?

 

[BlackBart]

I was wondering if they had a good temperament and you answered that, thank-you.
What size is a full grown bird and are they hardy?
Good layers?
What color of dorking do you have?

The woman who breeds these Dorkings is also very passionate about the breed and stays true to the breed. I think they are beautiful.

She sells them for $7 each, one day old, un-sexed chicks.
I read that you can tell the males from the females when they are chicks Is that true?

Below is a picture of one of her birds, a Silver Dorking hen.

 

[Kezzie]

She's beautiful!!

I don't mean to steal the thread but could anyone speculate what I might get if I crossed a Dark Cornish male over a Silver Dorking?

 

[tgrlily]

I am by no means a Dorking expert... Yet! Noah has 3 Red Dorkings, a light grey & one that I think is wheaten. They're nowhere close to laying yet...lol. You can definitely tell the males from the females at birth with the red and silver. Not so much with the other colors that I know of. I wish there was a breeder near me! We had to order eggs from across the country & they didn't fare too well. I'd do it again tho.

Here's a pic of Petra... she comes out to make sure everyone else is in the coop where they belong before settling in every night.

This is Rex, the Red cockerel with Cleo

You can get some really good information from Henderson's Breed Chart: http://www.ithaca.edu/staff/jhenderson/chooks/chooks.html then click FS next to Dorkings for some great pics from Feathersite.


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[BlackBart]

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I have no idea but I think the cross would be pretty.

 

[BlackBart]

trglily, your birds are beautiful !

I think the Dorking is something I would like to have in my flock of heritage "granny type" chickens.

I was surprised to read that the breed is not well known, they sound like a lovely chicken.
The woman who raises them does not ship eggs, she said she has had way too many problems. I have attached the link to her website which gives some history on the breed and you might find it interesting.

You MUST post pictures of your Dorkings as they get older.

http://www.quennell-lake-poultry.com/poultry.htm

 

[Mrs MIA]

I have them, and I love them. Everyone that sees my roos start off with "Man, they're BIG!" "Beautiful!" "Classic rooster style"... like the Kelloggs rooster.

The hens are docile, tend to be a little more skittish, but that could be because I don't handle them a whole lot. The roos are protective, wary, but tend to be docile, too. They did really well in the winter, though I did have to watch their combs for frostbite. Pretty white/tinted eggs, and haven't had one go broody on me yet... they're over a year old now.

I need to take care of some stuff, but I'll post some photos here in a bit.

 

[tgrlily]

Thank you! When we started researching breeds, I told the kids they could choose their own breed. As soon as Noah read about Dorkings, saw pictures & learned they were on the critical list, he had to have them.

I'm very proud & happy with his choice. I spoke with the Poultry Superintendent for the NYS Fair on Monday. He told me that if my son shows them (as a junior & in 4-H) they'll be the only Dorkings there. I don't understand why such a wonderful breed has become so rare. If Noah has anything to do with it, they'll start making a comeback! Not bad for a 9 year old!!!