Farming and Homesteading Heritage Poultry

[Arielle]

And in the mean time, there is nothing wrong with picking up a few birds known to be reliably broody and putting them to work. It has been a time proven practice to have a small group of birds specifically for this purpose, while the "production" birds were the main focus.

I know of a few people that keep a small group of game hens just as setting hens.

Hey didn't BOb have mr. silky, for broody production??

Ok right, but....I shouldn't breed soley from Sandhill stock, right?

Ask if he has several pens. He may or may not. BUt important to ask.

THe breeder I purchasaed from was kind enough to send me enough from 3 different pens( toe punched), enough to keep me going for years he said. But I am also lucky enough to have 2 other buckeye breeders within 20 minutes. So hoping to work with one as we had talked about working together and sharing stock.

As for mentors, I was more likely to have a buckeye mentor than any other and that played a part in the decision.

 

[kimberly35042]

I think there is a lot of wisdom in what YHF has to say. When I tried my hand at Red Dorkings in the past I had good birds to start. But no mentor and these forums weren't as busy as now. I just didn't understand what I needed to do. And I was easily distracted by a pretty pattern/color. I did end up with a pair of cuckoo dorkings. I wondered what I had got. They did not have even decent type. They just didn't even look like Dorkings except for that 5th toe. I rather rapidly moved them on. If you dip into many of the threads on BYC, most people who are trying to breed are focused on a color and are not hatching in the numbers they need to to get anywhere. So we see a chicken craze, but no idea how to sustain it. Good breeds aren't getting attention. Then there is the hysteria over an imported bird. If its imported, its all of a sudden better than what is here. I'm finding my experiences with the creme legbar really eye opening. vigor is a problem and its not going to be improved because people are focusing on the puny little sports and the creme color. Its not a project I'm putting any real effort into, but I can't help but look at the chicks and tag ruthlessly as culls. The ones that hatched first and were biggest are still biggest. Those little stragglers are still puny and I don't care if they have the better color. I'm only hanging onto them because I know nothing of the breed. And I have very few of them. They just don't take up space I need at the moment. I can amuse myself. At a point in a few weeks the stragglers will be history.

I like a BBR pattern. There is something clean to it. And to top it off, I find the history of the Dorking interesting. Add to it that they do well in my microclimate and what more could I want? Oh yeah, good meat, eggs and broodies.

Pick a breed that you are attracted to or pick a color that really catches your eye. A well bred white chicken is stunning en masse. So is a black one. Go with what causes your heart to go pitter patter then settle in to making it your strain, adapted to your micro climate and needs. Get the best stock to start that you can find. Do not try and do it from shipped hatching eggs. Get started stock or day olds.

Jennifer

While I agree that trying to get a start from shipped eggs might be less than ideal, there are just no guarantees and sometimes a huge amount of luck involved no matter how much work and effort you are willing to put in. I started my Dorking Odyssey December 2012 and placed an order for 25 Murray McMurray Silver Greys. I was ecstatic! They were to be deliver mid-February which is ideal as I'm in Alabama where we get hot FAST. Well....MMcM is in Iowa where its very cold. Why they even offer to ship in the middle of winter is beyond words, but they did. I pick up my box of peeping chicks where 1/2 have lost their lives in one overnight shipment. Words can't express a box of dead chicks and nursing the others back to life. I ended up with 11 of them. (Disappointing birds in the end, but still, supposedly Urch provided them with "decent" silver greys).

Fast forward and and trip to MD puts me in touch with a Dorking person in route! SCORE! Reds deriving from the well known Sandhill Preservation Center! Well, those were wild beyond words-- WHERE is this mild mellow wonderful DORKING personality???

As fate would have it, I hear good things about Rudy Troxel's old Tice bred line of Reds. We talk and he does have a young breeding pair available. Well, the cock dies in transit! Seriously? So he ships me 15 eggs. 7 of them hatch into what becomes 3 nice pullets and 4 fine cockerals. I'm certainly not saying they are perfect, but the difference in both type, personality and plain awesomeness is just overwhelming. I currently have about 30 chicks hatched so far and will hatch on into May. Past that, it is too hot and will have to wait till fall.

Short story, but that was a year of work to at least have a starting point to start raising and selecting chicks. With only 7 birds to start with...nobody got that ax. The silver greys were scrawney but tasty.

 

[gjensen]

It can be a challenge to get a start. I think it helps to weed out those who will and will not.

There is advantages and disadvantages to however we get our start. Often with the rare breeds, how we get that start is not full of options.

Rare breeds can require a little more perseverance than the others.

 

[pigsflyacres]

You had a rough go trying to get stock. It sucks that your story is so common. Those Sandhill genetics are a bit wild. You also get some odd colors. Not saying to not use their stock, but use it carefully.

Shipped hatching eggs are a great way to add to what you have. It can be really problematic trying to get your start from shipped eggs. Not only can it be really expensive when you have poor hatches, but there is this tendency to hang on to every bird. When maybe you shouldn't. So for an inexperienced breeder it can put them back. An experienced breeder would easily just keep the one or two birds that looked promising and do test matings. Then there is the hatching assistance that shipped eggs sometimes need and knowing when to assist and when to leave well enough alone. A chick that is trying to hatch from an egg with a misshapen air cell might warrant the help.

Really, its much easier to start with a breed that has fair stock readily available and mentors.

We decided to be attracted to a breed that is struggling and doesn't have an active breed club. Finding a mentor who knows Dorkings is going to be tough. Fortunately we have the internet and there are a few knowledgable individuals on here.

But hey, they make my heart go pitter patter. All the rag tag chickens that have been here in the intervening years just don't make my heart do that. So Dorkings it is.

 

[neopolitancrazy]

There is advantages and disadvantages to however we get our start. Often with the rare breeds, how we get that start is not full of options.

Rare breeds can require a little more perseverance than the others.

It sucks that your story is so common....

Really, its much easier to start with a breed that has fair stock readily available and mentors.

We decided to be attracted to a breed that is struggling and doesn't have an active breed club. Finding a mentor who knows Dorkings is going to be tough. Fortunately we have the internet and there are a few knowledgable individuals on here.

But hey, they make my heart go pitter patter. All the rag tag chickens that have been here in the intervening years just don't make my heart do that. So Dorkings it is.

Ditto, x 100.
I fell for Silver Grey Dorkings, even though the Yellow House Whites are so lovely, in much better shape than the SGs.
I got some chicks from McMurray, which were generally correct in type, with LOTS of little flaws, and not as big as I thought they would be. I got an adult trio from Urch, one female was small, and did not lay much, but tasted great. The remaining pair are producing lots of fertile eggs, but I am having a heck of a time hatching very many. But Silver Grey Dorkings it is..., so I am asking my husband to build me a whole bunch of breeding pens so I can carry out many test pairings next fall/winter/spring, looking for indivduals or pairs with high(er) hatchability.

ahhh....the things we do for love....lol

 

[pigsflyacres]

I saw your hatching problems on another thread.

When I was trying to raise Dorkings before I had great fertility and hatchability on a custom mixed breeder ration. When that was no longer available and I went to a regularly available game bird breeder, I had problems. I don't think Dorkings do as well as they could with high corn. You might also try contacting Dick Horstman about started birds. The problem is weather for shipping. He's going to be able to ship to you, but you might be too hot to receive birds.

I think you have a two fold problem, your stock and your feed. I can't speak to your hatching skills because it sounds like you've trouble shot things as far as you can in that regard.

 

[gjensen]

Ditto, x 100.
I fell for Silver Grey Dorkings, even though the Yellow House Whites are so lovely, in much better shape than the SGs.
I got some chicks from McMurray, which were generally correct in type, with LOTS of little flaws, and not as big as I thought they would be. I got an adult trio from Urch, one female was small, and did not lay much, but tasted great. The remaining pair are producing lots of fertile eggs, but I am having a heck of a time hatching very many. But Silver Grey Dorkings it is..., so I am asking my husband to build me a whole bunch of breeding pens so I can carry out many test pairings next fall/winter/spring, looking for indivduals or pairs with high(er) hatchability.

ahhh....the things we do for love....lol

And you are sticking it out . . .

 

[southernmomma]

Bob did recommend single colored varieties. He also recommended breeds that were already in good shape, and were not especially uncommon. There is a lot of wisdom in starting there.


White Dorkings are white, but they do have a rose comb. But . . .I can't see that being a deal breaker. It only requires learning what to look for in the comb. The breed has a lot of history, and a reputation for a good table bird.

It wouldn't be a deal breaker in the least, neither would straying from my color preference-which is absolutely the least of my concerns. I am concerned only with type and characteristics for the immediate future, truth be told. There are plenty of red birds in the world but not all will suit my needs

I have 5 White Dorking ordered from Sandhill Preservation. I don't know the waiting time. I ordered in Jan and supposed to get them later this month or May. I've heard quality is not as good. But.....

How exciting

M

 

[neopolitancrazy]

I saw your hatching problems on another thread.

When I was trying to raise Dorkings before I had great fertility and hatchability on a custom mixed breeder ration. When that was no longer available and I went to a regularly available game bird breeder, I had problems. I don't think Dorkings do as well as they could with high corn. You might also try contacting Dick Horstman about started birds. The problem is weather for shipping. He's going to be able to ship to you, but you might be too hot to receive birds.

I think you have a two fold problem, your stock and your feed. I can't speak to your hatching skills because it sounds like you've trouble shot things as far as you can in that regard

There are no pre-mixed poultry or gamebird breeder rations for sale in my area. I also have not found a mill that would make small batches of custom feed. My current feed has no corn or soy in it at all, (except that in the Calf Manna I have added.) I would love to have your recipe for custom mixed breeder ration, and would make a second round of the feed mills if I had a recipe. (She said, begging and pleading.) I have wondered if adding kelp might help my chickens as much as it helped my sheep in years past.

I understood that Mr. Horstman also had hatchability problems last year which prevented him from filling all the SG orders he received. And I wonder if low hatchability is the reason Mr Urch limits Dorking orders to 10 chicks at a time? The consensus on the FB Dorking page was that none there had exceeded a 60% hatch rate, which speaks to a widespread stock problem. I won't speak for my hatching skills, as I have only tried to hatch one non-Dorking clutch.

 

[pigsflyacres]

One of the many downsides of not doing Facebook is that I don't know certain things. Most of the time I don't care, but every once in a while I do.

Contact BGMatt and see if he's willing to share his feed recipe. I would if I had one, but I don't. It belonged to someone else. We use to all go in on an order.

Kelp couldn't hurt. I also add BioMoss to my ration. Its a probiotic. Of course I also give them YeaSacc too. Mostly because I get it for the horse. A little goes a very long way.

So one thing that pops into my mind for helping with the stock problem is crossing with another variety dorking. I did this when I was mostly wiped out with predators. Crossed my good remaining cockeral to Silver Grey hens. That F1 cross was pretty vigorous! Because of the variability of colors coming from Sandhill, I wonder if they do this.

I do know that there is a move to import. Failing that Dorking breeders may want to look at just breeding for type and vigor and then segregate the colors out again as varieties. I'm not convinced that importing brings you good quality birds. In the case of the SG Dorking, it may not be necessary to be good quality, just new blood. Perhaps from a purely conservation point, we should be doing more intentional flock breeding. A couple good cocks with 7 or 8 complimentary hens irregardless of color. It could be a side project or the pair matings could be a side project. With out vigor you have nothing.