Heritage Large Fowl - Phase II

[caj1985]

I have a setof 25 Red Dorking eggs from Roger Tice's line due to hatch this weekend. I am excited. I have been trying to get this breed for two years. I have one Red Dorking rooster that currently presides over my laying flock that I got from Horstman Poultry. At the same time I got these eggs, I acquired two 14 week old pullets and one day old chick. I also will need lots of help and advice as to which will be my best ones to keep once they get up big enough to evaluate. I am glad the breeders of this breed are so helpful. TIA

 

[hellbender]

I have a setof 25 Red Dorking eggs from Roger Tice's line due to hatch this weekend. I am excited. I have been trying to get this breed for two years. I have one Red Dorking rooster that currently presides over my laying flock that I got from Horstman Poultry. At the same time I got these eggs, I acquired two 14 week old pullets and one day old chick. I also will need lots of help and advice as to which will be my best ones to keep once they get up big enough to evaluate. I am glad the breeders of this breed are so helpful. TIA

Good luck to you! I can almost feel your excitement.

I doubt I would ever want Dorkings but I have always admired them. Not being mean but they seem almost duck-like when they move. I have read a lot about them and they seem to be one of the better and more reliable breeds. In that reading, I saw where many of this breed will accept newly bator-hatched chicks with little or no protestations.

I suspect if I had been around this great breed from childhood as I have the BEAUTIFUL Naked Necks, then the Dorking would be my absolute favorite!

HAPPY DORKING !!!!

RON

 

[pigsflyacres]

Hi Jennifer,

Where are you located? Maybe I can think of someone who can be of aid. Even if there is no one close by, you can get some help online and with email.

I raise Silvers. Fowlman on here has been so helpful with answering my never ending questions. He raised Dorkings a while back and probably has the most overall knowledge of breeding fowl of all.

Other sources of advice, in addition to Yellow House Farm:
Phil Bartz, long time breeder of Dorkings [email protected]
Craig Russell 570 837-3157
Dick Horstman
Duane Urch

Not an old timer, but a breeder who has been working hard with her birds and having good results at shows this year: Liz Munro in Alberta. Contact her and the following breeders through Dorking Breeder's Club http://dorkingbreedersclub.webs.com/
A couple more, newer breeders who are serious about breeding Dorkings to Standard:
Mary @ Roseland Haven Farm FL
Kimberley @ Kelley Creek Farms AL

I'm sorry about your predator problem. Best wishes.
Kim

Thanks! I joined the Dorking club, but no breeders directory yet. It seems its no more active than when I joined years ago. I like the internet and I wish more of the old time Dorking breeders did. I'm worried that a lot of that knowledge is just disappearing with the lines they worked on.

I just unboxed eggs from Kim. Always amazes me when I get eggs in the mail and they aren't crunched. Especially when you see the box.

My predators are the price I pay for where I live. They were here first. Well not the coy dogs. Those are a completely different problem. A very scary problem. On the other hand on my way to work this morning I had to stop and just watch in awe as about 80 head of elk swam the river. The sun was just coming up and there were eagles in the trees hoping the elk kicked up a few fish for them. It always grounds me to see that kind of sight.

I've had a miscellaneous group of hens and roosters as a laying flock in the intervening years. None of them were really as good at foraging as my Dorkings were. Those hens were very serious. And they didn't rototill the soil. So they didn't completely destroy the forage. They were incredibly funny to watch run. Those short legs really create a funny gait. They were also completely unfazed by my rainy weather and cold dark winters. Added bonus is that the one cockeral I did get to eat tasted really good. I'm really looking forward to tasting more! Over the years as predators have breeched my defenses and I've lost birds, I've fine tuned my infrastructure. So I've learned a lot. Like how to think like a predator. I have no double that I'll continue to lose birds to predators. I just would like to keep them all alive until I can hatch a ton of chicks. I'd like to have enough replacements. Unlike last time.

I'm really hoping some of the members on this forum will be able to help me when I get further down the road. I like to do a good job at the things I do. So I do want to breed to standard. I also want good layers, broodie mommas, and meaty cockerals. I may have to do some work to get those things. That's fine. I have patience. I ride horses, I understand that somethings just take however long they take. I also know when to intervene and when not. With chickens, usually not. I might treat my geese like pets (hey they're smart and better at telling me about predators then my dog), but never a chicken.

Jennifer

 

[3riverschick]

Hi,
Yes, there are a bunch of Dorking folk here. We all learn when Yellow House Farm posts.
Hopefully he will see your post and weigh in! I agree about coydogs. Scary critters. Mentally,
they don't know if they are coyote or canine, sigh. Every one deserved a cleverly placed bullet.
Wipe them all out. In the past we didn't see as many of them because canine bitches and
she coyotes whelped at different times of the year and the young didn't survive in the wild.
Now tho, the coyotes are becoming more urbanized and the mixes are surviving.
They are pure varmints.
Best,
Karen

 

[RedRidge]

Hi,
 Yes, there are a bunch of Dorking folk here. We all learn when Yellow House Farm posts.
Hopefully he will see your post and weigh in! I agree about coydogs. Scary critters.  Mentally,
they don't know if they are coyote or canine, sigh. Every one deserved a cleverly placed bullet.
Wipe them all out. In the past we didn't see as many of them because  canine bitches and
she coyotes whelped at different times of the year and the young didn't survive in the wild.
Now tho, the coyotes are becoming more urbanized and the mixes are surviving. 
They are pure varmints.
 Best,
 Karen

Yep and they kill for sport, not just to eat. They can wipe out a flock or herd in just one night. They also don't deter as easily as coyotes - which is why I run 4 Maremma and work them in pairs. Maremma are like Pringles, you can't have just one. ;-) Haven't lost a chick or lamb in years thanks to my wonderful guardians.

 

[Wisher1000]

Update on the Silver Campine Project here at TinStar Poultry.

I have a grand total of five pure, home made Silver Campine chicks. I also have 17 chicks that are 3/4 SC and 1/4 Ameraucana. I have more of each in the bator at this time. These represent all the eggs laid by the SCs and SCXs laid this year.

I am watching the growth and development of these chicks closely and would like some guidance on what to be looking for. I have noticed several that are considerably smaller than the others and some that are lighter in the legs but since this is my first batch, I don't know what these things mean in the end result. What I need guidance on, from you experts, is what do I need to pay attention to, generally. I plan to cull any that show green in their legs, cross beak, red or medium brown eyes, or crooked toes. At what age should the smallest ones be selected for culling? Are there other things that I need to watch for or that would be an immediate cause for culling? I plan to look closely at type starting at about 4 months and will share pics at that time.

 

[gjensen]

Update on the Silver Campine Project here at TinStar Poultry.

I have a grand total of five pure, home made Silver Campine chicks. I also have 17 chicks that are 3/4 SC and 1/4 Ameraucana. I have more of each in the bator at this time. These represent all the eggs laid by the SCs and SCXs laid this year.

I am watching the growth and development of these chicks closely and would like some guidance on what to be looking for. I have noticed several that are considerably smaller than the others and some that are lighter in the legs but since this is my first batch, I don't know what these things mean in the end result. What I need guidance on, from you experts, is what do I need to pay attention to, generally. I plan to cull any that show green in their legs, cross beak, red or medium brown eyes, or crooked toes. At what age should the smallest ones be selected for culling? Are there other things that I need to watch for or that would be an immediate cause for culling? I plan to look closely at type starting at about 4 months and will share pics at that time.

Pictures. Pictures.

 

[thedragonlady]

Hi,
Yes, there are a bunch of Dorking folk here. We all learn when Yellow House Farm posts.
Hopefully he will see your post and weigh in! I agree about coydogs. Scary critters. Mentally,
they don't know if they are coyote or canine, sigh. Every one deserved a cleverly placed bullet.
Wipe them all out. In the past we didn't see as many of them because canine bitches and
she coyotes whelped at different times of the year and the young didn't survive in the wild.
Now tho, the coyotes are becoming more urbanized and the mixes are surviving.
They are pure varmints.
Best,
Karen

Coydogs are one thing, but the coyWOLVES are quite another.We have both down here now.All you have to do to differentiate them is to get a look at their teeth.The coywolves have no spaces between their teeth just like a wolf, and much larger teeth as well.Some of both are now getting up to 65 and 70 lbs, and can pull down a child.

 

[Arielle]

Quote: I have thought about going back to the maremmas-- a lovely dog in many ways. On the hunt for chesapeake breeders to ask lots of questions. Otherwise my neighbors are as much of a nucence as the coyotes. Heaven forbid if my dogs are even in my driveway

THey are rotties, so they must be vicious!! Ended up fencing a huge run for the dogs and we watch the coyote walk up the drive and walk past the fenced dogs. WHat is wrong with this picture?? lol

 

[lawatt]

Update on the Silver Campine Project here at TinStar Poultry.

I have a grand total of five pure, home made Silver Campine chicks. I also have 17 chicks that are 3/4 SC and 1/4 Ameraucana. I have more of each in the bator at this time. These represent all the eggs laid by the SCs and SCXs laid this year.

I am watching the growth and development of these chicks closely and would like some guidance on what to be looking for. I have noticed several that are considerably smaller than the others and some that are lighter in the legs but since this is my first batch, I don't know what these things mean in the end result. What I need guidance on, from you experts, is what do I need to pay attention to, generally. I plan to cull any that show green in their legs, cross beak, red or medium brown eyes, or crooked toes. At what age should the smallest ones be selected for culling? Are there other things that I need to watch for or that would be an immediate cause for culling? I plan to look closely at type starting at about 4 months and will share pics at that time.

there's apparently a wave of silver campine chicks hatching across the country... or at least I have some here too, TWELVE to be precise -- three are 3 weeks, four are 1 week, and five more just hatched tuesday. the three-weekolds so far seem to be one cockerel and two pullets. similarly will be watching them closely as they grow, and would appreciate any pointers that anyone can share re: culling!

a few pictures:



(the splash and black chicks are what I am calling "swedish crosses," SFH x blue isbar.)