Heritage White Dorking Thread

[N Bohemia]

I have a similar dilemma with one of my own similar cockerels. He is significantly larger than his brothers but his shanks and neck are longer too, spoiling his overall Dorking type. He does however have a deep and wide body, combined with a long back, therefore if space permits I'll grow him on if only to see how he looks as an adult. I think that it will be useful to find out how growers with these proportions turn out in case this dilemma arises again in the future.

 

[AnthNDacula]

I have a similar dilemma with one of my own similar cockerels. He is significantly larger than his brothers but his shanks and neck are longer too, spoiling his overall Dorking type. He does however have a deep and wide body, combined with a long back, therefore if space permits I'll grow him on if only to see how he looks as an adult. I think that it will be useful to find out how growers with these proportions turn out in case this dilemma arises again in the future.

I'd love to hear from an experience breeder on this, but personally I'd hold on to this cockerel and breed him to hens with better necks and shanks. I'd not cull him until I see his offspring. Necks and shanks are great, but you cut them both off to put him in the oven. Have you checked out the Livestock Conservancy's online chicken breeding manual? http://www.livestockconservancy.org/index.php/heritage/internal/chicken-manual

I'd also like to know what line you're working with. Is this a Yellow House, Sandhill, or Woeppel bird or something else?

 

[Yellow House Farm]

Greetings! It's exciting to read this excitement and consideration surrounding White Dorkings.

I can see the type in those flock pics of White Dorkings. I recognize the type as being representative of our strain. They're looking good.

Some quick thoughts that might help:

The big male with type issues: use him, pairing him with the best typed females possible. Use the others, too, though.

If you're receiving stock this year, raise everything you receive, and wait to see what you get. Even watching faults grow out teaches you something, even if it's why you don't let them grow out.

If you're workings with an established flock. Check chicks for color, comb, and toes. Cull anything but pure white, RC, and five perfectly formed toes. Also, the shape of the toes on day one is the shape of the toes at 6 months. You're not going to want to use a completely mangled toed bird; so, don't bother. Cull and keep hatching until you have out the number of chicks that you want. Also, remember that RCs comb with lots of easy to come by faults, males especially can be culled young for comb, certainly by broiler age. Therefore, you can hatch more males than you intend to grow out because you can drastically reduce their numbers for comb at, say, 13 weeks old if you want young spatchcocked broilers for the BBQ.

Look at the down, and if you see a black splotch, cull it. That black splotch is going to become black feathers, and when it comes down to it, you're not going to breed from a black feathered bird. A word on white, remember that white isn't a color. It's the masking of color. So all white birds are a color underneath, if you scratch the surface, usually birchen or cuckoo. Moreover, there is dominant white and recessive white both of which are present in YHF Dorkings. Occasionally on has some color seepage, no big deal, just cull it out. Try to never breed from a male that shows reddish seepage. It will lead to a dominance of the golden gene, which is unfortunately present in our strain, and it will lead to brassiness in cocks, which is a a serious defect.

Keep 'em hatching!

 

[AnthNDacula]

Thanks so much for your thoughts Yellow House. I'm very eager to get my first White Dorkings which will actually be from your strain thru another breeder. Your knowledge is invaluable, particularly regarding when to cull for various characteristics like color and feet on day one.

I've been reading everything I can find on Dorkings and one 19th Century reference says that Dorkings are unique in that they approach mature proportions sometime between 6 and 12 weeks before they start putting on frame and becoming lanky teenagers. He suggested that as a good time to cull and market the young carcasses. Do you find that to be the case with your strain?

Cheers,
Anthony in Georgia

 

[Yellow House Farm]

Thanks so much for your thoughts Yellow House. I'm very eager to get my first White Dorkings which will actually be from your strain thru another breeder. Your knowledge is invaluable, particularly regarding when to cull for various characteristics like color and feet on day one.

I've been reading everything I can find on Dorkings and one 19th Century reference says that Dorkings are unique in that they approach mature proportions sometime between 6 and 12 weeks before they start putting on frame and becoming lanky teenagers. He suggested that as a good time to cull and market the young carcasses. Do you find that to be the case with your strain?

Cheers,
Anthony in Georgia

Yes and no. Yes, before they shoot up and out they have a moment where they look like miniature Dorkings. No, I'd be reticent to put that much faith in the young an age--for typical concerns. Moreover, Dorkings are a rebounding breed; they don't breed as type true as White Rocks, for example. Thus, it's easy enough to cull for glaring faults along the way.

 

[N Bohemia]

I breed White Dorkings in the UK and therefore my own observations may not always be relevant to the US strains.

I have found that the brief glimpse of adult type at around 10 weeks old only applies to the pullets. However as Joseph mentioned, it is not a reliable indicator and your largest adults will often be those that looked rather gaunt at this age. Some pullets will often develop and maintain Dorking type at this age, but these usually develop into the smaller adults.
The presence of red pigment is a definite no no and this can sometimes be seen as a very feint pink or beige stripe on the backs of day old chicks. I must admit that I don't necessarily cull growers with minimal black peppering on their tails. This sort of pigment leakage usually moults out, but that may only be true in my own stock.

I have had an unexpected surprise this year with my older birds which have become unusually fluffy following their recent moult (photo below). I have not been breeding this variety for many years and I have certainly not experienced this kind of transformation in my Red Dorkings. These birds are some of my oldest Whites at 4 and 5 years old and I was wondering if anyone else has experienced this in their white Dorkings or with other white breeds? It would be interesting to know if this change associated with age is usual in birds with white plumage.

 

[3riverschick]

Wow! That is a lot of feathering! Never seen anything like it. I had pure English Light Sussex and your birds look more like English Sussex now. How odd. Look at those cushions and petticoats. But I can definitely see the Dorking in them under all that. Could it be weather related? The weather here in western Pennsylvania, USA had been real odd this year with bitter cold and unusual warmth exchanging places multiple times a month. In fact, the bitter cold has gotten so severe here ( -minus teens wind chill factor) I had to change from Sussex to White Chanteclers to keep combs from freezing.
Like to see what the others say.
Best Success,
Karen

 

[N Bohemia]

I agree, they look like longer bodied exhibition Sussex.
I expected the hen standing front right to develop fuller plumage due to her Sussex-type head, suggesting an historical outcross. However I was surprised that her relatively unrelated flock mates have followed suit. My White Dorking feathers are narrower and finer than those on my other varieties and hopefully they will take on a more stuck-down appearance following more preening. The preen gland appears to be less productive during cold weather.

It demonstrates the time involved in getting to know a strain which can taken several years to reveal its characteristics. Luckily I have suitably tight-feathered males to balance out this fault.

 

[3riverschick]

I agree, they look like longer bodied exhibition Sussex.
I expected the hen standing front right to develop fuller plumage due to her Sussex-type head, suggesting an historical outcross. However I was surprised that her relatively unrelated flock mates have followed suit. My White Dorking feathers are narrower and finer than those on my other varieties and hopefully they will take on a more stuck-down appearance following more preening. The preen gland appears to be less productive during cold weather.

It demonstrates the time involved in getting to know a strain which can taken several years to reveal its characteristics. Luckily I have suitably tight-feathered males to balance out this fault.

Hi,
It will be interesting to see how quickly your males can solve this feathering issue.
I hope it doesn't take long because I think your Dorkings are real nice.
Best,
karen

 

[N Bohemia]

Thank you Karen, they are still very much a project and a little inconsistent in type, but I'm really pleased with their abundant breast muscle each time I hold them. I do have their offspring from the previous two seasons and I hope that these will retain their tighter plumage.
No doubt in the past my predecessors have introduced outcrosses to improve certain features or their vigour, so I'm having to breed out these unwanted genes. Luckily, excess feather and the occasional single comb are the only surprises so far.