Heritage White Dorking Thread

She's not white, but she is one of my favorite pullets this year. I hope Joseph sees the same pretty type that I do! He's years ahead of me.
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While in reality, this is the best route, it is not the only route. Point in case...I tried to do the right thing, contacted "the" breeder of red Dorkings, sent the box, paid extremely reasonable "x" amount for a cock and pullet and double that for the shipping...still only about $125 total, (and I sent the money way in advance of shipping). Long story short the male died in transit. I was heart broken. Words can't express going at midnight 45 minutes away to the distribution center to open the box to a dead chicken. It was heartbreaking.

I'm sorry, Getting eggs in the mail from a breeder that you RESEARCH, do your homework and ask your questions and have a 50% hatch rate is not a terrible way to go. Let's face it....if you're in a hurry, you don't need to breed Dorkings. They take FOREVER to mature which means more need for infrastructure and all that being said, they are a freakin awesome breed.
I love them...
just my 2 cents :)


Thanks! I'm glad hatching eggs to get started isn't completely forbidden. :) That being said, I haven't come across any just yet, lol.

Very pretty pullet! IMHO
 
Thanks Steph.....my momma always said there's more than 1 way to skin a cat. lol

Joseph Marquette is your best bet for quality whites. He sold chicks at one time, but grew weary of demanding buyers who assumed he was McMurray....
 
Thanks Steph.....my momma always said there's more than 1 way to skin a cat. lol

Joseph Marquette is your best bet for quality whites. He sold chicks at one time, but grew weary of demanding buyers who assumed he was McMurray....


Ugh, I'd prefer NOT to skin a cat... just sayin'! ;)

I keep hoping he'll jump in and offer some guidance, but it looks like I may have to go ahead and get the ball rolling more directly, lol.
 
Well, I"m thinking that I'm not going to sell Dorking chicks this year.  Jwhip http://www.xwpoultryranch.com/

Jeremy is going to be a great resource.


Thanks for the reply. I would still love to get any advice you might offer! A few specific questions if you have the time - and inclination - to respond:

What do you do with your culls? Do you sell some of the nicer ones as breeders?

Are there shows on the East coast that you would recommend I make special effort to attend?

I see the "top" (only?) breeders for whites are you and Jeremy; what about reds, and silver-greys?

I've seen your comments re these rarer breeds (w regard to Sandhill stock in particular) and wonder if Sandhill would be a good starting point.

Also, yes, joining the Dorking Club is on my "to do" list.
 
Quote:
While in reality, this is the best route, it is not the only route. Point in case...I tried to do the right thing, contacted "the" breeder of red Dorkings, sent the box, paid extremely reasonable "x" amount for a cock and pullet and double that for the shipping...still only about $125 total, (and I sent the money way in advance of shipping). Long story short the male died in transit. I was heart broken. Words can't express going at midnight 45 minutes away to the distribution center to open the box to a dead chicken. It was heartbreaking.

I'm sorry, Getting eggs in the mail from a breeder that you RESEARCH, do your homework and ask your questions and have a 50% hatch rate is not a terrible way to go. Let's face it....if you're in a hurry, you don't need to breed Dorkings. They take FOREVER to mature which means more need for infrastructure and all that being said, they are a freakin awesome breed.
I love them...
just my 2 cents :)

Kimberly 35042, I'm so sorry that happened to you, but THANK YOU for posting about it. I feel exactly the same way, but have been reluctant to speak up (which is really unusual for me, I admit!).

I do agree that getting a pre-assessed "breeding quality trio" is an efficient way to acquire good birds, but I disagree that it's the only way to go. It does give you a one-generation head start, and the advantage of a "known" foundation, but that won't matter if you don't have the judgement to properly cull the F1s, F2s, etc. Near-perfect foundation birds can still breed a population that spirals downhill quickly without proper judgement for future breedings. Assuming that you're buying hatching eggs from a good quality and ethical breeder, when you buy hatching eggs you're essentially bypassing your own foundation trio and starting with F1s from the seller's breeding quality trio. If you know how to evaluate an F1 population, you'll do fine. If you don't know how to evaluate an F1 population, your flock will degrade with your purchased F1s only one season quicker than it would with your home-bred F1s. Admittedly, it's always nice to have a known-quality foundation trio on-site for comparison, but for me that doesn't justify the stress that adult birds go through during shipping.

So I guess what I'm saying is that in theory I agree with the recommendation to get a breeding quality trio from a successful breeder, but in reality I would never do it if shipping were involved. If I really wanted adult birds that bad, well, time for a road trip. Take the long scenic route towards the pick up, and the quick efficient route back with the birds in a comfortable cage. Bill it to myself as a vacation, and enjoy the memories!!
 
Oh dear, that's such a shame that happened. I have never lost a bird coming to or going from me.
So I am comfortable shipping any age. I can certainly see how you would feel otherwise.
Regrets for your loss,
Karen
 
Thanks for the reply. I would still love to get any advice you might offer! A few specific questions if you have the time - and inclination - to respond:

What do you do with your culls? Do you sell some of the nicer ones as breeders? Yes, although I don't sell anything yet as breeders. They're more like project starters, because they're still a project.

Are there shows on the East coast that you would recommend I make special effort to attend? The Ohio National and the Northeastern Poultry Congress. You can google both of them, and they'll pop up.

I see the "top" (only?) breeders for whites are you and Jeremy; what about reds, and silver-greys? That's a delicate question in a delicate arena. If I were going to procure SG eggs, there is one breeder in California and one in Wisconsin to whom I would turn. Reds are tough. Reds are essentially new to the scene. They haven't been stabilized yet as to color--form is still coming in all varieties. Reds seem to attract folks that are generally new to poultry standard-bred breeding in general, which I don't say in a derisory manner whatsoever. They all seem to be in constant communication and trying to work out the kinks as they go--which kind of sounds about right for everyone. If I were looking to find Reds, I'd want to get eggs from somebody who has been working with them for a good few years at least, who is intent on the SOP, who uses more than one cock, and who isolates breeding units, i.e. this pair here, this pair there, this pair over here--keeping track of eggs, toe-punching, etc...
Sandhill makes a large genetic pool available to folks. There is great value in that. They are a hatchery, though, and not a breeder. One simply cannot accord the kind of minute attention needed for success to that many breeds. Heck, only the best can breed more than 6 worth anything worth looking at. That's all you actually need to know, how many breeds and varieties does one work with. It says 99% of the tale. I would not recommend Sand Hill as a starting place for Dorkings, not when there are other sources available.

Also, yes, joining the Dorking Club is on my "to do" list.
That's all well and good, but it is much more important to join the APA and start attending shows. Lessons learned from experienced breeders and judges translate well onto Dorkings.
Best of luck.
 

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