Maybe a silver gray dorking...maybe not?

[ShineFurthur]

Hi Everyone!

I just got a foursome of laying hens from a lady on Craigslist. The other three were easy to identify but this little girl has me stumped. She looks like a silver gray dorking and has the "spur" or fifth toe. However her comb is very small, as it the rest of her. Her disposition is friendly but she was top bird in her previous small flock despite being the smallest one.

From all I have read, this breed is very hard to find. The lady I got her from acquired her last June (spur of the moment "oh what a cute fuzzy chick" purchase) at a flea market and has no idea where she really came from. I live in the desert southwest and there are no breeders in the region. I'm having a hard time believing that a silver gray dorking or silver dorking cross is what I really have but what else could she be?

Thanks for any and all help everyone!

 

[chooks4life]

K, your Dorking is beautiful. I think they are not well known in the US, especially in the west. You are lucky to have such a pretty girl. How is her disposition?

I have been thinking about adding a new coop and a second flock next year. The space where my current flock lives can't be added on to so I will have to make a completely new coop and yard. I previously went with commonly well known "good" layers. For my second flock, I think I am going to focus on more rare or heritage breeds. I like the idea of carrying on tradition and helping to keep rare breeds going. I still need good layers, however.

Any suggestions anyone?

Not much into purebreds myself but totally appreciate the sentiment and necessity of retaining them. If I were going to try to preserve something heritage I'd look into what's most in need yet still closest to suiting my needs, though personally, I'd probably not attempt to use them as utilitarian livestock while working to preserve the rarest breeds. You'd need to test taste for quality, lol, but keeping a very rare breed for eggs or meat more than breeding would be an issue in terms of conservation. If it's very rare every good egg should be brooded, not eaten, same for every good bird of a rare breed.

So if you want to work on restoring and preserving them as well as eat their eggs or meat you may be better off getting one of the least endangered breeds.

No matter what rare breed you get, the supposed laying ratio can be completely not as described, as it varies greatly between family strains and breeders, and many of the old breeds are in a period of being rebuilt back to their former glory.

Barnevelders and Silver Dorkings used to be good layers last I heard, RIRs too, Orpingtons, Faverolles, etc... There's a few to choose from but you may be better off keeping hybrids for eggs and working on a heritage breed to restore it to previous laying capacity as many of the modern descendents are much poorer layers than their progenitors. Then again it depends on what amount of eggs you consume on a regular basis. Anyway, this site may help:
Quote: Best wishes.

 

[K Spot]

This is my "extra exotic" chick from McMurray. Do y'all think he's a Silver Grey Dorking? Btw, he needs a new home.

Yes, you have a Silvery Grey Dorking roo.

 

[ShineFurthur]

I should also have mentioned that all my girls lay cream/brown eggs and I haven't gotten anything else as of yet. However, I have only had this one for two days so I don't know if she's layed yet.

 

[keesmom]

That is a spur, not a 5th toe. Game hen maybe?

 

[Wyandottes7]

Looks like a game breed mix to me. Not a Dorking, as she doesn't have a fifth toe.

 

[ShineFurthur]

OIC. I had seen the spur called a fifth toe so I wasn't sure. The game hen also seems much more in line with her size, comb and disposition. I knew I would get an answer here, thanks again!

 

[chooks4life]

Eh, just putting this out there... The very best looking 'Silver Gray Dorking' I've ever seen wasn't a true Silver Gray Dorking at all. She was a total mongrel, bred from already very mixed mongrels whose genetics included Light Sussex, Welsummer, Black Australorp, Silkie (white full sized birds with the black flesh, skin, and turquoise earlobes), Barnevelder, Croad Langshan, RIR, and assorted other breeds long since mixed into a fine mess. But no Silver Dorking in the recent ancestry, I've never owned one and neither had anyone I got the already mongrelized ancestors from. None of the birds were purebreds either, but none were mixed with SGD... Anyway, point being, that coloring can pop up out of a random mix. She might have been a throwback to a distant progenitor. She might not be purebred anything.

Best wishes.

 

[BantamLover21]

I agree with the others; it looks like you have a game hen mix, not a Dorking.

 

[ShineFurthur]

Well she's cute and funny whatever she is. I'm not into chickens for the breed or show, I just like the fun and the eggs. This girl settled right in with my existing flock (four barred rocks, four white rocks, two golden comets, two black australorps and a rhode island red) and everyone seems to be getting along well after a few minor scuffles.

Thanks for the answers everyone! I appreciate the knowledge, experience and fun chicken stories.