Silver Grey Dorking and Red Dorking Egg question

[Wolf-Kim]

Does anyone here have both varieties? Do the Red Dorkings lay a different colored/sized egg than the Silver Grey Dorkings?

The three hens in the flock that belong to me lay eggs that tend to be almost completly rounded, like golfballs(really!). There is a Silver Grey hen that is a little larger than mine and a Red Dorking hen, all in the same coop. I get mostly uniform "round" white eggs, but there is someone laying a HUGE tinted egg. I suspect it is the Red Dorking, but I only think this because of the variety difference.

Anyone have both varieties and could get a picture or two with a side to side comparison?

I would really appreciate it. I would like to know because I mark eggs before I put them in the bator, that way I can keep track of the resulting chick. So for the sake of record-keeping I need to know what hen laid what egg, or a close idea.

Thank you so much!
-Kim

 

[Zookeeper9000]

I can't help ya as I don't have dorkings yet. But I did want to tell ya that they say the round and oval eggs are hens, and the pointed ones are roo's. So congrats on all those girls you are waiting to hatch

 

[Mrs MIA]

I've had both breeds' eggs in my incubator, and if I didn't know which ones they were, I wouldn't have known. They both lay slightly tinted to rose colored eggs, though I've heard you can breed the color out of the eggs. I haven't had any luck hatching them yet, though.

Something in the way they're shipped up here, I'm guessing.
Here's what my silver greys looked like...

Here's the Reds...

Hope this helps.

Question for you... when you candle your eggs, are they really porous? Or solid shell?

 

[Wolf-Kim]

Thanks, that does help a little. I think my brownish tinted eggs are the Red Dorking. All my other eggs seem white

Some of the eggs are porous, kind of "dotted and sandy" looking when candled. Is that what you're talking about? Most of my eggs are solid shelled. There is the occasional porous, I do not know whether it's a particular hen laying those or just the random egg in any hen's cycle.

If a recall correctly, I think the porous ones developed just fine in the incubator. I could be wrong, when I candle again I will let you know, it should be some time next week.

-Kim

 

[Mrs MIA]

Yep... just speckled with holes all over the egg when you candle it. Like the third egg down on the right on this page... http://shilala.homestead.com/candling.html.
I've heard that the porous eggs lose too much moisture during incubation. I noticed that the majority of the Dorking eggs I received were porous all over, and wondered if it was the breed or the bird. Maybe it's a sign that the birds aren't getting enough calcium, I dunno... all I know is that the hatch rate on the porous eggs is really low. A breeder that I've been talking to has said the his start to develop, but give up before hatching. He suggested dipping 1/3 of the egg, small end, in wax to seal some of the pores. I have several eggs like that in the incubator now that I don't think are developing. I'll need to check it out and see...
Thanks for the info... I'll keep my fingers crossed for your hatch!!!

 

[flyingmonkeypoop]

Wolf-Kim, one way to know for sure would be to stick the red hen in a cage or carrier for a day or two until she lays an egg, that way you will know.

 

[Wolf-Kim]

FlyingMonkeyPoop, I know that's the only way to be sure, but the hens are at my friend's house and she doesn't have a safe place to put a caged bird right now. All she has is rabbit cages, so a coon would be able to reach in and well you know the rest. If they were at my house I could be sure which hen lays what egg, but my friend only goes down to the coop twice a day. I appreciate the suggestions though. It's just too dangerous to stick her in a rabbit cage right now.

AK, I didn't know that about the porous eggs. I'm sorry to hear that alot of your eggs are porous. I do not get enough of the porous eggs to try the wax, I just put them all in the bator and then candle and throw out those that aren't keeping up.

-Kim