The Dorking Breeders thread

[kimberly35042]

Absolutely maintaining multiple cock birds requires good infrastructure. I've gotten away with a few things in the past with the dorkings only. When I throw them all back together after the breeding season, there are scuffles, but they work it out with little bloodshed as long as there is lots of room. I've also used older birds to teach teenagers their place. I had one Red hen that was the product of my Red xSG cross. She was here forever before I lost her to a predator(mostly because she could fly over and thru anything). She would use her spurs on young cockerels in a very impressive manner. They were always very respectful after spending time with her. She was not a great specimen, but was worth her weight in gold for her broody abilities and keeping peace in the flock. I have no idea if this method will work for me again. That is why I'm not counting on it. My breeding pens are set up with flexibility. My plan is to breed with 4 cock birds in 4 pens. I'll have a couple stand bys in with the layers if I need them. I might not be able to pull that off the first year, but I will in subsequent years.

I think its a delicate balance to breed in such a way to have a wide genetic base so as to maintain vigor, but tightly enough that your birds are consistent. Using clans appears to give the best chance of this based on my reading. And if you aren't breeding for 'it', you are breeding against 'it'. So apparent in dogs and horses too.

Jennifer

Jennifer,
WTHeck??? AGAIN....I could not have said it better myself. 2 of the cockerals range together during the day out in front of the pens. I need to take a picture of that. It turned out nicely and is a good start -- and like the dorkings, not perfect and still a work in progress.

 

[Yellow House Farm]

hmmm... I may be on the wrong thread. There aren't many shows in the south, but I would like to get 4H involved with the dorkings. Mainly I want "more meat around the wishbone", and like Jennifer (@pigsflyacres ) would like roasters at 24 weeks. I should keep better records, but I'm not getting as many eggs as I would expect either. So, in addition to what I consider a worthwhile breed, I'm hoping the freezer benefits as well. And for now, my favorite bird "Medium" is keeping Nankins company in the baby yard as I enjoy his company. Medium infers hackle color only-- his weight is good and type is nice other than maybe a tad leggy which may change with some age. That will be fun to see.

Well, you might find that this isn't the right thread for you, but if your honest goal is to improve stock. I'd say you're in the right place.

There are actually many, many shows in the South. For anyone hoping to breed poultry, it's a good idea to get the Poultry Press. It has all of the APA sanctioned events in it. Here's the link: http://www.poultrypress.com/

You'll find many a show in the South.

 

[neopolitancrazy]

Has anyone else here read the March 2014 edition of "Practical Poultry" published in/for the UK? I bought it for their article on Dorkings, but was not favorably impressed by the photos used to demonstrate Dorking hens. My understanding is that Dorkings are to have soft close feathering, not all that ground-dragging fluff. Did I misunderstand? Has anyone else reviewed that article?
Angela

 

[pigsflyacres]

Has anyone else here read the March 2014 edition of "Practical Poultry" published in/for the UK? I bought it for their article on Dorkings, but was not favorably impressed by the photos used to demonstrate Dorking hens. My understanding is that Dorkings are to have soft close feathering, not all that ground-dragging fluff. Did I misunderstand? Has anyone else reviewed that article?
Angela

When ever I see pics of many british breeds they seem overly 'fluffy'. I have not seen that particular article or photos. The UK standard is different. They also seem to like to breed birds fluffy as their interpretation of the standard. TheDragonLady used UK orps to stunning success with her line. lowering the station in this manner, negates their utility to me. Too much rain here for a bird to drag fluff thru the wet grass and undergrowth.

Its one reason why I'm just so on the fence about importation as a means to improving US Dorkings. Their birds are going to be like crossing to another breed. Which maybe we need. I'm not in a position to say. Ask me when/if I have hatchability problems.

Maybe Walt could be persuaded to drop in and comment.

Jennifer

 

[ki4got]

Maintaining only one or two cock birds will land one in a genetic bottleneck. It will create a need to import stock into one's flock. Sometimes folks do that who don't really want to maintain a breeding flock but rather are just doing a side project for exhibition knowing that they will have to return regularly to a breeder for new blood to freshen things up. This allows one to keep more varieties or breeds, but it often impacts one's ability to make progress in the project.

well, for my own stock, I only have 2 simply because predation took nearly all of my male stock last year, and I am still working on getting that back up to where it needs to be.

 

[ki4got]

Quote:
there are plenty of shows I could go to, if I were capable of driving more than 3 hours one way to get there... but as it is, the shows I plan to attend are at least 5 hours away, if not more, so I will only be attending probably 2 or 3 shows this year, and only if i can find someone to copilot...

 

[sandiklaws]

It sounds like folks have cool plans. 

A quick reminder from the BYC staff regarding this new section: "[COLOR=000000]Participants are encouraged to understand and use the terminology found in the APA Standard of Perfection and avoid usage of terminology that might be considered "slang" in the poultry world."[/COLOR]

[COLOR=000000]The term "roo" is not one used in APA/ABA culture; it is generally seen as a warning flag.  We use the terms cock/cock bird, hen, cockerel, and pullet.  Rooster is at times heard but never roo.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=000000]Maintaining only one or two cock birds will land one in a genetic bottleneck.  It will create a need to import stock into one's flock.  Sometimes folks do that who don't really want to maintain a breeding flock but rather are just doing a side project for exhibition knowing that they will have to return regularly to a breeder for new blood to freshen things up.  This allows one to keep more varieties or breeds, but it often impacts one's ability to make progress in the project.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=000000]Generally speaking, the more breeds or varieties one maintains, the lesser are expectations for quality. [/COLOR]

I think roo gets more mileage because some people are uncomfortable with the term cock, or perhaps for the reason I tend to use it... because it is easier on a cell phone to type.

 

[neopolitancrazy]

I think roo gets more mileage because some people are uncomfortable with the term cock, or perhaps for the reason I tend to use it... because it is easier on a cell phone to type.

I have only ever used "roo" when referring to the junior marsupial in the "Winnie the Pooh" stories. Many of the posts containing the term "roo" are so voluminous, I doubt their posters are trying to conserve keystrokes. I use the proper terminology because I do not wish to be thought an airhead, or a dilettante, or an ignoramus. I believe non-standard usage is welcome on other BYC threads, just not this one.
Best wishes,
Angela

 

[LilyD]

Glad to see this thread as well. I am at a bit of a standstill in my breeding this year. I had two roosters at the end of last year and was breeding chicks that showed great promise and became wonderful adult Silver Gray Dorkings. I have 4 hens, two that I bred myself who fit the standard nicely and two that I got from Poultry Palace in Washington. I lost one rooster to falling ice in December of this year. He liked to dust bath on the edge of the house and when the ice fell it killed him. The second rooster I have is from McMurray but he is evil and will attack me when I come close to the girls. He also doesn't seem very fertile. I am only getting about 4 eggs out of every two dozen that are fertile so I am thinking his destination will be the pot pretty soon.

I ordered 12 birds from Dick Horstman and they arrived on the 25th of April. One died within 24 hours of arrival leaving 11 birds. Of those birds it looks like 5 are roosters and 6 are hens. I am hoping to be able to keep two roosters from that batch that are SQ birds.

Mainly I am breeding for egg size, growth, and quality of meat. The breeders I have primarily are laying a small egg. The APA says they should have a medium to large egg. I am only hatching out the eggs that are the appropriate size for the breed since I was told that that would affect the size the future birds will lay.

I want birds that will grow well within 24 weeks and will have a good amount of breast meat as well as feeling solid. I think I have a way to go to get there. The birds that I had last year looked nice as they were walking around but could have used more filling out to be a good table bird. Taste and texture of the meat was wonderful but overall the birds were smaller than I expected.

I will be starting with two roosters if I can and will be adding more and splitting groups up as I go but I will probably still need to reorder another group of chicks before I will have enough lines to really make any difference. It is definitely a long term project.

I also don't have many shows where I am and I don't really have the ability to drive 5 or 6 hours to get to one. I will attend the local 4-H shows once I am sure that my birds are good enough quality, but I am not sure where else I will be able to take my birds since I don't know of any big shows in Vermont that I could attend.

 

[Sydney Acres]

Glad to see this thread as well. I am at a bit of a standstill in my breeding this year. I had two roosters at the end of last year and was breeding chicks that showed great promise and became wonderful adult Silver Gray Dorkings. I have 4 hens, two that I bred myself who fit the standard nicely and two that I got from Poultry Palace in Washington. I lost one rooster to falling ice in December of this year. He liked to dust bath on the edge of the house and when the ice fell it killed him. The second rooster I have is from McMurray but he is evil and will attack me when I come close to the girls. He also doesn't seem very fertile. I am only getting about 4 eggs out of every two dozen that are fertile so I am thinking his destination will be the pot pretty soon.

I ordered 12 birds from Dick Horstman and they arrived on the 25th of April. One died within 24 hours of arrival leaving 11 birds. Of those birds it looks like 5 are roosters and 6 are hens. I am hoping to be able to keep two roosters from that batch that are SQ birds.

Mainly I am breeding for egg size, growth, and quality of meat. The breeders I have primarily are laying a small egg. The APA says they should have a medium to large egg. I am only hatching out the eggs that are the appropriate size for the breed since I was told that that would affect the size the future birds will lay.

I want birds that will grow well within 24 weeks and will have a good amount of breast meat as well as feeling solid. I think I have a way to go to get there. The birds that I had last year looked nice as they were walking around but could have used more filling out to be a good table bird. Taste and texture of the meat was wonderful but overall the birds were smaller than I expected.

I will be starting with two roosters if I can and will be adding more and splitting groups up as I go but I will probably still need to reorder another group of chicks before I will have enough lines to really make any difference. It is definitely a long term project.

I also don't have many shows where I am and I don't really have the ability to drive 5 or 6 hours to get to one. I will attend the local 4-H shows once I am sure that my birds are good enough quality, but I am not sure where else I will be able to take my birds since I don't know of any big shows in Vermont that I could attend.

I had a similar concern with egg size in one of my hens. I kept all seven hens from my June 2012 Sandhill Reds. Three are not good quality birds, but lay a beautiful, extra large egg with a little too much tinting. They sell quite well, and will never be hatched. Of the other four that are fairly nice birds in various ways, one is amazing. Her frame is exactly what I want, she's over 7 lbs, her feet and head are nice, she's got a wonderful personality (I know, not an SOP requirement, but important to me), and she has all the appropriate farm behavioral instincts intact (again, not in the SOP, but I need utility farm birds that thrive with free-range management). Her color is a little more CD than RD, but I don't care at this stage in my breeding program. But her pullet eggs were too small. Honestly, I wasn't even sure that a chick could survive in one, as they were only market medium on a good day. She started laying in November 2012 and continued through July of 2013 with very little increase in egg size. But her eggs this year are excellent. Large size, ideal shape, good shell porosity, normal shell strength, and classic ivory white color. I don't know if the shift in egg size at year two is a genetic issue with her, or if she had a medical issue that has resolved, but if her daughters do the same thing then that will tell me. It's not a desirable trait, but given her other qualities she'll still be one of my foundation hens. Have your hens with small eggs gone into their second year yet?