The Dorking Breeders thread

[kimberly35042]

Quote:
Oh dear, I really need to get my pictures organized and onto the computer where I can share them. Right now the card in my camera has over 3400 photos on it, more than half them are of the chickens, clearly not all masterpieces but I rarely delete any picture that is in focus. I think this project is number 87 on my "to do" list. Maybe I need to move it up.

(Is this the right emoticom for overwhelmed? Not sure about that.)

At the time I collected eggs for hatching last year all 7 hens were free ranging with the one rooster. But the eggs of each hen looked different, and each hen had her own preferred nest site. I only collected eggs on the days I was home so I could verify that the right hen was in the right nest, in addition to only using eggs that were typical for that hen. The hens follow the rooster around like he's a rock star, and only leave his side to eat or lay eggs if he's out ranging around. So on days that I collected eggs, I set a timer to look for him every half hour. If one of the four best hens was missing from the group I then checked her preferred nest. I checked again every half hour until she left the nest, or reached under her to remove the egg if she was lingering too long.


All of that makes perfect sense -- I was just hoping you had some more scientific way. lol I "catch" a hen on a nest from time to time, but mostly I come home to 6 eggs in 1 nest

I'll only be collecting eggs for about 6 weeks from individual pens so they will be a flock again soon, and I'll use the 10x10 pens to grow out the young'uns.

 

[Dirt Farmer]

We could not get a photo of her that gives justice to her true shape. She is, in real life, a great example of the rectangular type desired.



She was placed first, out of the two pullets that I entered. My hen, out of my line, was placed BB and one of my line cockerels got RB. I was shocked, since I thought this pullet was clearly of better type. I discussed the placings and my Dorkings with the judge, Tom Roebuck.
I learned so much and wanted to discuss it, but I'm not sure which forum would be best. Plus, I'm not still not happy with them, even though I got so much positive feedback from judges and breeders. This show was an amazing experience.

I would like to hear about your discussion. I went down to the show on Saturday. You may not be entirely happy with them but your birds definitely belonged there. Sometimes the rarer breeds look like they don't belong in a show when compared side by side with the more commonly bred breeds. In two years I hope to show as well, then you'll have some competition to trounce. Was this the pullet that had a "40" on her leg band?

 

[capayvalleychick]

I would like to hear about your discussion. I went down to the show on Saturday. You may not be entirely happy with them but your birds definitely belonged there. Sometimes the rarer breeds look like they don't belong in a show when compared side by side with the more commonly bred breeds. In two years I hope to show as well, then you'll have some competition to trounce. Was this the pullet that had a "40" on her leg band?

Thank you. Really looking forward to seeing your Colored Dorkings!
This pullet's band was orange 44. The hen who got BB was white 41. Which of the Dorkings entered did you think was best in breed?
Are you and @Sydney Acres on the Facebook Dorking group?

Sydney, how are you fencing your acre runs? It's really interesting to hear that the Colored produce both red and Colored.

 

[Dirt Farmer]

Thank you. Really looking forward to seeing your Colored Dorkings!
This pullet's band was orange 44. The hen who got BB was white 41. Which of the Dorkings entered did you think was best in breed?
Are you and @Sydney Acres on the Facebook Dorking group?

Sydney, how are you fencing your acre runs? It's really interesting to hear that the Colored produce both red and Colored.

I thought overall the females were better than the males. If I remember correctly my favorite was the first female on the right when walking from the center towards the side of the barn. It probably was the one in the picture above. I see now the 44, may have just not recalled the number correctly. I guess the good news is that you have enough uniformity that its hard to tell them apart unless directly compared. I don't have a firm handle on the SGD description so mostly just based my opinion on "balance". Overall she just looked right to me. I'm not on Facebook.

 

[Sydney Acres]

Quote: Hi Capayvalleychick,
Yes, I am on the Facebook Dorking group.

In my case the "Colored" hens were purchased as Reds, so I think that all the birds in the group are mixed to some degree genetically. That's why the colored hens produced both red and colored offspring when bred to a red cock from the same group, and a red hen bred to the same red cock produced one colored cockerel (although he clearly has red influence). It will be interesting to see what the F2s look like. I may or may not be able to purify the Reds.

My fencing is always a work in progress, with the primary goal to prevent coyote and stray dog predation. It's a 10 acre farm, and the perimeter fencing is 6 ft tall field fencing. The squares on the bottom are 2X6" and progressively get larger to reach 6X6" on the top. There are 2 strands of electric wire on top to discourage stray dogs from climbing, and a 3 foot width of 2X4" welded wire lays flat on the ground along the entire outside of the vertical fencing, and is attached to the lowest strand of wire. This prevents animals from digging under the fence, since digging runs into wire, and the predator doesn't back up 3 feet and try again.

The young birds like to fly, so they are kept in the orchards. There are two orchards, about one acre each, and each orchard has permanent 8 foot deer fencing. The cockerels are kept in one, and the pullets in the other. Even with 8 foot fences, I need to trim the wings of the cockerels to keep them inside. The other interior fences are tall plastic deer fencing with the electronetting posts (much easier to use than T-posts and less expensive), 5-8 feet tall, depending on the pen. Other than the orchard cockerels and the heritage turkeys, I don't trim wings, so the standard 42" and 46" electronetting was nearly useless. But the tall deer netting works well, and is easily moved. Moving the fencing every 1-3 months really helps prevent damage to the pasture, as birds sometimes overuse the periphery of their yards. By moving the fences by 5-15 feet every once in a while, the pasture doesn't get trampled as much, parasitism is decreased because droppings aren't concentrated in one area, and the property is overall better managed. You can get tall electronetting also, but it is quite expensive, and I never seem to be able to keep it from being grounded out over such a long distance. The plastic deer netting is great for interior fencing, as long as your perimeter fencing is truly secure.

 

[capayvalleychick]

Dirt Farmer, the females are definitely better than the males. I've been very frustrated with the males, trying to make progress with size and length and all the details. The pullet that I already posted (orange 44) was the last female on the right, if you were facing the cages. Everyone agreed that she had the best rectangular type. The things that made her score lower than the hen were her color (she had the most shafting & frosting), condition, and she was not as wide at the base of her tail as the hen. I was surprised that her higher weight & better type did not count more than those things.
The next pullet (orange 1), in the center of the females, placed second of the two pullets. The judge remarked on her good color. She has less shafting, but overall was not as good, (and weighed less) than the other females.
The hen (white 41) was on the far left, closest to the outside aisle. The judge gave her BB. He liked her type, her width, condition, and her color. This hen only weighs 6 lbs, so I was shocked he liked her so much. He really didn't say anything negative about her. (you can click on photos to make them larger if you wish)



The next surprise for me was one of my males getting RB. When I look at my males, I'm disgusted because they are so small and I see so many things wrong with them. The judge really liked this cockerel (Red 22). Most of all, he said he liked his size and width, also condition and color. He noted that he is more upright than desired, wing angle is not good, but his overall size and positive traits made him RB.



The judge's comments on the cockerel that placed second (yellow 17) were that he had the best low and long stance. He liked that very much in this bird. His wing angle was better (not seen in this photo). His weight & size just weren't as good as the other.



The third cockerel (R21) was smaller and obviously younger, so wasn't as good as the prior males.

I was very worried when I entered a show this big, that I would be criticized for the poor quality of my birds. Instead, people were so friendly. Everyone who commented on the Dorkings was positive. Several judges looked at them (only Judge Roebuck handled them). They all seemed glad to see Dorkings in a show. The judge said that he so rarely judges them that he studied up on them in the SOP, the night before judging. He was very happy to discuss them with me, when asked, even though he was working with birds for all day Saturday and Sunday morning. He asked about their fertility. He agreed that adding the Canadian line to mine will be a good idea.

There was also a discussion about the color issues in the Silver Grays - shafting & frosting. I asked Judge Brian Decker to show me what proper stippling should look like and he showed me on a Brown Leghorn. He looked over my birds and was surprised to see that my pullet had minimal shafting and the hen wasn't as bad as usual. Several judges (not Walt L.) were discussing the shafting. The consensus seemed to be that, since every Silver Dorking has shafting and there is no way to correct it, that shafting in the SGD will not be judged the same as it would be in other breeds (ie Leghorn etc).

In all, even though I'm not happy with my Dorkings, I was glad that I entered them in a show. I'm posting this, not to brag, but in hopes it can be of help to other breeders.

 

[Sydney Acres]

Kim, thank you for posting the judge's comments along with the pictures. They are so much more meaningful when viewed together.

Your birds are beautiful. I think that sometimes when we're breeding and culling we concentrate so much on what needs improvement that we forget to appreciate what is already so great about them. No breeder will ever reach perfection, but enjoying their beauty makes the pursuit worthwhile.

You said how much the hen weighed, but not the cockerels. How big are they, and how old?

 

[Dirt Farmer]

capayvalleychick
Your critical eye is why your SGD are better than most, quite a bit better, even the cockerels. Thanks for sharing.

 

[MacCana]

Hello all,
I've decided to return and begin again. Some of you already know, but I suffered a major loss last summer due to MG.
Long story short, I'm now looking for a good, reliable source for SG Dorking hatching eggs or live chicks. We have moved to a different property, and I've learned a lot. I've already reached out to one place I found through the Dorking Breeders Club website (They're certified NPIP MG clear-- as well as the other nasties), and hope to find a 2nd source for genetic diversity from the-git. Any suggestions anyone?
Also, I haven't gone back and read the whole thread because I have missed quite a many pages during my chicken-depression-break, but I must say ** capayvalleychick ** that it's a special treat to pop in and see such awesome pictures of your SGs. They're absolutely marvelous, for some reason I needed to see that

 

[capayvalleychick]

You said how much the hen weighed, but not the cockerels. How big are they, and how old?

R22, who got RB- late March hatch, 9 mths, 7 lbs 8 oz.
Y17, (2nd) - same hatch and sire & hen as R22, 7 lb 9oz.
G21, (3rd)- early May hatch, 8 mths, 6 lb 14 oz.

I'm struggling with the weight on my cockerels. My females have made progress in size & weight but my males have not. Which doesn't make sense to me. Seems like if one sex is improving, the other should be also.

Thank you all for the kind words.