The Dorking Breeders thread

[Chestnut]

My dorking eggs finally hit the two ounce mark and I had one go broody so I thought I'd set a few eggs under her and hopefully get a few more dorkings for insurance. I'm down to one cock so hoping for another. I put 4 eggs under her and one started hatching at sunset last night. Woke up to this:

I know the head coloring on two of my hens is off but they seem typical in all other aspects. The one hen with the right coloring lays the smallest eggs so I'm using the other hens and selecting for color. The cock is a good type and large.

 

[ki4got]

My dorking eggs finally hit the two ounce mark and I had one go broody so I thought I'd set a few eggs under her and hopefully get a few more dorkings for insurance. I'm down to one cock so hoping for another. I put 4 eggs under her and one started hatching at sunset last night. Woke up to this:

I know the head coloring on two of my hens is off but they seem typical in all other aspects. The one hen with the right coloring lays the smallest eggs so I'm using the other hens and selecting for color. The cock is a good type and large.

are they from my dark headed girl? if so, you should get 50/50 dark heads and light.

my red girls decided to stash a few eggs under my EE girl without me knowing. she hatched out 15 ee and 3 Dorkings (all 3 have good toes so I know they're not mixed) anxious to see how they grow. I've got some more sg eggs incubating that i'll be pawning off on a cochin broody or 3. ended up with about 5 pullets and 15 cockerels growing out, so I decided to set some more before the weather turns too cold.

 

[Chestnut]

Yes Karen, they are from the dark headed hens I got from you. The chick has good toes. If the three other eggs haven't hatched by this afternoon I'm going to consider them a loss and get her and the chick out on some pasture.

 

[Chestnut]

Well had a second chick hatch today. Thought the hen was going to kill it she kept pecking it in the shell. We tucked it under her and kept an eye on her. After it dried off she seemed to accept it. We moved them out onto some grass. Did an autopsy on the other two eggs: one was clear and the other had quit at some point. We had to tuck eggs back under the hen on occasions so not sure if that contributed. Just glad to have the two.

 

[ki4got]

ok I've got a question... ok maybe more than one, but it's all together.

I've got a bunch of cockerels growing out for my silver grey pen (no mature roosters for it). all have flaws.

What would be considered the least of the evils?

the largest boys have sprigs, bit of red leakage or hackle striping, next best also have red leakage, next from there (size wise) has hackle striping, and the smallest of them have no sprigs and decent color.

I'm inclined to pick the largest with the leakage simply to get the size on the chicks (but his breast also hasn't gone solid black yet). thoughts?

here are all the boys I've got to choose from. there's some question in my mind on a few if they're the same boy or different, but they're very close in attributes so they're grouped. I have about 10 all together to choose from but since they're free ranging and not leg banded it's hard to say (they are all wing banded tho)

I was going to say who's the biggest but for now just based on the pics what would you say? oh and I'm NOT judging them by feet. that is easy to fix and not an issue with me.



leakage


very slight leakage


sprig/striping


possibly a teeny sprig but looks more like a kink/notch on the rear blade


hackle striping (only pic I got of him)


no sprigs, good color

 

[ki4got]

this is the group I have to work with, showing most of the birds free ranging. (not all are dorkings, I realize)

 

[Dirt Farmer]

ok I've got a question... ok maybe more than one, but it's all together.

I've got a bunch of cockerels growing out for my silver grey pen (no mature roosters for it). all have flaws.

What would be considered the least of the evils?

the largest boys have sprigs, bit of red leakage or hackle striping, next best also have red leakage, next from there (size wise) has hackle striping, and the smallest of them have no sprigs and decent color.

I'm inclined to pick the largest with the leakage simply to get the size on the chicks (but his breast also hasn't gone solid black yet). thoughts?

here are all the boys I've got to choose from. there's some question in my mind on a few if they're the same boy or different, but they're very close in attributes so they're grouped. I have about 10 all together to choose from but since they're free ranging and not leg banded it's hard to say (they are all wing banded tho)

I was going to say who's the biggest but for now just based on the pics what would you say? oh and I'm NOT judging them by feet. that is easy to fix and not an issue with me.

I like these two. Hard to tell from bottom the photo but he gives the impression of a good back. I would be inclined to go with a larger sized bird with good feather quality and that appears high on the pecking order (the vigor thing). I like a cockerel with a long wide back, and that is surprisingly heavy when picked up, having muscle around the keel. Keep in mind most of my chicken experience is non Dorking.
My fall hatch is drawing to a close I'll give an update on the weekend.

 

[neopolitancrazy]

I would choose the heaviest cockerel with near-Dorking type. It is my understanding that size and type are the hardest traits to fix, with toes, combs and coloring being relatively minor flaws.
Best wishes,
Angela

Eta: I would get coloring advice from an OEG breeder familiar with Silver Duckwings, they have more experience with it than we do.

 

[ki4got]

Quote: that's all true. size and type ARE the hardest... I'm just wondering about the coloration/sprig issues. tho these 2 have already been high up my list. the top boy has just a bit of red in his wing and his breast hasn't gone true black yet, but he's got really good type. the other boy is another favorite. he's out of one of Big Guy's daughters and looks/acts a lot like his (favorite) grandfather. they are still growing, so will be hanging around as long as possible. i'll be setting up the breeding pen in Feb unless I have predator problems before then.

eta thought the 2 replies were on same post until I realized I missed one. so this reply goes to both. LOL

 

[ki4got]

I would choose the heaviest cockerel with near-Dorking type. It is my understanding that size and type are the hardest traits to fix, with toes, combs and coloring being relatively minor flaws.
Best wishes,
Angela

Eta: I would get coloring advice from an OEG breeder familiar with Silver Duckwings, they have more experience with it than we do.

you are correct, color comb and feet are the last things I typically look at, but sprigs and leakage are harder to eliminate than the wrong # of points or toes... looking them over in the yard is difficult because they're not leg banded (need to find the bands!) so pictures help me decide based on what I can see here, then go back and compare pic to cockerel.