The Dorking Breeders thread

[Degalisto]

Oh I am happy with the birds I got..( while I might be a novice at this and obviously didn't read the fine print.I do love chickens!)
in fact I am really pleased with the Australorps..And the 1 Black Leghorn hen is a hoot..so jaunty)We call her Antoinette. And 1 very nice Cuckoo Marans hen.
I am in a dither as to which rooster to keep(after culling)..1 magnificent colored Dorking( I was aiming for breeding Reds) And 1 almost as nice Red Dorking. 1 colored hen and 3 reds. UGH!
In fact I just got 4 Jersey Giant pullet chicks and 4 more Australorp pullet chicks..so to keep up egg AND meat production..until I get enough Dorkings. We have 20 ac and they range all over the place. A large coop too.
I will continue to search out Dorkings..and yes I would drive to get some...though Alabama is a bit far! haha

 

[Talithahorse]

Oh I am happy with the birds I got..( while I might be a novice at this and obviously didn't read the fine print.I do love chickens!)
in fact I am really pleased with the Australorps..And the 1 Black Leghorn hen is a hoot..so jaunty)We call her Antoinette. And 1 very nice Cuckoo Marans hen.
I am in a dither as to which rooster to keep(after culling)..1 magnificent colored Dorking( I was aiming for breeding Reds) And 1 almost as nice Red Dorking. 1 colored hen and 3 reds. UGH!
In fact I just got 4 Jersey Giant pullet chicks and 4 more Australorp pullet chicks..so to keep up egg AND meat production..until I get enough Dorkings. We have 20 ac and they range all over the place. A large coop too.
I will continue to search out Dorkings..and yes I would drive to get some...though Alabama is a bit far! haha

Too bad... I have a fabulous Red Dorking Rooster as he and his brother are beginning to argue... ugg another pen!!!!

 

[Sydney Acres]

Quote:
I personally would not order common breeds from Sandhill. Common breeds are readily available from many good quality breeders all over the country. You just have to look. Why order chicks from a place that maintains more than 100 breeds when you can order from a place that concentrates on selectively improving just 1-2 breeds? Sandhill is unique in that they maintain breeds that you can't find for sale anywhere else, and private breeders rarely make available. Again, these aren't exhibition quality birds, and few if any will fully meet SOP, but they give a breeder a place to start with rare breeds that are hard to find elsewhere. With the common breeds, some of their stock will be excellent, some with be middle-of-the-road, and some will be hatchery quality. I appreciate what Sandhill offers and am willing to accept the delays and uncertainties that go along with ordering from them. I once had two orders delayed by 3 years (at my request until it could be filled), only to get phone call from them one afternoon telling me that they could send me 75% of the chicks that I wanted today, but that none of the other breeds on my orders or acceptable substitution list were available. But given the breeds I had previously ordered from them and what was on my acceptable substitution list, they thought that I would like the Red Dorkings, which they could provide as substitutions if I were willing to try them. I had never heard of Dorkings at that time, but finally getting 75% of the other breed that I had coveted for 3 years was enough to get me to agree to whatever they suggested. I could always eat the Dorkings if I didn't like them. Well, in the end the breed I had waited 3 years for was a disappointment, but the Red Dorkings -- they're my perfect match. And the quality of the birds, while not perfect, was a good start to a breeding program. One of the hens is SOP in frame and size, which is really saying something for this breed when not obtained from a dedicated breeder. With each generation of careful selection, the quality is improving. Sandhill provided a good start for a breeding program, but patience was required. Like I said, they're not for everyone. Customers should chose the business that matches their temperament. This is definitely not the place for people who need frequent feedback, who want it exactly as requested, or who want it now. But for people with patience and flexibility, it provides options that others don't offer.

 

[Sylvester017]

Another thing to consider when looking for rare breeds is that many people who have them keep small flocks. They don't always sell birds all the time. I ended up driving a couple of hours to pick up my birds because the kind lady preferred not to ship. For me, I occasionally have birds available but since I cannot ship (It's not worth it to me to get NPIP certification or go through the trouble of shipping). As a result I have had Dorkings that I literally could not give away because no one was willing to drive to get them. (And I am on the way to the beach

). So consider that when asking around. Are you willing to drive a couple of hours to get them? I would be willing to drive a bit to deliver but as I am not a breeder per se so I probably wouldn't drive far unless I was going already). So if you REALLY want those birds, be willing to drive a bit.

I order my rare birds months in advance during the winter months so a private breeder knows how many eggs to hatch in Spring for their customers. I've waited up to 7 months to get an order filled and I was only ordering ONE pullet! But that's how Mother Nature operates -- at Her own hatching timeline and not ours!

 

[Degalisto]

Hey you mentioned about a pen..(too bad! I had 4 all together and no squabbles, hell on the hens though!)
I know nothing about actual breeding as per pens (UGH hate to after free ranging them) What size pen do you keep them in? So they don't get to free range? And hens and keeping them in pens..How long do you have to wait.. until the hen lays a clutch? Can you let them out after that? All breeding info...('member..novice)
Googled tons but finding about zilch on REAL down to earth breeding practices and multiple hen/rooster holdings. Are there any good books?
Looks complicated and would hard for me to keep them penned up!
NIce boy in your pic..wish you or me did live closer! Deb

 

[The Moonshiner]

I personally would not order common breeds from Sandhill.  Common breeds are readily available from many good quality breeders all over the country.  You just have to look.  Why order chicks from a place that maintains more than 100 breeds when you can order from a place that concentrates on selectively improving just 1-2 breeds?   Sandhill is unique in that they maintain breeds that you can't find for sale anywhere else, and private breeders rarely make available.  Again, these aren't exhibition quality birds, and few if any will fully meet SOP, but they give a breeder a place to start with rare breeds that are hard to find elsewhere.  With the common breeds, some of their stock will be excellent, some with be middle-of-the-road, and some will be hatchery quality.  I appreciate what Sandhill offers and am willing to accept the delays and uncertainties that go along with ordering from them.  I once had two orders delayed by 3 years (at my request until it could be filled), only to get phone call from them one afternoon telling me that they could send me 75% of the chicks that I wanted today, but that none of the other breeds on my orders or acceptable substitution list were available.  But given the breeds I had previously ordered from them and what was on my acceptable substitution list, they thought that I would like the Red Dorkings, which they could provide as substitutions if I were willing to try them.  I had never heard of Dorkings at that time, but finally getting 75% of the other breed that I had coveted for 3 years was enough to get me to agree to whatever they suggested.  I could always eat the Dorkings if I didn't like them.  Well, in the end the breed I had waited 3 years for was a disappointment, but the Red Dorkings -- they're my perfect match. And the quality of the birds, while not perfect, was a good start to a breeding program.  One of the hens is SOP in frame and size, which is really saying something for this breed when not obtained from a dedicated breeder.  With each generation of careful selection, the quality is improving.  Sandhill provided a good start for a breeding program, but patience was required.  Like I said, they're not for everyone.  Customers should chose the business that matches their temperament.  This is definitely not the place for people who need frequent feedback, who want it exactly as requested, or who want it now.  But for people with patience and flexibility, it provides options that others don't offer.

What I should of said was they werent any of their breeds that sell out quick. They were breeds that are always available. I was thinking that should of made it possible to have shipped by now.

It depends what Im looking for and why as to where I look or purchase. I was wanting these to raise for broody hens. Was looking for something a bit better quality then hatchery stock but mostly something more to the size they should be then hatchery stock.

Wasnt trying to pay breeder prices and breeder shipping fees for future broody hens. Also wanting to place an easy order with them to see how it went and a peek into what theyre producing since they did have some other breeds I could be interested in in tbe future.

 

[Talithahorse]

Hey you mentioned about a pen..(too bad! I had 4 all together and no squabbles, hell on the hens though!)
I know nothing about actual breeding as per pens (UGH hate to after free ranging them) What size pen do you keep them in? So they don't get to free range? And hens and keeping them in pens..How long do you have to wait.. until the hen lays a clutch? Can you let them out after that? All breeding info...('member..novice)
Googled tons but finding about zilch on REAL down to earth breeding practices and multiple hen/rooster holdings. Are there any good books?
Looks complicated and would hard for me to keep them penned up!
NIce boy in your pic..wish you or me did live closer! Deb

Thanks. He is handsome. I have two big flocks each with a large coop and a big run. I also have a big paddock that they rotate free ranging. In my smaller coop which is 6X8 with a 60 x60 yard. I have one rooster and 8-10 hens. My Dorking pen is a 10X 14 converted horse stall with a 20X40 pen. There are 14 hens and 2 roosters (I know it is too many roosters to hens ratio). They were brothers and have mostly gotten along for the last couple of years. I suppose I will have to rotate them to a small pen without hens but I would really prefer to find a good home for one of them and keep the other. I also have Maran Rooster that is in a pen with a single maran hen. Too many good roosters. Oh and I have a silkie pen which houses the old, the small, and the infirmed. In it I have a 9 year old silkie rooster, a nankin hen (the size of a pigeon), a few silkie hens and a blind rooster. Quite often small breeders will set up breeding pens during breeding season. I am too small scale for anything large. Mostly I just wanted to enjoy Dorkings for the purpose they were intended: a dual purpose self sustaining flock while helping out a rare breed by creating a demand for it.

 

[Degalisto]

WOW that is a lot. How do you keep them in the 60x60 yards? Are they covered? If not how tall?
I have a large orchard with a 6' fence for a run when they were little but now that they are bigger they go over it easy. Now they just run around on 20 ac. I do have room for another coop but the yards seem daunting.
And I thought breeding horses was a pain! Maybe I bit off more than I can chew...wouldn't be the first time!haha
I like the Dorkings for what they are intended too..you took the words right out of my mouth on all that..preserving and enjoying.
Guess I will have to do some serious thinking on this..good thing both my husband(he likes chickens too) and I can build just about anything!! he also being master fence builder!..if only somebody here liked house work!haha

 

[Talithahorse]

WOW that is a lot. How do you keep them in the 60x60 yards? Are they covered? If not how tall?
I have a large orchard with a 6' fence for a run when they were little but now that they are bigger they go over it easy. Now they just run around on 20 ac. I do have room for another coop but the yards seem daunting.
And I thought breeding horses was a pain! Maybe I bit off more than I can chew...wouldn't be the first time!haha
I like the Dorkings for what they are intended too..you took the words right out of my mouth on all that..preserving and enjoying.
Guess I will have to do some serious thinking on this..good thing both my husband(he likes chickens too) and I can build just about anything!! he also being master fence builder!..if only somebody here liked house work!haha

Chickens are definitely easier than horses (yep, got 30 years in horses too). And the plus to chickens is that they can also provide sustenance for the table. Both yards are open and that means I occasionally lose out to a hawk. It is mostly to keep the neighborhood dogs out. Yep the chickens go over the fences sometimes but generally they stay in their pen. I found that clipping their wings when they first go out into the pen helps to convince them to stay put. Amazingly my Dorkings can actually get to the top of the barn to roost which keeps them safe from most predators (have been lucky in the Raccoon department so far). I pretty much encourage them to stay in but don't fret over the ones that "Free Range" They just get a stern talking to about the risks of free ranging and warned to stay out of the dog pen if they value their life. I do have a smaller more secure pen that they can be put into (or locked into the stall) if the predators are particularly active but overall, they go where they go. My silkies are in a completely covered, maximum security coop due to their difficulty in seeing overhead predators and that also includes my blind rooster (who is not a silkie) since he cannot protect himself at all. My big thing is to try to limit the number of pens come winter to just the 3 main pens. Summer I may have a broody hen, or a temporary bachelor hang out, or a brooder pen for the youngsters. I also have enough food and waterers that they could (if necessary) go a whole week without me having to refill. Of course I do check it everyday and clean out as needed. I love the time I spend at the barn... it is my stress relief. They are much quieter than my junior high kids (I teach).

 

[Degalisto]

Too funny...so the fences are 6' hi? My mind is trying to figure out where to put yards...I was pretty amazed that they went over the 6' or 7'? fence..
We have hawks too but either cuz of the dogs( don't bother the chickens) or the size of the chickens they haven't bothered them.. Cross my fingers.
We are kinda out in farm land so no neighbors dogs..(people don't let dogs loose cuz the farmers can shoot them if harassing livestock.)
I like to watch them too.. they come up to the house..they go every where and love to graze with the horses.
I have the big waterers and feeders too but go down every day..travel? did some one say travel? Not hardly
I even bought the automatic door opener/closer. Have yet to put it up..but this summer probably will so we don't worry about evening closing...plus not having to feed the horses in summer .. yahoo..we might even get away for a day!!
Thank you so much for all the info.