Morning, I've commented on the Dorkings already in connection with yellow pigment, which they do not have. Aveca, in commenting again I am not singling you out. You are researching and reporting and that helps us all to learn. But there's something distinctly off about the information re the German white Orpingtons and Dorkings. We have bred hundreds including some from lines that at times threw more four toed offspring than we would have liked. I can say from our own experience that breeding even purebred four toed Dorkings together will not have the fifth toe making an appearance in later generations. We sometimes used an otherwise exceptional four toed bird (don't throw the baby out with the bath water) partnered with a five toed bird bred from five toes and still got many with four toes. As hard as it was to get back to the consistent production of five toed fowl this idea of the five toes haunting someone's breeding efforts for generations makes no sense at all. Not to me anyway. Actually, the whole idea of using Dorking makes no sense. Germany is and never has been a hot bed of big grand typed Dorkings and that would apply especially to the whites. Silver gray may have been used because it woudln't bring red plumage factors into the picture but what would that add to an Orpington. Plumage quality and maybe some unseen things like possible vigor but if doing breed crossing that makes sense a great big balloon of a Wyandotte, yellow pigment and all would be a much safer and more useful cross, considering what has existed in Germany, than any Dorking.
but is never hurt to try.
