The Dorking and I

Written by: Dylan P. Barile of Ester Run Farm

I have had chickens nearly all of my life. I got my first batch of chicks when I was 8, and by the time I was 12 years old, I had added ducks, geese, turkeys, and pigeons added into that equation. Except for the occasional flock of black sex-links, or white broilers, these were always purebred fowl and aside for my time in college, I always was rearing chicks and other babies. In 2015, my husband and I moved to the farm where we now live and I was finally able to get back into breeding chickens.
This is when I fell in love with Dorkings.

I have always been enamored with both American and English history, and when I first
discovered Dorkings I had been researching some of what I thought were “old” breeds like the Sussex and the Orpington. Of course I had heard of Dorkings, but had never really encountered them except for one or two at a show. “Old” breeds were given a new meaning to me from then on. Along with the Old English Game, the Dorking is the oldest Western breed of domestic chicken, and from the Roman occupation of Britain 2000 years ago until the middle of the 19 th century, she was the zenith of poultry
development.

The Dorking’s reputation for carcass quality and exceptional flesh characteristics grabbed my attention and because I work with many chefs, I wanted a semi commercial outlet for dressed heritage poultry that I could be proud of. As a kid, our meat chickens were always white broilers so I knew I wanted a heritage breed meat chicken with out question. After I butchered my first Dorking, I was hooked. Dorkings are also good layers, especially in the winter, but I wanted a really good standard bred layer as well. I discovered the Minorca, but that’s a chicken for another article.

In the early British shows, entries were often limited to Dorkings, Games and A.O.V. The old
timers often said back then there were only two breeds of chicken in bonnie England. Two breeds, but MANY varieties. The American Poultry Association came into being at about the time the old reliable Dorking was being overshadowed by the new and the novel, namely composite breeds and those of Asiatic origin. Because of the Asiatic craze, the Dorking was additionally hindered in this country by an emerging bias in favor of yellow skin and legs. In a show hall or on range, well bred Dorking of excellent type will still command the attention of any poulterer who knows something of history.

My first Dorkings were Coloreds, simply because I liked the way they looked. I think what you like to look at is the single most important factor when settling on a breed of animal. You must enjoy what you see when you go into your chicken house each day, if not you will most certainly fail them. I got my box of Colored Dorkings from Sand Hill and with in two years I was hatching a few hundred a year. My line of Coloreds throw both Silver Grey and Red in addition to the normal Dark Red, Dark Grey, and Colored.

It was in the autumn of 2017 that I met Craig Russell and we became fairly instant friends.
Talking about Dorkings of course, along with all poultry and most other animals as well, we would often be on the phone for hours. Craig sold me a pair of Whites at the Ohio National in Columbus that year. I eventually got better Reds and Silvers from exhibition breeders and farmers and Cuckoos from two other fanciers.

Craig, in addition to being a dear friend, has been an absolutely invaluable resource and mentor to me. He is always willing to talk and share his knowledge of Dorkings. Without Craig, I would not know much of what I do about Dorkings and their history. Craig frequently shares stories of his mentors and many other Dorking guys. Many of Craig’s tales come from breeders and farmers such as Bruce Lentz, John Norris, Dale Rice, Henry Miller and many more. Craig knew these men when some of them were older than he is now. These stories and tales give us a view of what the “old timers” were doing with chickens well over a century ago.

The original Dorking was of course the Red. In Dorkings however, that term casts a wide net. Red Speckles and Spangleds, the multiple versions of Black Breasted Red such as Clays, Tawnys, and even Brown Reds were included. The Dorking was first and foremost a farmer’s fowl. This stems from a time in our agricultural history when chickens were a large part of the farm’s income and identity. Fanciers eventually selected the Silver Grey from the old Dark (called Colored now) pattern by selecting for clean silvery white hackles and saddles. Farmers would often have a variety of Dorking that was different from their neighbor. This helped to identify a farmer’s birds based solely on their color and pattern. This led to many varieties and colors often based on a farmer’s preference. Because
of their relationship to the Old English Game, Dorkings traditionally have came in nearly all of the same colors and patterns as the Game. Craig often tells of a man he met in the 1970’s at The Royal Highland Show in Scotland who proudly said, “It must be something in the air or water of Britain that allows all of these colors to be present in the Dorkings and Games both”. Obviously it is more in the genetics than in the elements, but the fact remains that Games and Dorkings were often crossed to achieve market birds and this opened the door to many variants, colors, and patterns.

Since my journey with Dorkings began, I now have all 6 of the large fowl standard colors;
Reds, Coloreds, Whites, Silver Greys, and both combs of Cuckoos. I have bantams in Red and Silver Grey (SCCL), and also Whites and Cuckoos (RCCL). I also have LF Coloreds, Reds, and Silver Greys in rose comb as well as Whites in single comb, though they are not in the Standard. Speaking of non-standard varieties, Craig really helped fan my Dorking flame and has helped me find and educate me on many of the old, historic and non-standard varieties including Old Fashioned Greys, Slate Reds, Blacks, Dark Birchen Greys, Japans, Clays, Tawnys, Golden Greys, Golden Cuckoos, Spangleds, Light Greys, and Red Pyles, and a few others in lesser numbers. In non-standard bantams, I have RC Dark Birchen Grey, RC Black and SC Golden Grey. Many of these historic colors came in both rose and single comb depending on the farmer’s likes or wants. With these old varieties, just like the 6 Standard ones, I always select for the best Dorking characteristics first then for the proper colors and combs.

The Dorking is a foundation breed, having been used in the creation of many popular breeds today. Some of these include Sussex, Orpingtons, Reds, Houdans, Faverolles, and even some strains of Plymouth Rock and Wyandotte. We must preserve and promote the Dorking in all her forms, however, we must specifically preserve and promote the 5 Standard varieties. From these, we can create many of the old patterns but without these, we lose her uniqueness and quality. The Dorking is such an old breed we could never truly recreate her if lost. Despite its waxing and waning over the years, I believe the Dorking has survived because, for many of us who love old things and poultry most of all, they are the
proudest and most iconic of our standard breeds. God save the Dorking!