Dorking Chickens - a rare breed in Australia.
Silver Dorking hens
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Silver Dorking cockerel
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Dorking chickens are one of the oldest breeds of domesticated chickens, thought to have originated during the Roman times of Julius Caesar. The breed was largely thereafter developed in Britain, around the town of Dorking, as a prized large table bird with fine, white meat. They are unusual amongst the large breeds of chicken, in that they have 5 toes, not 4 like the average chook.
I was lucky enough to purchase our silver Dorking hens at an auction, as they are almost impossible to find. I've since located only one other Australian breeder. I have a real soft spot for these chickens - they are large, docile, plump & friendly egg-laying machines. They are vocal chickens with big characters, who love to wander, investigate and forage. They appear to start their egg-laying barrage earlier in the season than our other breeds, and are already laying well by the end of winter.
Our current stock of Dorking chickens are all silver-grey in colour. They do come in other colour varieties overseas.
I've gone on a bit of a mission trying to breed and promote this ancient and rare chicken, as they're just too good to disappear from the Australian gene pool.
We hoped to have Dorking chicks for sale this year, however like many other breeds they're having a very poor season, perhaps to the heat & smoke around Sydney. A few young cockerels currently for sale.
I was lucky enough to purchase our silver Dorking hens at an auction, as they are almost impossible to find. I've since located only one other Australian breeder. I have a real soft spot for these chickens - they are large, docile, plump & friendly egg-laying machines. They are vocal chickens with big characters, who love to wander, investigate and forage. They appear to start their egg-laying barrage earlier in the season than our other breeds, and are already laying well by the end of winter.
Our current stock of Dorking chickens are all silver-grey in colour. They do come in other colour varieties overseas.
I've gone on a bit of a mission trying to breed and promote this ancient and rare chicken, as they're just too good to disappear from the Australian gene pool.
We hoped to have Dorking chicks for sale this year, however like many other breeds they're having a very poor season, perhaps to the heat & smoke around Sydney. A few young cockerels currently for sale.