Dorking chicken

Dorking

A Silver Grey Dorking cock
Country of origin Italy
Traits
Weight Male: 3.60-6.35 kg[1]
  Female: 3.60-4.55 kg
Skin color White
Egg color White
Comb type Single
Classification
APA English
ABA Single Comb and Clean Legged
PCGB Soft Feather: Heavy[2]
Chicken
Gallus gallus domesticus

The Dorking is a breed of chicken that is believed to have originated in Italy during the period of the Roman Empire and was introduced in Britain at the time of the Roman conquest making it one of the oldest English breeds.[3]

History

One of the earliest known mentions of the Dorking was by the Roman agricultural writer Columella, perhaps during the reign of the emperor Claudius. In his text, Rei rusticae libri, he described the breed as, "square-framed, large and broad-breasted, with big heads and small upright combs...the purest breed being five-clawed". Pliny also described a similar bird with an odd number of toes in his Naturalis Historia. Although Caesar noted that poultry was already raised in Britain prior to his invasions in 55–54 BC, the Red Dorking is believed to have been introduced in Great Britain by the Romans at an early date where much of its development continued to take place.[4][5]

They appeared in the first British poultry show in 1845, together with the Sussex breed, which is believed to be derived from the Dorking.[6] The birds are named after the market town of Dorking in Surrey which in the nineteenth century became one of the main centres of production.

They were admitted in to the American Poultry Association's Standard of Perfection in 1874.

Characteristics

The Dorking has a rectangular body with very short, five-toed legs. As with all single comb poultry, the comb points may require protection in extremely cold weather. Dorkings are also well known for their versatility as a breed for both egg and meat production. It is one of the few breeds with red earlobes that produces a white-shelled egg. The skin colour beneath the feathers is white. The weight is 4.55–6.35 kg (10–14 lb) for cocks, 3.60–5.00 kg (8–11 lb) for cockerels and 3.60–4.55 kg (8–10 lb) for hens.[1] There are five recognised colour varieties: White, Silver-grey, Red, Dark and Cuckoo.[1]

Gallery

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 The Dorking Club. Poultry Club of Great Britain.
  2. Breed Classification. Poultry Club of Great Britain. Accessed August 2014.
  3. Hobson, Jeremy & Lewis, Celia. Choosing & Raising Chickens: The complete guide to breeds and welfare. David and Charles publishing. London. 2009
  4. Lewer 1927
  5. Dohner 2001
  6. Crawford 1990, p. 1033–1034

References

Media related to Dorking (chicken) at Wikimedia Commons

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