Dorking Chickens

History

The only purely British breed makes the Dorking possibly the oldest pure breed lineage. A Roman writer described birds with five toes of the Dorking type at the time of the invasion by Julius Caesar. It was known and described by the Roman writer Columella long before it became a popular breed in England. He speaks of the hens as being 'square-framed, large and broad-breasted, with big heads and small upright combs' adding that 'the purest breed are five-clawed.' The combs are still allowed in two forms the rose and the single. Historically the rose combs were northern as were the Redcaps; Hamburghs etc. and the single combs were southern. They featured in the first Poultry show in 1845 and were used to create the Light Sussex and Faverolles as well as other breeds, they were used to produce excellent table birds.

Characteristics

n/a

Breed Tips

n/a

Purpose

Dual

Classification

Heavy / Soft feather / Rare

Origin

Great Britain

Egg Color

Tinted

Egg Numbers

140 per annum