Dorking Chicken, England Chicken that has five toes.

 

Dorking is a famous chciken breed come from Dorking, England. This rectangular body shape with short legs is good both ini meat and eggs. The color of egg is white, Eventhough,  the Dorking har red earlobes. Most the white eggs come from whie ear lobes hen. The average of egg production is not more than 200 egg a year, the exact range is 170-190 eggs. The egg production does not exceed the levels seen in common dual-purpose chickens, including the Rhode Island Red, New Hampshire, and Plymouth Rock.

This chciken is dual purpose chicken developed from Belgiia in Roman era. The dorking is a five toes chicken, similar to the silkie chicken. The roman brought the chicken as fine table.

THe chicken is large. the rooster weighs 4,55 to 6,55 kilogram (10-14 lbs); while, the hen weighs 3 to 5 kilogram (8-11 lbs). there is bantam version weighs around a kilograms. The roster bantam wieghs 1130 to 1360 grams, meanwhile, the hen slighlty diferrent. it weighs 910-1130 gram. Some bantam has rosecomb.

There are five color that is reconition bys the standard breeed, such as white, sliver grey, red, dark and cucko. The silver grey color is the color pattern with silver neck color. the silve grey also have grey color in sadddle and the center of wing. The remain color of is is black.

The Dorking is not hard winter due its wide comb. Meanwhile, the chciken is not tolerate with hot condition or hot weather.

In my country, there is dorking descendant. the descendant is called Ayam Kedu. The kedu has no five toes but the performance is similar to Dokring. They have have upright body and tall. The comb is also single wide with red earlobe. There is thre color variation of Kedu, such as White, Red and color.

 

Thai Game Chicken

Before 2010, I did not recognize any chicken pit breed beside Thai Chicken game This wide berast sleder and tta roster best for chciken fight. The chicken is rise for pi t cock chicken only. the owner usu for gamble. 

I do not like pit roosetr practice because its against animal walfaere. I just raise the rooster to improve ayam kampung genetics.  

I had raised Thai pit chicken. this chicken is a famous in my country. unfortunately, people raise it for pit cock. I just want to raise the chciken to breed the best breed. I cross a Thai male to the local chicken or Ayam kampung. the descen is better than its mother but its shorter than the father. 

Thai chciken is a pit cock. it has good reputaion for the the fighting chicken. the thail is very aggresive. they can fight until die. Some rooster chockse to drawn the arena when they cannot fight to opponent. the lose chciken cannaot fight again. they like a losser who afrrad to other chciken. wehereas a local chicken may run from the bad chciken but one day they can fight with the same chciken. the local chicken has hit and run strategy. 

Thai Chicken come from Thailand, suits with its name. They have been develeoped for hundreds years for it. the Thai has upright posture. string neck and beak. the shank is so compact and it could harm the owner. the rosterweight 3,5 kilograms while the hen is aroun 2,5 kilograms. while, ayam kampung just 1-1,5 kilogram. they have musucular body. it is a great breed with slender body. 

Today some raise the chicken for meat and show chciken. some people cross it with Cobb, Ayam kampong, and other chicken. the famous color is black breasted red. The skin benath the feather is red blood. The comb is red walnut. 

Artifical Insemintaion along time ago

 

I used to have a regular barber. He was a very diligent man and a chicken farmer. He once said that in his day, artificial insemination was done by inserting rooster sperm into the female's cloaca using a bamboo strip. Of course, the bamboo strip wasn't sharp because it had been smoothed.

He used artificial insemination to breed the best rooster. He had a very good rooster in his pen. He hoped to get some good generation from the roster. He sold the chciken in bird market. He useually sell some good chicken.

Of course, that practice is no longer practiced. To transfer rooster sperm to the female's cloaca, a syringe with a blunt tip is used. Sharp instruments can injure the female's cloaca. Using a syringe is also practical because it simply inserts the sperm into the syringe and then finally inserts it into the female's cloaca.

I don't know the success rate of the artificial insemination performed by the barber. I didn't have time to ask him about it. Certainly, some eggs hatched during the process, otherwise he wouldn't have explained how to do it. The artificial insemination performed by the barber was also ineffective, as only one female was inseminated, considering that the amount of sperm in a single ejaculation is only 0.2 to 0.5 ml. That's only a drop that can fit on the bamboo strip.

Usually, a single artificial insemination can inseminate as many chickens or as many as 20 birds if the sperm is diluted. Of course, thinner sperm won't be able to adhere to the tip of the bamboo.

Notice, the bammbo should be clean. Use a new bambbo for it. Ini my country, we easily find bamboo and make it easy. Off course , today we do not have to use bamboo for it.

Raising Chiken in up roof

In My father house space was limited. Today the house of father still small. It is so dofifcult ti find the large space due the price of land and property so high. It is also unreasonable price. Off course, in my country, people like raiseing chicken. I also raise few chicken in my house.

I put the chciken in roof. You can see my pen in second florr of my father house. I put the pen in the front of seconf floor. the second florr is not ideal because the sun. the roof is so heat and it is not good for the chciken. they feel hot in the roof. The space also limited.

I decide to stop raise the chciken for a while. Since the neaigbor cut jambu tree beside my tree. You can see the map at picture in this post. I sell the red breasted black ayam pelung to other neighbor. I am so sad. Ia also shuld go to other city for lecture.

As long you can provide a good shelter for chicken, you can rasie the chicken uprrof. You can palce the tree that can cover the chicken from heat. My country is a tropical country which sun shine everyday. The tree also help to protect the chciken from wind.

Therefore , you need to modify th epen of the chciken.  place the chciken at the comfort palce. Some pen have try that can collect the chciken manure. You can easily celan the chciken.

I though it ise not difficult to raise chiken in roof as long you have enough spcae. I have jeard the pakistani peole raise cattle at the roof.  It must be amazing. Rasing a cattle in my house is very imposible. My neghbor will angry at me and some police will arrest me for it.  

A red frizzle naked neck chicken

 

I had a red frizzle necked neck chicken. It is a local chicken. I do not know what is exatcly the chicken come from. But most of the bald or naked neck come from Bali and Papua. I guess the chciken age was aroun two three month. At its age, the chicken become independent, we do not have to palce lamp isnisde its pen. I raise the chicken at large pen alone. In the morning, I relase the chicken to find the food.

The chciken is good looks. I loved it. The bodsy is upright like the Siamese Fignting roster or pit rooster. The color is red as I have mention in the ttile above. The feather grow back as the most common frizzle chicken.

One day a naughty kid hand the chicken hard. I guess the kid just want ot play. My chcicken was very tame and easy to hand. It do not need hard work to hand this tame chicken. I remembered that He held the edge of wing my chicken and pull the wing. I am so pity. I stop the action and he released the chicken.

I asked to the brother to replace the chicken but he told me to slaughter my chicnen. He did not relaize that the chicken was very unique. I did not want to slaughter the chicken because it is very unique. So the brother did want to idemnify may chciken. Two day or three says the chciken dying and died. I am so sad. After that I wanti find other chciken that similar to my chciken first.

I went to the bird market where I got the chciken. It is not easy to find najed neck at the market because its rarely, moreover the naked neck frizzle

After several years seaching, I did not find any chicken that similar to my chciken old one. I woner I have the chicken as the real heritage chicken bree of my contry. 

Gambar oleh Mari Loli dari Pixabay

Muscovy Duck ; the meat producer and the mother of other fowl

In my country, this duck is popular as a dark meat. People cook the duck with the spicy. the meat is so decilious but not all people like it because it stnky. The sticky come from the glandule near the tail. 

Peple like to raise the duck. beside as the  meat producer, the bird is also good mother for indian runner or chicken. They have brooth ability. THe hen can hatch so many eggs. THe farmer use it to hatch the indian runner duck which do not want to hathc her egg. 

Male black and white Muscovy Duck

The muscovy come from Latin America such as Mexico to Argentina. They are domteicated there. they were lived at the forest and stay at the tree. but they do not perch the tree since they live with human. 

The duck is a big duck. the male weigh up to 3-4 kilogram. The mature male is two times of the mature hen. THe hen is just only 1,25. 

My father sid the muscovy is the good defender. They can defend themselves from eagle or raptor. they use its sharpe claw. 

Gambar oleh Mircea Iancu dari Pixabay

The Surprising Influence of the Mother in Crossbreeding Native Chickens and Broilers

 Crossbreeding chickens is a common practice among farmers aiming to combine the desirable traits of different breeds. One popular cross involves mating native chickens (locally known in Indonesia as ayam kampung) with commercial broilers. The goal is usually to create a hybrid that grows faster than native chickens, but is hardier and tastier than broilers. However, one fascinating aspect that many breeders observe is that the physical traits of the offspring often resemble the mother more than the father.

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For example, when a broiler rooster is crossed with a native (kampung) hen, the resulting chicks tend to have the slimmer body, harder feathers, and more active temperament of their native mother. These birds may still grow faster than pure ayam kampung, but their appearance and behavior are often much closer to the native side. Farmers frequently describe these hybrids as looking like improved kampung chickens rather than miniature broilers.

On the other hand, if the mother is a broiler and the father is a native rooster, the chicks are typically bulkier, with softer feathers and a more docile personality—traits associated with commercial broilers. They may lack the agility and disease resistance of kampung chickens, but their fast growth and meatier build are obvious.

So, why does the mother’s traits seem to dominate?

While both parents contribute equally to the genetic makeup of the chick, the mother provides more than just half the DNA. She also contributes the egg environment, mitochondrial DNA (which affects energy production and metabolism), and maternal effects—non-genetic influences that impact early development, growth rate, and physical appearance.

This maternal influence explains why many breeders choose the mother breed based on the desired outcome. If they want hardy chickens with native looks, they use native hens. If they want larger, fast-growing birds, they may prefer broiler hens.

In conclusion, when crossbreeding chickens, the mother’s characteristics often shape the look and nature of the offspring. Understanding this influence can help farmers make smarter breeding choices that better match their production goals—whether that’s stronger immunity, faster growth, or a balance of both.

The Aggresive Hen due to limited space

 

A Reflection on a Mistake: My Aggressive Hen

 

I once raised a hen that showed unexpected aggression. The hen black bettle color and also tall. At first, I didn’t realize the seriousness of her behavior. But soon, she began kicking the roosters — one of them even suffered an eye injury. I was shocked. Later, she also hurt her own chick. That was when I realized something was deeply wrong.

 

Looking back, I now understand that the problem started with my own mistake. I had placed the hen in a narrow cage, which likely made her feel stressed or territorial. That tight space may have triggered her aggression. I did not the size exatcly for the hen but the other chicken was comfort use the pen. I regret not noticing the warning signs earlier. I should have trimmed her nails or separated her sooner to avoid injuries.

 

I also suspect that the hen came from a village where chickens are allowed to roam freely. In those settings, hens may be less aggressive because they have more space and freedom. In contrast, keeping her confined likely increased her stress and caused this behavior.

 

For a moment, I considered “de-toeing” — removing the claws — but I soon realized it would be cruel. Besides, I didn’t have the proper tools, nor the antiseptic to avoid infection or tetanus. The practice of “de-toeing” is common in commercial chciken farm.

 

In the end, I made the difficult decision to replace the hen with another. Eventually, I put the aggressive hen down, not out of anger, but out of responsibility. It was not a pleasant experience, but I learned something important: as an animal owner, we must provide a proper environment and always observe early signs of stress or danger.

This experience taught me to be more careful, more thoughtful, and more responsible in caring for animals. Mistakes can hurt — not just ourselves, but also the creatures under our care.

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