I have added two new breeds of chickens to the flock. Both English breeds, the Silver Gray Dorking and the Speckled Sussex. I wanted the Sussex last year, but, come hatching time there wasn't enough for me. I placed my order early this year and am thrilled to have four little Speckled girls.
The other breed, the Dorking, was a choice I made after a ton of research on breeds, I was looking for a breed that would lay a white egg, all my current hens lay brown, I loved that the Dorkings are listed as a rare heritage bird, and they have an extra toe, only a handful of breeds possess this. Here are some photos showing the difference between the four toed Sussex and the five toed Dorking. I am not sure what the value is of that odd fifth toe, but it is sort of neat.
When the chicks first arrived they were almost identical in colour and markings, the toes were how I could identify them.
They are beginning to feather out after a week and a half, losing the soft down and gaining their proper feathers. Hopefully in a couple more weeks they can leave my grooming room and be transferred to their own area out in the chicken coop to grow up a bit before being released into our current flock.
