Editing Dorking chicken

{{Short description|British breed of chicken}}
{{use dmy dates|date=August 2014}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2014}}
{{infobox poultry breed
| name          = Dorking
| image         = Dorking Hahn.JPG
| image_size    =
| alt           = 
| image_caption = A silver-grey Dorking cock
| status        = {{nobreak|[[FAO]] (2007): endangered-maintained{{r|barb|page=122}}}}
| altname       =
| country       = United Kingdom{{r|pcgb2}}
| distribution  =
| standard      =
| use           = 
| nickname      =
| apa           = Large fowl: English{{r|apa}}<br>Bantam: Single comb clean legged{{r|apa}}
| aba           = 
| ee            = recognised{{r|ee}}
| pcgb          = Soft feather: heavy{{r|pcgb}}
| maleweight    = Standard: {{nobreak|3.60-6.35 kg}}{{r|roberts|page=104}}<br>Bantam: {{nobreak|1130–1360 g}}{{r|roberts|page=104}}
| femaleweight  = Standard: {{nobreak|3.60-4.55 kg}}{{r|roberts|page=104}}<br>Bantam: {{nobreak|910–1130 g}}{{r|roberts|page=104}}
| skincolour     = white
| eggcolour      = white or tinted{{r|rbst}}
| comb          = single or rose-comb{{r|roberts|page=99}}
| note          = 
| type          = [[Chicken]]
| latin         = Gallus gallus domesticus
}}

The '''Dorking''' is a British [[list of chicken breeds|breed]] of domestic [[chicken]].{{r|dave}} It is named after the town of [[Dorking]], in [[Surrey]] in southern England.{{r|rbst}}

== History ==

The Dorking is among the oldest British chicken breeds. It has sometimes been suggested that it derives from five-toed (rather than the usual four-toed) chickens brought to Britain by the [[Ancient Rome|Romans]] in the first century AD,{{r|sid|janet}} but it is not known whether the Romans brought poultry with them, nor if they found five-toed poultry when they arrived.{{r|rbst}} The Roman writer [[Columella]], active at that time, mentions five-toed hens as being the best breeding-stock: "they are reckoned the most generous which have five toes".{{r|millar|page=342}}

The Dorking originated in the southern [[home counties]] in south-east England, and is named after the [[market town]] of [[Dorking]], in [[Surrey]], from where birds were sent to the markets of London. It was the principal meat breed supplied to the metropolis until it was displaced by the [[Sussex (chicken)|Sussex]] in the early part of the twentieth century; it also became popular as an exhibition bird.{{r|dave}} It was among the breeds shown at the first [[poultry show]], at [[London Zoo]] in 1845.{{r|roberts|page=289}}

The Dorking was included in the first [[British Poultry Standard|poultry standard]], ''The Standard of Excellence in Exhibition Poultry'', edited by [[William Bernhardt Tegetmeier]] and published in 1865 by the original [[Poultry Club of Great Britain]].{{r|1sted}} In the late nineteenth century, separate [[breed societies]] formed for the various colour varieties; two of these merged to form the Dorking Club, and a Scottish Dorking Club also formed. By about the time of the [[Second World War]], none of these remained active.{{r|dave}} Interest in the breed had decreased rapidly, and it drew close to extinction. The Dorking Club was restarted in 1970.{{r|dave}}

Three colour varieties – coloured, silver-grey and white – were included in the first [[Standard of Perfection]] of the [[American Poultry Association]] in 1874; the red was added in 1995.{{r|apa}} Three bantam varieties – coloured, silver-grey and rose-comb white – were added in 1960.{{r|apa}}

== Characteristics ==

The Dorking has a rectangular body with short, five-toed legs. As with all single comb poultry, the comb points may require protection in extremely cold weather. Dorkings are 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 {{convert|4.55|-|6.35|kg|abbr=on|0}} for cocks, {{convert|3.60|-|5.00|kg|abbr=on|0}} for cockerels and {{convert|3.60|-|4.55|kg|abbr=on|0}} for hens.{{r|club}} There are five recognised colour varieties: white, silver-grey, red, dark and cuckoo.{{r|club}}

== Gallery ==

<gallery mode="packed" heights="200px" style="text-align:left" caption="Illustrations by [[Harrison Weir]]">
File:Coloured-dorking.png |Coloured Dorking
File:White-dorking.png |White Dorking
File:Red-dorkings.jpg|Red Dorkings
File:Dark-dorkings.jpg |Prize Dark Dorkings
</gallery>

== See also ==
*[[Dorking Cockerel]], public art in [[Dorking|Dorking, England]] that depicts the Dorking chicken

==References==
{{Commons category|Dorking (chicken)}}

{{reflist|45em|refs=

<ref name=1sted>William Bernhard Tegetmeier (editor) (1865). [https://archive.org/details/standardexcelle00tegegoog ''The Standard of Excellence in Exhibition Poultry, authorized by the Poultry Club'']. London: Groombridge and Sons, for the Poultry Club. 56 pp.</ref>

<ref name=apa>[https://web.archive.org/web/20171104135004/http://www.amerpoultryassn.com/PDF%20Forms/APA%20Recognized%20Breeds%20and%20Varieties%20Sept2012.pdf APA Recognized Breeds and Varieties: As of January 1, 2012]. American Poultry Association. Archived 4 November 2017.</ref>

<ref name=barb>Barbara Rischkowsky, D. Pilling (eds.) (2007). [ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/010/a1250e/annexes/List%20of%20breeds%20documented%20in%20the%20Global%20Databank%20for%20Animal%20Genetic%20Resources/List_breeds.pdf List of breeds documented in the Global Databank for Animal Genetic Resources]{{dead link|date=May 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}, annex to [ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/010/a1250e/a1250e.pdf ''The State of the World's Animal Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture'']. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. {{ISBN|9789251057629}}. Accessed November 2017.</ref>

<ref name=dave>David Scrivener (2014). [https://books.google.com/books?id=TPBKCQAAQBAJ ''Popular Poultry Breeds'']. Ramsbury: Crowood. {{ISBN|9781847979711}}.</ref>

<ref name=ee>[https://web.archive.org/web/20130616062803/http://www.entente-ee.com/deutsch/sparten/gefluegel/dateien/2013/Verzeichnis%20R%20F%2028042013.xls Liste des races et variétés homologuée dans les pays EE (28.04.2013)]. Entente Européenne d’Aviculture et de Cuniculture. Archived 16 June 2013.</ref>

<!---ref name=ekarius>Carol Ekarius. ''Storey’s Illustrated Guide to Poultry Breeds''. Storey Publishing 2007. {{ISBN|9781580176675}}. </ref--->

<ref name=millar>Lucius Junius Moderatus Columella (trans. Anon.) (1745). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=qcNbAAAAMAAJ L. Junius Moderatus Columella of Husbandry, in Twelve Books: and his book, concerning Trees. Translated into English, with illustrations from Pliny, Cato, Varro, Palladius and other ancient and modern authors]'' London: A. Millar.</ref>

<ref name=pcgb>[https://web.archive.org/web/20180612143235/http://www.poultryclub.org/img/Breed%20Classification.pdf Breed Classification]. Poultry Club of Great Britain. Archived 12 June 2018.</ref>

<ref name=pcgb2>[https://web.archive.org/web/20181109100645/https://www.poultryclub.org/breed-gallery/chickens/ Chickens]. Poultry Club of Great Britain. Archived 9 November 2018.</ref>

<ref name=rbst>[https://www.rbst.org.uk/Rare-and-Native-Breeds/Poultry/Chickens/Dorking Dorking] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107015844/https://www.rbst.org.uk/Rare-and-Native-Breeds/Poultry/Chickens/Dorking |date=7 November 2017 }}. Rare Breeds Survival Trust. Accessed November 2017.</ref>

<ref name=roberts>Victoria Roberts (2008). [https://books.google.com/books?id=nAfyUHY42u0C ''British poultry standards: complete specifications and judging points of all standardized breeds and varieties of poultry as compiled by the specialist breed clubs and recognised by the Poultry Club of Great Britain'']. Oxford: Blackwell. {{ISBN|9781405156424}}.</ref>

<ref name=club>[http://www.poultryclub.org/dorkingclub/ The Dorking Club] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180728050348/http://www.poultryclub.org/dorkingclub/ |date=28 July 2018 }}. Poultry Club of Great Britain.</ref>

<!---ref name=hobson>Jeremy Hobson, Celia Lewis (2009). ''Choosing & Raising Chickens: The Complete Guide to Breeds and Welfare''. London:  David and Charles Publishing.</ref--->

<ref name=janet>{{citation|title= The Encyclopedia of Historic and Endangered Livestock and Poultry Breeds|author=Janet Vorwald Dohner|publisher=[[Yale University Press]]|year= 2001|isbn=0-300-08880-9|pages=421–423}}</ref>

<!---<ref name=roy>{{citation|title=Poultry Breeding and Genetics|author =Roy D. Crawford|publisher=Elsevier Health Sciences|year=1990|isbn=0-444-88557-9}}. Pages 1033–1034.</ref>--->

<ref name=sid>Sidney Hubert Lewer (1924). ''British Poultry and Poultry Keeping''. London: Feathered World.</ref>

}}

== Further reading ==

* Thomas William Sturges (1911). [https://archive.org/details/poultrymanualcom00stur ''The Poultry Manual: A Complete Guide for the Breeder and Exhibitor''], second edition. London: Macdonald and Evans.

{{British livestock|R.4}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dorking (Chicken)}}
[[Category:Conservation Priority Breeds of the Livestock Conservancy]]
[[Category:Chicken breeds]]
[[Category:Chicken breeds originating in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Animal breeds on the RBST Watchlist]]