Coop tours

Poultry enthusiasts are scheduling coop tours in other cities: Seattle will have one July 21, $30 per family or $25 for Tilth members. 12 noon to 4 pm. http://www.seattletilth.org/events/citychickenstour. Barrington New Hampshire has one coming up on June 29, 10 am - 3 pm, which includes Yellow House Farm, http://www.yellowhousefarmnh.com/. Joseph Marquette of Yellow House Farm is specializing in White Dorkings shown here in a painting from Wikipedia,White Houdans and La Fleche, all very old and now rare breeds. He also raises ducks, geese and turkeys. He sells chicks, eggs and meat through his site.

Dorkings can be traced back to the Roman Empire. Chickens with similar plumage and the characteristic five toes are depicted in Roman mosaics and other art. The Dorking is considered a foundation breed, meaning that it is not created from other breeds but has its own unique history. As such, its existence is more significant than modern composite breeds, such as the Rhode Island Red. Dorkings are one of the breeds from which the others are derived.

Those of you in the Barrington area will enjoy the opportunity to see these rare chickens as well as lovely Yellow House Farm on the coop tour.