CSU - Chicken State University- Large Fowl SOP

[DraigAthar]

Well, I suppose I could start with the hen in my avatar. She's about the worst example of a Dominique as you're likely to find, haha! But she was my first Dominique, and she was the one who introduced us to the breed and taught us about some of the wonderful but more intangible traits of the breed, so I'll share her with you and point out her faults, in terms of the SOP.

She had a huge cushion, and a lot of fluff on her butt. She had a pretty severely pinched tail, and a wedge-shaped comb. There's a lot of smuttiness to her barring, it isn't very clean. She had a lot of black on her beak and legs (I know some is acceptable, but she had quite a bit), and she had feather stubs between her toes. Her body was narrow and her back didn't slope down toward the tail like it should. I know it was cold in this photo, as you can see from the frost on the grass, but she always looked like a little puff ball.

She was the correct weight for a Dominique hen, and she laid medium to large eggs right through the winter. She was docile but alert, intelligent (for a chicken), a good forager, and ranked high in the peck order considering she was part of my first mixed flock of standard breeds and therefore the smallest of all of them. She had nice deep red eyes. She was just a hatchery bird. I talk about her in the past tense because she just died last week, and we miss her quite a bit. She became very much a pet bird, but she inspired our love for the breed and sent us out to acquire some better stock to work with and learn.



You can see the severely pinched tail in this photo, as well as a lump on her abdomen that eventually killed her. She had some sort of neoplasm there, I did a rudimentary necropsy when she died and she was riddled with little tumor nodules all over her intestines and oviduct. So genetically speaking, she was a dead end. I guess fortunately for her, we had her before we even started thinking about breeding! She would have no place in a proper breeding program.


Anyway, I will now find some of my photos of slightly better examples of Dominiques, and talk more about my goals, as suggested.

 

[DraigAthar]

Okay, my first non-hatchery Doms came from Lily Plasse. Someone mentioned before that it is hard to judge type on Dominique cockerels at an early age, and I've found this to be very true. Here's an example. This is one of of the boys I got from Lily, when he was about 4 months old. His back looks terrible, so long and not even remotely U-shaped.


This is the same roo when he was 7 months old. Big difference! It was a windy day, so his lower parts look a lot fluffier than they really are. But you can see the way the shape of his back changed as he matured. He also eventually grew in proper sickles, he had none at all for the longest time. I still have this roo, I should take a current photo this weekend.


This is his sister when she was also 4 months old, not a good pose but she has a decent tail now as an adult.


So my goals ... at this point, I am still a babe in the world of Dominique breeding. I have to try not to get too distracted by the finer points right now like comb and color. I know I need to focus on the frame for now. I need to get closer to the SOP back slope in both male and female, and get a good shape on the main body, stay away from the pinched tail and wedge shaped body. If I can get a handle on the frame, I can work from there. That's the main goal this year, and what I will be culling for from the spring hatches. I was lucky enough to get my hands on a Bill Post cockerel (hatched and raised by Yellow House Farm) just before winter, so he's in the breeding pen right now and I will be setting a bunch of eggs soon. I realized I do not have a photo of him, so I'll add that to my list of need-to-take pics this weekend.

This is one of the roos I hatched last year, I set a few eggs from his pen already that are due to hatch this weekend, we'll see how it goes. He was spot on for weight for Dominique cockerels, while my other boys have all been a little on the heavy side. I think it is far too easy to breed large fowl Doms way too large, they are meant to be on the small side. I would like it if he held his chest up higher. His comb also has a small side spike that could be considered a double-spike, and the texture over the entire top of the comb is more pointy than pebbly. Also the comb is very wedge shaped. I've found it very easy to get narrow, wedge-shaped combs.


And ... I apparently don't take many photos of my hens! So I'll have to get out there with the camera. But this is a start. Thanks for any and all comments. Like I said, I am still just starting this adventure, so I can use all the advice I can get.

 

[DMRippy]

Not a bad bird, except he has a white sickle which is also rather common. Not a deal breaker for breeding, especailly pullets.

I have asked this question on another thread but have not gotten an answer.... is the white tail feathers a DQ? I am guessing not. I have an SOP and WHITE is not mentioned as a DQ and it is not technically a FOREIGN color SOOOOOOOO What say ye?

For further clarification if the feather is white in the middle with barring on the ends as bad as a SOLID White feather? I know there was some mention as to SOLID black feathers and some other color maybe gold? mentioned as a DQ in the SOP.... sorry it is not committed to memory yet. I am working with several barred breeds and would like to know a UNIFORM answer please,

 

[DraigAthar]

I have asked this question on another thread but have not gotten an answer.... is the white tail feathers a DQ? I am guessing not. I have an SOP and WHITE is not mentioned as a DQ and it is not technically a FOREIGN color SOOOOOOOO What say ye?

For further clarification if the feather is white in the middle with barring on the ends as bad as a SOLID White feather? I know there was some mention as to SOLID black feathers and some other color maybe gold? mentioned as a DQ in the SOP.... sorry it is not committed to memory yet. I am working with several barred breeds and would like to know a UNIFORM answer please,

I don't have a solid answer for you as to whether it is a DQ, I do apologize. But I wanted to ask, how old is that bird? Because I know that after a couple of molts (so a 2 or 3 year old cock or older), there is a tendency in some birds for the tail feathers to become 'washed out' and appear white like that.

On a Dominique, I know that solid black feathers are not a DQ, as long as they are rare. Gold is definitely a DQ. But I'm like you, I am really not sure about the solid white.

 

[Gallusfarm]

Okay, my first non-hatchery Doms came from Lily Plasse. Someone mentioned before that it is hard to judge type on Dominique cockerels at an early age, and I've found this to be very true. Here's an example. This is one of of the boys I got from Lily, when he was about 4 months old. His back looks terrible, so long and not even remotely U-shaped.


This is the same roo when he was 7 months old. Big difference! It was a windy day, so his lower parts look a lot fluffier than they really are. But you can see the way the shape of his back changed as he matured. He also eventually grew in proper sickles, he had none at all for the longest time. I still have this roo, I should take a current photo this weekend.

What a great example of how 3 months can make such a difference.

 

[Delight in Dominiques]

I have asked this question on another thread but have not gotten an answer.... is the white tail feathers a DQ? I am guessing not. I have an SOP and WHITE is not mentioned as a DQ and it is not technically a FOREIGN color SOOOOOOOO What say ye?

For further clarification if the feather is white in the middle with barring on the ends as bad as a SOLID White feather? I know there was some mention as to SOLID black feathers and some other color maybe gold? mentioned as a DQ in the SOP.... sorry it is not committed to memory yet. I am working with several barred breeds and would like to know a UNIFORM answer please,

The 'barring' on a dominique should be complete from side to side. distinct contrast is important that the cuckoo pattern be crisp and keep the bird from having a smudged or dirty look. Solid black feathers in the hackle,breast and wing bow in females are not uncommon but should be pulled out to give the bird a cleaner appearance. I would not use hens that throw solid black feathers in their wing or main tail feathers,as this would be passed onto the offspring. Walt or Bill could shed more light onto this. Solid white in dominiques is not a DQ and is only common to males, I have never seen it in females, but I have read that it can turn up as they mature. John

 

[Delight in Dominiques]

I have been working with Dominique's now for several years and the biggest challenges I am faced with were short tails and feather width. I put an effort into the breeding pens last year and made good improvements in that department. Suggestions would be great for closer feathering. Seems to be an issue with most Dominique's today. And what would your opinion be on lengthening the back on the pullets? John

Here are some of my birds from last year.

side and back profile





other pullets








10 month old, flash created brown on hackle and saddle.




brother around same age





Keeping it "Heritage"

 

[Yellow House Farm]

AWESOME:


Quote:

 

[buffalogal]

I'm going to try to get pictures of the girls tomorrow, I hadn't realized how shop worn they're looking. For now, a few boys:

This boy carries his tail just a little higher than I like, and his sickles haven't grown out yet. (but he's not quite 8 months old yet)

Same bird as above standing still so the pattern shows up sharper. His comb is a bit smooth, and that really won't change,but like his wattles it's balanced for his head. It looks like the head of a male bird. I would like to see the tips of his wings carried up a notch more horizontally, but still, a keeper.

For contrast, this boy has a comb that is almost too small for his head, which, as it turns out, is too small for his body:

True, he had just gorged on scraps, so the distended crop isn't helping, but really, he is built like a bulldog and in all likelihood, will finish out oversized. The wind is blowing is sickles up higher than he normally carries them, he normally has the correct angle. But to me, he is just not a pleasing to the eye as the first cockerel. (And he's almost 3 months older, so I would have expected longer sickles) Not a keeper.

This is an adult cock. Leg color looks faded in the bright sun, but it's a deep gold with red spotting down the sides. I really only have one complaint about this one; he has quite a bit of padding over the saddle, and unfortunately, this has been pronounced in some of his pullets. Other than that, he is pretty nice and won't be going anywhere except a breeding pen.

Oh, and you were talking about white feathers: from the bird above, this isn't white, as the barring continues, but you can see it just fades to a very pale blue for a section, and then the full color resumes.

 

[Gallusfarm]

Quote:
All of your birds are top of the line. To me, this male seems to have jumped out of the Standard. His back, for one is nice and low in the saddle. This is how they should look. Not flat, not too long. It is right on. That is one of the things that makes the Dominique. The thing that finishes his look is that he is tighter feathered. Often we see softer feathered Dominques and it really takes away from the sleek finished look. Compare the bird above to this too soft featherd one below. What a difference.