Dominique Thread!

[itspebbl]

Our Doms are 3 weeks and 1 day old now. one of them, Sunny, got pecked by the big chickens and now her comb is crooked, but she is fine. Her and Cowgirl will jump up on our hands when we put them in the brooder. All of them appear to have rose combs as our first chicks all had single, and they all have a good bit of barring on their wings and other feathers.

 

[ebinion]

do dominique chicks always have a white spot on their head

thanks

 

[centrarchid]

Yes, birds with sex-linked barring have a white spot on their head. This includes American Dominiques. In males the spot is less defined / contrasting less with surrounding down.

 

[lazy gardener]

This spring I got 3 sexed dominique pullets from a big hatchery. 1 grew out beautifully into a dominique with proper comb and all. The other 2 grew out to be barred rock/dominique crosses. Single combed with the dominique body style. 1 had strong barring and the other was more dominique marked. Both were roos. I don't trust mass hatcheries anymore. Its to easy to slip in junk instead of what you payed for.

 

[insanity]

Gardner,
They lost business that's for sure. I told my feed store and 2 other local places that deal with this particular company. I wasn't the only one complaining so all three local stores are switching hatcheries next season. That's a every store in 150 mile radius at least. As far as holding them accountable when questioned they said "Hybrids were due to out-crossing for genetic diversity and unfortunately feather sexing is not 100% so some roos will always slip through,"

 

[lazy gardener]

Gardner,
They lost business that's for sure. I told my feed store and 2 other local places that deal with this particular company. I wasn't the only one complaining so all three local stores are switching hatcheries next season. That's a every store in 150 mile radius at least. As far as holding them accountable when questioned they said "Hybrids were due to out-crossing for genetic diversity and unfortunately feather sexing is not 100% so some roos will always slip through,"

Understandable, on a few roosters slipping through, but 100%???? Wouldn't it stand to reason that they would get doms from an other line to stir the gene pool??? I will be getting free replacements from them in the spring, but if I look at them, and they have the wrong comb or are roos, I'll refuse to accept them.

 

[fowlmouthgirls]

16 weeks and still no waddles, is that normal?

 

[genesis1verse1]

16 weeks and still no waddles, is that normal?

Quote: Not really sure, I just got my first Dominiques a couple of months or so ago and I can say they seem to be very slow growers and developers. I have one that is 13 weeks and still has some fluff on it's head/neck.

 

[centrarchid]

Slow is typical for American Dominiques. Mine do not typically come into good flesh until about 20 weeks, but they can do it on some pretty crappy forage that would likely starve faster growing breeds.

 

[centrarchid]

This going to be a fun mess to go into winter with such little bitties. Normally, chick hatching on my American Dominique stops in August but this hen beat me. Sire is good so one or two might be worth effort. Two more chicks are just outside of image for a total of seven. At time of photograph chicks were about one week old, they are now pushing two weeks. Even though three weeks older will be a challenge through about Christmas.



They sleep in high grass that is otherwise a very secure location. Hen can keep them plenty warm when covered even now but when the cold rains lasting days and the snow hits they are going to need to be provided for better than simply a field, a pile of supplemental feed and a water bowl a 100 feet away. It is when they are foraging that life can get tough. I will probably need to move the unused dog house out into pasture and get hen to move bitties in to it. Dogs might actually use it then. The will still be chicks by first snow and have higher maintenance requirements until about midwinter. If cocci cause even the slightest dip in health, a chick will not survive. Many things work against raising chicks this time of year but it can be done.

What these birds will likely be put through is not too different from what was done back in days before complete diets where developed and before heat was applied to the barn. It forces one to think about stealing heat from the sun and storing it, as well protecting from ravages of cold, wet, and wind.