Colorado

[samsr]

I despise going to denver and fighting with the traffic.

 

[Mtn Margie]

42 messages since this am? What are you doing? Haven't read them but just did hot afternoon chicken chores and got a pullet egg from some 17 week olds. Yeah!

 

[Minchi]

Does anyone like driving in Denver????

My DH can not stand going DT, we had to last night for a book signing. He was not a happy camper.

 

[Rock Home Isle]

Turkeys will be fine with your chickens, but they still have to work their way up the pecking order. They are WAY bigger than chickens, so be prepared for the size differences. That being said, turkeys love being with their own as well, and when there are more than one turkey they tend to stick together. Do you have room for two? If so, I would get a pair.

How are those Turkeys of yours doing?

 

[Mtn Margie]

H
a ha my husbands family think I'm s super weirdo because of my love for my chickens. My MIL says I love them more then the kids

When my kids make me breakfast, they can move up a notch !!!!

 

[lazy gardener]

I LOVE being asked that question!

(others are now saying oh no you asked the question!!!!!

)

I was always interested in American History, some would say obsessed..... As a family we have been doing American Revolution reenacting for nearly 22 years. The American Dominique was the first chicken breed developed in what is now the US. It was common nearly everywhere until the mid 19th century, when various other breeds began to be imported and others developed focussing on egg laying. The Barred plymouth rock was developed in part from Dominiques. It just seemd to fit with the hobby.
Now, I am hooked on them. The good egg laying, even in winter, and the fantastic flavor of the butchered cockerels. The cockerels and roosters are nearly twice as big as the hens, making them one of the best dual purpose breeds out there. they forage well, and don't eat much in relation to the amount of eggs they produce.

Hi to WSmith and all the other Colorado readers from Maine. I'm also a Dominique fan, though off to a rough start with my first and only 3 hatchery pullets being roos. How can the hatchery screw it up so badly on the sexing, when I as a newbie took one look at the chicks and said they were all roos? I love the Dom personality, carriage, adventurous spirit when it comes to foraging and trying new foods. I chose Doms for their reputation, looking for a good forager with a rose or pea comb to be tolerant of our cold winters. Any how, I have a few questions for you if you wouldn't mind indulging! I think you've made reference to using some hatchery stock to mix up your gene pool. Care to let me know which hatchery stock you've found to be good quality? I've read that poor fertility tends to be an issue with Doms. Are you finding fertility to be an issue or poor hatchability? Or a combination? Did I also note that you have EE or Ameraucanas? Up on genetics? I'm wondering, for future reference: If I had a black Ameraucana rooster (Should breed true to produce black if it was from 2 black parents, right?) and bred it to my Dom hens, would I end up with a sex linked Pea or Rose combed olive egger?) I know I'm posting this query in the wrong place, just thought, that having found some one with a passion for the breed that you might be able to answer my questions. Thanks.

 

[gardendufus]

I had a similar response from my chickens with kale, and the greens from my turnips and beets.

Bird, I had the same experience with my kale and spinach. However, my chooks ate only the leafy part of the kale, wouldn't touch the ribs.

My dog always acts like she thinks she is the poor stepchild compared to the chooks, as I don't feed her people food much, so to make her feel better, I often toss her some of what I'm feeding when I KNOW she won't like it (leafy greens are something she never eats). So, just to let her know she wasn't missing much, I tossed her some of the kale ribs the chooks had left behind. Much to my surprise, my dog thinks kale ribs are the cats meow!

 

[wsmith]

How are those Turkeys of yours doing?

pigs with feathers. Growing fast. the bronze turkeys are as big as the chicken hens.

 

[wsmith]

Hi to WSmith and all the other Colorado readers from Maine. I'm also a Dominique fan, though off to a rough start with my first and only 3 hatchery pullets being roos. How can the hatchery screw it up so badly on the sexing, when I as a newbie took one look at the chicks and said they were all roos? I love the Dom personality, carriage, adventurous spirit when it comes to foraging and trying new foods. I chose Doms for their reputation, looking for a good forager with a rose or pea comb to be tolerant of our cold winters. Any how, I have a few questions for you if you wouldn't mind indulging! I think you've made reference to using some hatchery stock to mix up your gene pool. Care to let me know which hatchery stock you've found to be good quality? I've read that poor fertility tends to be an issue with Doms. Are you finding fertility to be an issue or poor hatchability? Or a combination? Did I also note that you have EE or Ameraucanas? Up on genetics? I'm wondering, for future reference: If I had a black Ameraucana rooster (Should breed true to produce black if it was from 2 black parents, right?) and bred it to my Dom hens, would I end up with a sex linked Pea or Rose combed olive egger?) I know I'm posting this query in the wrong place, just thought, that having found some one with a passion for the breed that you might be able to answer my questions. Thanks.

LOL. Not on the scientific end of DNA, etc. more from a practical farm background.

If you cross a dom with an Ameraucana or EE you will get a Dominegger..... LOL. It will most likely lay a dark olive green egg.

The hatchery I used was Cackle. They have had their Doms for over 30 years, and from what I saw they have the best hatchery stock. The problem is that there is still a need to cull hard. The male combs are massive and spikey. The females also have comb issues, but the tails tend to be carried too high. They do lay well. Some lines tend to have fertility problems. The chicks we just hatched are the result of months of trying, and finally we have something to show for it. We also got some fertile eggs from another breeder out of Oregon, and have 8 chicks out of that batchm they are nearly 9 weeks old. They are from some exceptional stock, some of the line have taken awards at the Stockton CA show last fall. So I am hoping that with the crossing in of good laying stock (cackle) and the eastern show lines, 9(braham) along with the chicks from Oregon, that next year we will have scads of chicks and fertile hatching eggs to sell. Feel free to "like" our Windy Ridge Dominiques FB page.
I have a good freind who is in NH who has some fantastic Dom stock. He would be a great somewhat local source for you.....

 

[Pozees]

Greetings all! Almost done with chores, just waiting for the birds to go to bed so I can close their doors and hit the hay myself.

Gardendufus, so funny about your dog loving the kale ribs! Here I thought the only thing they were good for was compost!

P-funk, any chance you could be persuaded to post a pic or two of Chance? I am a longtime horse lover, and always admired the Saddlebred. They are so elegant and athletic.

Wsmith, too adorable! They look very robust! I am really looking forward to hearing how the different colors mature - in some breeds that silver-based white is very desirable, Silkies for one. The gene in Silkies (and other white breeds as far as I know) that produces the silver-based white is sometimes called the stay-white gene, eliminating the tendency to show brassiness in the white. That is the sum total of what I know about it.

I have a Silkie cockerel that is silver-based white. I offered him for sale a few weeks ago, and would still sell him if someone with a nice white hen to breed him to wanted him, otherwise I will wait until I find one. I have gone back and forth about whether it would be safe to breed him to my only white hen, who has a crossed beak. Some folks feel it is genetic, some believe it is an error in incubation that causes it. It could be either or both, I guess. If I do a test breeding with her I will have to keep the chicks for several weeks, as her beak didn't show signs until she was 4 weeks old. Then if they are okay, I will keep a son and breed him back to her to see if their offspring are okay. All that seems a lot of trouble to me, and I feel I would be further ahead to either sell him or find him a hen.

Had another dark blue or black Silkie chick hatch today. Last time I was out to check on them, it had already come out from under Mom and was all the way out in the middle of the pen, now I'm worried about whether it will find its way back, it is very new. When I go out to close things up I will check on it again.

I can't think of who was looking for metal roofing panels, but if you're near a Habitat ReStore you can check there. You could even post a wanted ad on Craigslist, on the off chance someone has them. If there's a roofing company or roofing supply store you can ask there as well - sometimes they're actually cheaper than the Big Box home improvement stores.

Mtn Margie, did you ever get the quail you were looking for earlier this year? I just spotted an ad on the Pueblo Craigslist posted by someone offering Coturnix eggs and chicks and touting how early they begin to lay compared to chickens. Thought of you and wondered whether you'd gotten any.

Stopped by Coloradogal's place today to pick up a few bags of food, and saw her Pekins - she is not kidding about how big they are, holy macaroni!

That's all I have, hope all are well and in a cool place for the evening!