Dominique Combs?

[cyanne]

So, I've read over and over that one of the best ways to tell Doms and BRs apart is by looking at the comb.

Well, I was at the feed store last week and they had a bin of Dom pullets *YAY!!!!*

Then, as I was looking them over, I noticed that their combs looked very much like plain old single combs...uh oh. So I asked the feed store lady and she said that they were sent from the hatchery labeled as Doms so that was what they were selling them as.

I went ahead and bought 3, but I keep looking at those combs and wondering...

The comb is really short and has several little points along it...not as tall as some of the other single combed chicks I have but very similar.

What I am wondering is, what does a Dom comb look like when they are little? I thought maybe it just looks like a single comb now but will change as they get older.

Also, is is possible to have Doms with single combs? These are hatchery chicks, so I know they are PQ. I have a SLW with a single comb so I wondered if it was possible with the Doms as well.

I'm probably just deluding myself, but hey, I can hope, right?

 

[speckledhen]

You got some Barred Rocks labeded Doms. Exact same thing happened at a feedstore here and they refused to listen to someone who breeds BRs, for heavens sake! (me!) As babies, Doms just have a flat space, no points.

 

[lauralou]

As usual, I agree with speckledhen.

It sounds like you have a Barred Rock.

Here is a picture of a baby Dominique. Sorry I don't have a picture that is more of a close up of the face,
but notice that the comb is completely smooth. No serrated edge at all.

 

[lauralou]

Darn it! The picture got smaller when I posted it, and you really can't see what I mean. I'll try again.
They get blurry as I zoom in...

I hope these turn out better!

 

[steffpeck]

I have one just a little older than yours, and there are 3 rows of little nubs, does this mean it is a roo or a pullet??

 

[speckledhen]

Steff, a rose comb doesn't have nubs, but a pea comb does. A rose comb is just wrinkled-looking. Wonder what you have? Hmm.

 

[steffpeck]

I will have to take pictures of my little one tomorrow and see what you think.

 

[cyanne]

ARRRRGGGHH! Darnit! I tried to tell the lady at the feed store that i didn't think they looked right, but she insisted that they were Doms.

And I was so excited to find them locally because the only other way I was going to get them was to either buy online and have to buy more than I wanted, OR wait until one of my silkies or cochins gets much older and goes broody so I can buy eggs from someone.

Not that I don't LOVE barred rocks, I had a BR rooster when I was a kid. His name was Shiny and he was a big, gorgeous rooster with the sweetest temperment ever. We used to hold him on our lap all the time and cuddle him like a big puppy.

I had just read that the Doms were rare and the combs look nifty and they are supposed to be great foragers and good at raising chicks...sigh, guess I will just have to wait and enjoy the BR instead.

On another note, I am kicking myself for buying 3, as part of my plan to buy extra chicks of each breed to ensure that I get at least 1 pullet. I forgot that the Doms can be sexed by the dot on their head and the shadows on the front of the legs (are BRs the same?). So I have 3 pullets and only need 1.

Story of my life lately...too many chickens (no such thing, right?)

 

[lauralou]

Doms and BR's are sexed the same way.

But, from hatching my own eggs, I have made some sexing mistakes. Not that it mattered, they were already here. But it was easy to tell the mistakes early on. As soon as wing feathers start coming in, you will notice wide white stripes on the wings of the males.

The only cockerel in this picture is the one in the front. See how much wider the white stripe is on his wing? They are almost 2 weeks old in this picture.

 

[cyanne]

Yep, all of mine had a nice, compact solid spot on top of their heads and shadows on the front of their legs and feet. Now that they are feathering in, I can see that they are very dark with not much of the grey/silver color in the bands. So, I am the proud owner of 3 BR pullets.

I wish the rest of my chickens were as easy to sex!

I swear I spend more time staring at them and wondering than anything else...wouldn't matter at all if I lived in the country and could keep roosters!

We are shopping for a house with 5 - 10 acres right now so we can get out of the 'burbs and have our own little funny farm.