Dominique Thread!

[Alaskan]

OK, I have not been into Dominiques at all long enough to know anything, but I want to try guessing......please tell me if you think I am totally off.

Lets pick these birds apart based on what you see. Birds at center of a given image of concern. Try to ignore other items in view. Not all are pure to make imperfections more evident.

I thought this one looked too clearly black and white. Also, I thought the tail should beheld at a little bit of an upward angle, not a completely flat back.

I think this one is more of what we want to aim for....but the photo is a little fuzzy, so I am not positive. Also, he body stance makes it hard for me to see the tail angle and how fluffy she is.

It is hard for me to tell, but I think her barring is more Dominique like than the first picture...she might be a bit too fluffy, but it is hard for me to tell since she is bent forward.

I think this has the right kind of barring, and looks very nice. But it could be that those little chicks are influencing me. CUTE!!

She looks to be going through a molt, her tail is chewed up....but she might be good. I think the barring looks good. As to the rooster combs, I just have NOT studied at all what is supposed to be ideal.....points/flat etc. so, I can't even guess! Well, except the one single comb, is an obvious bad, and then the one right after that looks more walnut comb than rose comb.

[IMG]https://www.backyardchickens.c.../6047290/width/900/height/506/flags/LL[/IMG]

 

[centrarchid]

OK, I have not been into Dominiques at all long enough to know anything, but I want to try guessing......please tell me if you think I am totally off.
I thought this one looked too clearly black and white. Also, I thought the tail should beheld at a little bit of an upward angle, not a completely flat back.
I think this one is more of what we want to aim for....but the photo is a little fuzzy, so I am not positive. Also, he body stance makes it hard for me to see the tail angle and how fluffy she is.
It is hard for me to tell, but I think her barring is more Dominique like than the first picture...she might be a bit too fluffy, but it is hard for me to tell since she is bent forward.
I think this has the right kind of barring, and looks very nice. But it could be that those little chicks are influencing me. CUTE!!
She looks to be going through a molt, her tail is chewed up....but she might be good. I think the barring looks good.

As to the rooster combs, I just have NOT studied at all what is supposed to be ideal.....points/flat etc. so, I can't even guess! Well, except the one single comb, is an obvious bad, and then the one right after that looks more walnut comb than rose comb.

The first three are pullets and their tails have not pulled up yet until adult feathering is all in. Their brothers are also flat backed but that will change any day now. First pullet is too light and yes contrasts being bars seems to high. Second pullet has smudgy look to flight feathers resulting from not having one of the slow feathering genes associated with pure American Dominiques (she is F3 American Dominique x American Game). She should improve markedly in type once she matures sexually. Third pullet I see nothing wrong with other than aspect photograph taken from makes her look fat. Combs are all over the place with none being perfect and the one you caught was outright wrong.

 

[OldBiddie33]

13 weeks and already huge!

 

[buffalogal]

Huge news! At the double show in Bakersfield California, Janice Blawat's bantam pullet took Best of Breed in one show and Best of Breed, Ch RCCL and BEST IN SHOW at the second!

She writes:
"This pullet has been RB and BB in other shows this year. It was pretty exciting to win with her. I think it has helped that I've taken at least 10 DBs to every show I've attended, all of them are decent birds and are in very good show condition. It has taken a while to get judges to stop and look and take them seriously. I think it helped this pullet that there were 7 handsome cockerels caged on one side of her and two more pullets on the other side.
This pullet is by Kyle Tripp's cock and out of one of Fred Farthing's hens, so I consider this a family effort. If I can get a nicer picture of her, I'll buy some space in Poultry Press. This pullet is 20 oz."



Though she be but little, she is magnificent!

 

[Delight in Dominiques]

Great example of the breed. Much deserved win. Her time and effort show in her birds. Congrats go out to her.

 

[centrarchid]

I vaguely remember as child helping my great-uncle harvest game stags and pullets off walks on Saturday nights in September and again this time of year. At each location we had two types of burlap sacks. One was for keepers and other was for eaters. Stags placed in keeper sacks had to be bullstags or approaching that level of maturity so birds hatched about June 1 would barely make cutoff about now. Younger birds and pullets excepting those from special walks this time of year all went to the table as fryers or for making chicken salad and soup. The interesting part took place the following morning as we pulled stags out of the keeper bags. Many of those but not all would be placed in their own pens for the taming process. We always had a more birds than pens so even more got transferred to the eater sack before all was done. My great-uncle then sat down and had us hand him stags one at a time as we pulled them out of the sack they spent the night in. He went out of his way not to look at them. He was feeling them up for weight and muscling. Some he rejected outright and they went straight to the eater sack. A many got into their own pen without further scrutiny. Others were set aside to be checked again once the clear choices were made. This latter group he actually looked at when they were placed in little temporary pens to pick out the better ones first, and then lesser birds, until all pens available were filled. I was surprised how little attention he paid color which sometimes could vary a lot since they came in multiple varieties unlike the American Dominique.

As this relates to American Dominiques involved how I am selecting my last cockerels out of six from a pen mating. I have already picked this group of six based on weight, now I am going to feel them up and attempt to rank 1-6 them based upon the way they feel. I want to feel nice full breast, broad thighs and big round legs. Then the whole lot will be stuck into individual little pens to calm down so I can look at them again for type scoring them on that 1-6. Then feathering to be scored 1-6, then color 1-6, then comb for a 0 (acceptable rose comb) and 6 (not proper rosecomb). Scores will be tallied to give a possible range of 4 to 30. The two birds with lowest scores will be kept and balance will be culled. I am doing this within broods, not between to make so best from each mating is carried forward. Later cockerels will be compared between half-sibling broods out of the same cock. When later round takes place I will try to do this blind where I make so I do not know who is who. Full brothers with best average score will get a shot at breeding pens while the others will be culled.
The common theme between the games and the doms is I am trying to do this blind so I am not influenced by knowing something that is not directly related to what I am measuring but might otherwise influence my judgments.

 

[buffalogal]

"Let's pick these birds apart..."
Since I know you already know what faults they have, how about not "picking apart, so much as "honest evaluation for the sake of people who are unfamiliar with the breed"?

Cockerel combs.
1st: those two (three really) secondary points want to make this a trident. I don't know how old this bird is, but if he's young, you're liable to find as I have that those 'wanna be spikes' will keep growing until they spoil everything.

2nd: A paint brush. Better, but there is that lack of texture and the base just narrows off into a point rather than being distinctive.
3rd: I call these raspberry combs; plenty of texture, but the main spike is underdeveloped. I have a much worse example of this in a cull pen; not only is there a lack of a strong spike, the whole comb rises up in the middle like a camel's hump. (Picture tomorrow)
4th: This is a not a bad comb, there's alot of texture and you'll want to watch as he grows older that it doesn't become overly large and coarse. The main thing I would change is that the spike appears to be flattened rather than round.
5th: um, no.

6th: the Wyandotte look; the spike follows the curve of the skull rather than standing off from the head.
7th: this is known as a hollow comb, that is, a lack of texture in the center of the base.

I'll try to catch a few running around here tomorrow and get pictures to add.

 

[centrarchid]

I am trying to mix it up with some obvious no-nos. I need to see good and bad side by side to learn difference.

 

[diriel]

@centrachid,

Just curious, approximately how many years do you figure before your Dom's truly measure up? I have been following this thread for a while, I really like that you are taking a whole bird approach.

Gary

 

[centrarchid]

@centrachid,

Just curious, approximately how many years do you figure before your Dom's truly measure up? I have been following this thread for a while, I really like that you are taking a whole bird approach.

Gary

I was figuring on 20 years but reality is starting to set in. Thirty seems more likely. Problem is two-fold; I am learning as I go, and set backs can occur with such a small flock making so even a brief loss in predator management can set you back a year or more. This means backup birds must be maintained. It would also be nice if others in my area where doing similar so brood fowl could occasionally be exchanged. Exchanging by bringing in show fowl I fear will be counter productive.