Dominique Thread!

[The Yakima Kid]

AAAARGH! "Pet quality?" You mean what those of us who grew up around farms and ranches called "utility birds?"

I'd like to know which hatcheries are being helped by breeders. I'm afraid my total breeding expertise tends to improving production, and I never learned anything about breeding for show. Trap nests, looking for roosters whose mothers, mothers mothers, and fathers mothers had high production I know - but how to breed for the perfect comb or cuckoo coloring eludes me.

 

[Zone3Dakota]

i just sent in my app to the Dominique club! Now that's jumping the gun, so to speak. Will not be getting any until next year, but hoping to garner some more Dom knowledge before then.

Yakima, I don't think there's anything wrong with a line that's been worked on for production. Pretty hard to get a perfect specimen in any critter, let alone a perfect flock or herd. As long as one does the best that one can, according to the breed standard and one's own standards...that's the best that one can do! I'm not an expert at chickens, but have bred, trained, shown other critters since I was a kid. So...that's about half a century of general experience.

 

[Sylvester017]

AAAARGH! "Pet quality?" You mean what those of us who grew up around farms and ranches called "utility birds?"

I'd like to know which hatcheries are being helped by breeders. I'm afraid my total breeding expertise tends to improving production, and I never learned anything about breeding for show. Trap nests, looking for roosters whose mothers, mothers mothers, and fathers mothers had high production I know - but how to breed for the perfect comb or cuckoo coloring eludes me.

Hi Yakima -

First, I assume you've read all the Dominique websites about how the breed history is unknown or speculating who actually brought the Doms to the Colonies or what country they were from originally, etc. There is such a convoluted speculation about the history of Doms that they could have ANYTHING in their distant history depending on what sources you research. Which brings me to my second point - all of the previous reasons is probably why there is difficulty in getting the "perfect" show or utility Dom - too many variables are in its history.

Show breeders seem to enjoy the frustrating challenge to meet "APA Standards" while I as a backyarder am perfectly happy to have a pet with the sweet Dom disposition, temperament, and decent egg-laying productivity - if her feathers are black and white and not the offset standard gray and silver, and if her RC is off-center, or her legs not quite as yellow as they're supposed to be, I don't care. I'm neither a breeder or a show attendee so just give me a PQ Dom and I'm happy. But private breeders seem to have an unspoken code not to give up ANY bird PQ OR SQ.

That's why I just go to the feed store and get my Doms there (usually ordered from Privett Hatchery in NM) and that feed store chick is where I discovered the wonderful world of Doms. Cackle Hatchery (which raises its own breeds and is not a broker) and Privett Hatchery are the two places I don't mind getting my birds from (or my feed store that gets Doms from Privett usually). Cackle also allows you to order as few as 3 chicks for $50 in their City/Town pullet orders but since shipping is so costly, for about 1/4 of the price I can just go to my feed store and get two lively Privett pullets for $7 each. The feed store is several cities away but I'm lucky that the community is a poultry and egg industry so the feed store always has a good assortment of breeds and grown starter birds and where locals can bring their juvenile pullets and cockerels for sale.

My experience with private breeders has been stinky so far except for maybe one or two contacts that were extremely nice but had sold their breeding stock and no longer were raising Doms. I know breeding is a time-consuming hobby and it takes energy and money to keep breeding pens, caring for the chickens, the time to grow out chicks for show, etc. but I'm just saying the policy for holding onto the birds that don't make the "cut" needs to relax - there are a lot of us who wouldn't mind paying for and giving homes to the PQ culls.

 

[Delight in Dominiques]

AAAARGH! "Pet quality?" You mean what those of us who grew up around farms and ranches called "utility birds?"

I'd like to know which hatcheries are being helped by breeders. I'm afraid my total breeding expertise tends to improving production, and I never learned anything about breeding for show. Trap nests, looking for roosters whose mothers, mothers mothers, and fathers mothers had high production I know - but how to breed for the perfect comb or cuckoo coloring eludes me.

 

. Here is an example of a good utility bird that comes from my yard. She lays a medium brown egg and can lay over 150 eggs a year. This will be her second year of h

atching and brooding her own chicks. Her and her sisters are free range and do not get any preferential treatment. They do well in shows and for there owner. They provide eggs and meat. Under the economic qualities in the Standard of Perfection these birds meet the requirements for a dual purpose fowl. Their weight are right were they'd need to be. Meeting the utility requirements expected by the Standard is the same as breeding for show. As for pet quality or PQ, that is not what breeding poultry is about. My birds are not my pets. They part of any livestock that is raised for food and for show. My culls are sold mostly pullets for layers to locals. I have given my birds and hatching eggs to countless families, members of my church and 4-H, mostly for free so they can have the opportunity to enjoy these old fowl in their yards. I, just like many other Dom club members have gone above and beyond getting quality stock out to those interested. Years ago I started out just like many here on this site trying to find good stock. It takes time and a lot of work but it will happen. Join the club and get involved, you will be surprised what they have to offer.

 

[Sylvester017]

. Here is an example of a good utility bird that comes from my yard. She lays a medium brown egg and can lay over 150 eggs a year. This will be her second year of h
atching and brooding her own chicks. Her and her sisters are free range and do not get any preferential treatment. They do well in shows and for there owner. They provide eggs and meat. Under the economic qualities in the Standard of Perfection these birds meet the requirements for a dual purpose fowl. Their weight are right were they'd need to be. Meeting the utility requirements expected by the Standard is the same as breeding for show. As for pet quality or PQ, that is not what breeding poultry is about. My birds are not my pets. They part of any livestock that is raised for food and for show. My culls are sold mostly pullets for layers to locals. I have given my birds and hatching eggs to countless families, members of my church and 4-H, mostly for free so they can have the opportunity to enjoy these old fowl in their yards. I, just like many other Dom club members have gone above and beyond getting quality stock out to those interested. Years ago I started out just like many here on this site trying to find good stock. It takes time and a lot of work but it will happen. Join the club and get involved, you will be surprised what they have to offer.

I wish all of the Dom breeders felt that way. I have yet to find one outside of you that is spreading the PQ birds around.

Another problem I have in researching is that the weight of hens is reported anywhere from 4 to 5.5 lbs with males being about 6 lbs. My Dom never made it to POL so I couldn't find out what her adult weight would've been. But I was so thrilled with her temperament that what she weighed or how big her eggs were didn't matter.

That's another variable I've researched - that the eggs are medium as pullets graduating to large in the 2nd year. Yet other research said the eggs never were larger than medium. I think all this goes back to what I posted before - there is no knowing the original breed history of the Dom or even what country they originally came from with such variable Dom statistics being reported - who knows what prior characteristics keep emerging in today's fowl. The Dom today is just the sweetest funniest busiest outgoing breed whatever her history was!

Keep up the good work!

 

[Sylvester017]

How are Dom's at eating ticks? Most chickens I've had won't touch a tick.
Sylvester 017, where did you get your Doms? My experience with Doms hasn't been as good as yours.

Hi gootziecat -

I knew somewhere in my mountains of research I had come across tick-eating chickens and I said I'd let you know when I finally found the breed of chickens but unfortunately I don't think these breeds are available in the U.S.- unless Greenfire Farms has them since they have imported so many beautiful and rare breeds from around the world. The South African Venda and Ovambo chickens sound like they might be landrace-type chickens like the Olandsk Dwarf, Swedish Flower Hen, Hedemora, or Icelandics which are not APA breeds to my knowledge:

Venda Chicken​

​

Scientific name: Gallus gallus domesticus
Country / Place of origin: South Africa
History: The Venda is a native South African chicken with pretty, mottled, plumage, interesting genetic quirks and a strong brooding instinct that were first recognized and described in 1979.

The breed was first recognized by Dr. Naas Coetzee in Venda, Transvaal, South Africa. Subsequently, chickens with similar appearance were seen in the southern Cape and Qua-Qua. This is a classic village chicken which is believed to have originated from cross-breeding of various domestic village fowl introduced by the successive waves of settlers who came to South Africa in the 18th and 19th centuries. Selection pressures shaped them into a breed that can survived unsupervised in backyard and country situations.

Like another South African native chicken, the Ovambo, they are known for associating with grazing cattle where they pick off ticks from the skins of the cows. They have a diverse genetic heritage (though an essentially uniform appearance) and occasionally display genetic quirks such as pink combs, crests, beards and a fifth toe.

The Venda is a lightweight breed and a good flyer. They typically fly into trees to roost and adapted to high temperatures.

The hens are known for being broody and they lay pink eggs that are an average of 53g in weight. Under village conditions, hens typically produce 70 eggs each year, but under more intensive rearing with improved nutrition they produce 153 eggs per year. Chicks reach sexual maturity at 143 days and reach adult weight at 140 days.

They have become a very popular breed in South Africa as well as the standard dual-purpose chicken it's now possible to buy show strains for display purposes. The breed is also very popular with subsistence farmers and is now being exported to Mozambique.

 

[The Yakima Kid]

Hi Yakima -

First, I assume you've read all the Dominique websites about how the breed history is unknown or speculating who actually brought the Doms to the Colonies or what country they were from originally, etc. There is such a convoluted speculation about the history of Doms that they could have ANYTHING in their distant history depending on what sources you research. Which brings me to my second point - all of the previous reasons is probably why there is difficulty in getting the "perfect" show or utility Dom - too many variables are in its history.

OK. What I was upset about is the fact that what have long been known as utility birds are suddenly being renamed "pet quality" - which is a misnomer since show birds and utility birds generally parted company before 1910. I would like to have some Dominiques that are closer to the standard, but I lack the expertise to breed for anything other than production.

 

[The Yakima Kid]

. Here is an example of a good utility bird that comes from my yard. She lays a medium brown egg and can lay over 150 eggs a year. This will be her second year of h
atching and brooding her own chicks. Her and her sisters are free range and do not get any preferential treatment. They do well in shows and for there owner. They provide eggs and meat. Under the economic qualities in the Standard of Perfection these birds meet the requirements for a dual purpose fowl. Their weight are right were they'd need to be. Meeting the utility requirements expected by the Standard is the same as breeding for show. As for pet quality or PQ, that is not what breeding poultry is about. My birds are not my pets. They part of any livestock that is raised for food and for show. My culls are sold mostly pullets for layers to locals. I have given my birds and hatching eggs to countless families, members of my church and 4-H, mostly for free so they can have the opportunity to enjoy these old fowl in their yards. I, just like many other Dom club members have gone above and beyond getting quality stock out to those interested. Years ago I started out just like many here on this site trying to find good stock. It takes time and a lot of work but it will happen. Join the club and get involved, you will be surprised what they have to offer.

Ummmm....... I'm on my second year of DCA membership.

My remarks on "pet quality" is that it strikes me as a rather silly renaming of what were formerly known as "utility fowl." It's just so sub/urban and reflects a view of livestock as a prestige item and not as useful stock. The same attitude that has led to the modern Quarter Horse being very well known for having the histrionic temperament of the Thoroughbred, and a nasty tendency to fall into paralysis if it is actually worked.

Now 150 eggs would seem to be minimal for a utility dual purpose fowl; mine lay on average four a week. Meat birds tend to lay below 150; while layers produce between 240 - 300 or more. I'm willing to accept four eggs a week from Dominiques because of their hardiness and thriftiness.

 

[The Yakima Kid]

BTW - Dominiques are traditionally viewed as an "improved landrace." They were the result of what lived long enough to reproduce in the colonial chicken yard. B^)

 

[gootziecat]

Wow, Sylvester017! You went to a lot of trouble to answer my question. Thank you.

A friend told me once that the only fowl he knew of that would eat ticks were barnyard type chickens, not the better bred breeds. Truth on that one remains to be seen. The Ovambo sounds like it gets the job done for the cattle but it may also be specialized in it's selection or where it procures its food. But since they are in Africa, it's a moot point. My suspicion is any great foraging bird eats them to some degree, but not all chicken are great foragers. I'm understanding that more all the time. I'm also finding it is a learned process just as much as one that is bred into the bird. Regardless, thank you for your information and efforts.