Dominique Thread!

[Alaskan]

Here's a better picture of my unknown chick. 2 weeks old. Front & center. Solid black head & beak & legs except for one orange middle toe on each foot.
Father is Dominique or Delaware. Mother (not broody) is Doninique or Welsummer.

sorry, I am not good with chick ID.

Hatch day 13...so far 15 out of 20 eggs look well developed good veins and lots of movement inside heres hoping for a good hatch. These will be my first dominiques!

 

[Sylvester017]

I get a Mareks like disease almost every year at about this time. My suspicion is it is associated with night flying migratory song birds. I my flock is closed and I do not vaccinate.

Wild birds carry all sorts of parasites too - lice/mites/worms!

 

[Sylvester017]

Between 0 and 2%. Most years loser to the zero end and zero so far. This year I had only about 150 at peak and now below 100.

Have you ever had Buffalo Gnats? I hear those are miserable to deadly on poultry.

 

[centrarchid]

Have you ever had Buffalo Gnats?  I hear those are miserable to deadly on poultry.

No, just mosquitos and botflies.

 

[Sylvester017]

No, just mosquitos and botflies.

Do you apply anything to help keep them off the chickens? Poultry Protector works against lice/mites - wonder if that would work against mosquitos, etc?

 

[centrarchid]

I do nothing other than keep them in good nutrition.

 

[superalonzo619]

I'm looking for show quality dominique chicks in California near manteca and I'm willing to have them shipped or may pick up if in near range.

 

[Sylvester017]

I'm looking for show quality dominique chicks in California near manteca and I'm willing to have them shipped or may pick up if in near range.

Cackle Hatchery has a seasoned Dominique breeder helping them improve their Dom breeding program so if you don't find a private breeder this hatchery may be an option. I have been satisfied with our feed store who orders his chicks from Privett Hatchery in NM. The feed store is located in a large poultry/egg production community and the chicks from Privett that I've seen of different breeds look fine. I tried finding private breeders off the Dom Club officers' list but found it futile to find anyone nearby for LF. I found Tracey in TN that was willing to ship juveniles to me in CA but since I found the Privett Dom chicks at the feed store I just get chicks there now. I have ordered other breed juveniles through USPS from experienced breeders accustomed to USPS shipping practices and have always received the juveniles overnight (usually 9 to 12 week old juveniles depending on when the breeder feels it safe to ship them). We open their box and lay it gently on its side and let the birds come out on their own to find the feed and water in their quarantine pen. Juveniles weather East Coast to West Coast shipment quite well overnight and they arrive the next day a bit bewildered but in better shape than we expected.

 

[The Yakima Kid]

Thanks! Cackle it is for me then. We talked it over around here and concluded we probably aren't going to renew the flock until our Black Star dies of old age - or at least for another year or two. She's had enough changes around here, especially since her best friend was euthanized because of cancer last year, this was after her other remaining original flock mate had to be rehomed because the sick bird was being starved by the tumor and she took to eating all of the feathers off the other original flock mate.

Had we known what was wrong, we would have euthanized her earlier and kept the other flock mate; but when we first took her to the vet he suspected parasites, not a malignancy. Unfortunately, it wasn't until the other flockmate had been rehomed that we realized that the disease was a malignancy, not parasites.

 

[The Yakima Kid]

Do you apply anything to help keep them off the chickens? Poultry Protector works against lice/mites - wonder if that would work against mosquitos, etc?

At this time of year I start spraying the house with Neem, once a week until the mosquitoes are done. This is the time of year that fowl pox breaks out.