Do remember that with older birds, they can have lost the back comb spike either by fighting or cold...so just be ause she doesn't have one now, doesn't mean she didn't have one originally.
Also, you want cuckoo coloring, not barring.
Twisted nails and toes, could be genetic, injury, funky incubation, and also can be a lack of vitamins at some point.
Barring is almost striped looking, and pure white and black.
Cuckoo is off white and off black, maybe a very light gray and a dark charcoal kind of color. There should be no lines, think "super great camouflage". The transition on the feathers between the two colors should be a bit blurred, and not super crisp.
Here is a photo from the Cackle Hatchery website of a Barred Rock, which is barred coloration. See how crisp his color is? And how it almost makes lines across him?
Here are ideal Dominique feathers...see the blurring?
Here's a better shot of his stance and both the Dom girls have that nice U-shape.
HE SOUNDS LIKE SUCH A SWEETIE! HIS BACK ISN'T SHOWING THE U-SHAPE YET -- MAYBE AFTER HE GETS FULL TAIL FEATHERS.
Sadly, a week ago my Golden Spangled Hamburg lost her life to a Red Shouldered Hawk that's been lurking around. It ambushed her in front of my 11 year old daughter. The Golden Spangled variety is very difficult to come by and I was hoping to find a rooster to breed her with as I thought she was a beautiful example of the breed. She was sweet as could be too. It took a while because they're quite skittish but she was always at my heels and would walk to the end of the drive to wait for the school bus with my kids and me then follow me back to the house for a special handfed treat. She had survived an attack from a crow last summer (my newfie ripped through screen door to chase it off) and survived a near fatal attack by two dogs that literally ate their way into my coop. I had her in the house for two days to treat her wounds and when the day came that she was escaping her tote and hopped up on the couch to look out the window, it was time to put her back out with the flock. After three years of working to gain her trust, she was as much of a lap-chicken as one could expect from a Hamburg. It's been a heartbreaking loss.
These photos were taken moments after I dragged the stray dogs out of my coop. I really didn't think she'd make it
She even taught the cockerel how to tidbit!
THE ACCOUNTS OF YOUR GSH HEN WAS WHAT CHANGED MY OPINION OF HAMBURGS' PERCEIVED REPUTATION FOR BEING FLIGHTY BIRDS. YOUR EXPERIENCE WITH YOUR RARE GIRL HAD ME CONSIDERING A HAMBURG ALONG WITH BREDA AS A LIGHTERWEIGHT WHITE EGG LAYER. IT JUST HAPPENED I FOUND A BLUE BREDA FIRST AND LIKE YOU WITH YOUR GSH I WAS PLEASANTLY SURPRISED WITH MY EXPERIENCE WITH OUR BREDA GIRL. OUR BREDA IS LIGHTWEIGHT, ACTIVE, NON-COMBATIVE TOWARD FLOCKMATES, A NATURALLY OUTGOING CURIOUS UNAFRAID PEOPLE-FRIENDLY BREED EVEN WITH OUR VISITORS, AND HASN'T STOPPED LAYING WHITE EGGS SINCE NOVEMBER OF LAST YEAR! THERE'S A LOT OF PRO'S TO BE SAID FOR THE LIGHTERWEIGHT BREEDS IN THE CHICKEN WORLD. I AM SO DESPERATELY SORRY TO HEAR YOUR GIRL HAD SUCH A TRAGIC END AFTER BEING SUCH A SPUNKY SURVIVOR BEFORE. I FEEL SORRY FOR YOUR DD TOO. I CAN'T STOP CRYING! OUR DA#*M CHICKEN HAWKS IS THE VERY REASON I'VE GOT 5 DOG HOUSES, A POP-UP CANOPY, A COUPLE LOW LEAN-TO SHELTERS, LAWN FURNITURE, POTTED PLANTS, COMPOST BARREL, ETC, SCATTERED ABOUT THE YARD FOR OUR GIRLS TO MAKE A HASTY DASH FOR COVER WITHOUT BEING CAUGHT RUNNING ACROSS OPEN LAWN FOR A HAWK TO SWOOP. THE COOPER'S HAWK HAS BEEN IN OUR YARD NOT 5 FEET FROM A HIDING HEN BUT WILL NOT ENGAGE IN COMBAT WITH THEM ON THE GROUND -- SEEMS THE HAWKS PREFER SWOOPING DOWN ON RUNNING HENS IN AN OPEN AREA SO PARANOID ME HAS HIDING PLACES CLOSE TOGETHER FOR HENS TO DUCK-&-HIDE OR SAFELY SNOOZE. SO FAR SO GOOD -- NO HEN LOSSES IN 5 YRS. HOWEVER, WE DID LOSE OUR GENTLE 3-YR-OLD BLUE WHEATEN AMERAUCANA A COUPLE MONTHS AGO TO ILLNESS -- VET HAD TO FINALLY PUT HER DOWN FOR US. IT FEELS LIKE LOSING A MEMBER OF OUR FAMILY!
My apologies for posting all these photos of my Hamburg in this thread but these GSHs and the Doms are the two breeds that I'll be sticking with once all the other retiree hens have passed on. My Hamburg tended to get picked on by some of the larger hens but the Doms are good natured and a well matched size and didn't intimidate her so much. She and the Dom she's pictured with were never too far from each other. NO APOLOGIES NECESSARY FOR POSTING PICS OF VERY BEAUTIFUL CHICKEN SOULS!
My apologies for posting all these photos of my Hamburg in this thread but these GSHs and the Doms are the two breeds that I'll be sticking with once all the other retiree hens have passed on. My Hamburg tended to get picked on by some of the larger hens but the Doms are good natured and a well matched size and didn't intimidate her so much. She and the Dom she's pictured with were never too far from each other.
