Dominique Thread!

[islandgirl82]

Turk, I adored my GSH. There's only one place I've been able to find the Golden Spangled variety and will be ordering more in the spring. Hamburg eggs are small comparatively so it takes twice as many when baking but my girl would lay for 10 days or so before having a day's break so running out wasn't an issue. She was the first to sound the alarm when there was a perceived threat and she was stealthy; always finding the best hiding places and would remain silent until well after said danger was gone. Hamburgs fly quite well and she would take to the trees when there were ground predators. The rest of my girls would huddle together and chatter like a bunch of little girls on a sleepover who won't stop whispering to each other. Her coloring was also great camouflage when she was foraging around the wooded areas and she seemed to have a wider palette than the rest of the flock - eating a much greater variety things. She was a bit of an outcast, being the smallest and not really having that hearty hen look to her. The cockerel (EE) I had a few years ago would torment her relentlessly and she was pushed out of the flock so he went...elsewhere. She was looked after by my top two hens but didn't form true bonds with any of her flock mates until I added the Dominiques; being people friendly as they are and very non-confrontational with other flock members, she took to them right away. I had originally been planning to keep GSHs and SLWs but after having the Doms, I've changed my mind about the SLWs. The Doms and Hamburgs are quite complimentary, in my opinion.

The downside is Hamburgs are not dual purpose so figuring out what to do with extra roosters would be a challenge and when free-ranging, the hens will often hide their eggs. They prefer more natural nests over man-made, although I often found her eggs hidden on my front porch. They also do not handle confinement well.




BUT back to the Dominiques...

I took these shots yesterday when my daughter and I went to check on the flock after hearing them screeching. The hawk was back and perched right above the coop and run - much closer to the house than I've ever seen it.










I'm very impressed with this cockerel's disposition, especially considering we didn't raise him from a chick and my children haven't spent nearly the amount of time with him as I have. This was the first time my daughter held him and he was just as content with her as he is with me. He definitely knows how to defuse a dispute between hens though.

 

[islandgirl82]

Island girl, great non-laying comb verses laying comb.

Interesting....I dont tend to pay attention to that... So nce to see the difference and see how large it is.

And you are most welcome.... I love talking Doms.

I like Hamburgs too... But the kids voted for Spitz to be our white egg laying breed (really just a hamburg with a crest), and I insisted on keeping the Leghorns.

I had to read up on the Spitz - they do look much like the Hamburg with a crest. They're described as being rather calm and people-friendly, is that true of yours? Leghorn is not a breed I have experience with. I have a friend who has a Rose Comb Brown Leghorn hen who is beautiful but avoids people altogether.

 

[Roadsidefarm]

Two Questions:
1. Is anyone on here a member of the Dominique Club? I signed my daughter up for the club using the online membership option, and my card was charged, but we have not been able to access the members only area because you need a password. I have sent two emails off to people asking how I get our password, but I haven't had any responses.

2. We just invested in Dominique Bantams this year, purchasing our first five (and we got a bonus chick) from Purely Poultry (who I think gets them sent from Cackle). At first we weren't sure that we wanted to invest much time in them. We had one arrive spraddle legged and it died, and another died a few days later, but all our other banty chicks were fine. So we were left with just four--three hens and a roo, and even the roo has a crossbeak. But then we started to read up on their history and we discovered how rare they were and we decided that we would like to help with the preservation of this breed. We put one of our hens in the local fair. She won best of class even though she was just three months old and was up against some other adult chickens. Several knowledgeable people there were quite impressed with her and asked where we got her.
I think we have some great hens to work with, but I am wary of the roo. Beautiful shape and color, but he's got that cross beak. Some places I have read say that it isn't inherited and some places say that it is inherited. He didn't have it until he got older. I have been searching for a local source of roos, but haven't yet found any, so I am thinking about ordering from a hatchery again. There are only two hatcheries that offer bantam Dominiques--Cackle and Strombergs. If I order from Cackle I will only have to get 15 chicks (I already have 25 chickens, so I am not really wanting a whole lot more), but it will be the same hatchery that I originally ordered from. If I order from Strombergs, I have to order 25 chicks and I will end up having a LOT more chicks than I wanted with a bigger up front cost. However, I am wondering if it might be worth it because the blood lines might be more separate from each other? Would I have to worry less about interbreeding if I order from a different hatchery than the first, or are chickens from one hatchery usually spread out enough to not have it matter? I won't be order a new batch until spring so the new group will be a year younger than the previous group.

 

[Alaskan]

 I had to read up on the Spitz - they do look much like the Hamburg with a crest.  They're described as being rather calm and people-friendly, is that true of yours?  Leghorn is not a breed I have experience with.  I have a friend who has a Rose Comb Brown Leghorn hen who is beautiful but avoids people altogether. 

I really like my mix of breeds, Dominiques, Ameraucanas, Rose Comb Leghorns and Spitz. They get along well together.

My Spitz are varied in personality, but in general very curious and outgoing, in a different way than the Doms.

My Rose Comb brown Leghorns are the wildest bunch, act almost feral, but the white Leghorns (bith single and rose comb) are pretty mellow.

Two Questions:
1. Is anyone on here a member of the Dominique Club? I signed my daughter up for the club using the online membership option, and my card was charged, but we have not been able to access the members only area because you need a password. I have sent two emails off to people asking how I get our password, but I haven't had any responses.

2. We just invested in Dominique Bantams this year, purchasing our first five (and we got a bonus chick) from Purely Poultry (who I think gets them sent from Cackle). -snip- However, I am wondering if it might be worth it because the blood lines might be more separate from each other? Would I have to worry less about interbreeding if I order from a different hatchery than the first, or are chickens from one hatchery usually spread out enough to not have it matter? I won't be order a new batch until spring so the new group will be a year younger than the previous group.

1. I am a member, and when I have had issues I have emailed whatever email was on the website and I remember getting a fast response (less than two days). Maybe look over the website and see if there is a different email to email? Or maybe you misstyped? Or maybe the regular person is in the midst of the back to school scramble?

And the reason I had to email was the same problem... I couldn't get the login to work... But it got straightened out quickly....so keep asking, it will get fixed, no worries.


2. I would get new/more stock from Cackle. I have gotten some defects from them, but in general their stock is good.

I would not use the cross beak roo, especially since it was a later development.

And I really do not see an inbreeding issue with hatchery stock. In general they have such crazy large numbers of birds, it would be difficult to get an overlap of genetic material.

 

[Faraday40]

I had to read up on the Spitz - they do look much like the Hamburg with a crest. They're described as being rather calm and people-friendly, is that true of yours? Leghorn is not a breed I have experience with. I have a friend who has a Rose Comb Brown Leghorn hen who is beautiful but avoids people altogether.

We saw a Silver Hamburg at our county fair over the summer. My 6 yr old said, "Why is she missing her hair?" (meaning crest)

Like you, I wanted a white layer in the flock but really didn't want a common White Leghorn. Spitzhaubens are fast & flighty, but also curious. They stay with the flock, don't get picked on, and don't bully. My pullet has been laying an egg almost daily. My kids often bring a hen or chick inside to hold while watching TV or reading. When being held, they are very calm & relaxed. Ours does not jump into our laps, but does come running up when she sees us. (mostly to see if we are carrying treats)

Here's "Spitzie"






As far as our Dom, she's a real keeper. She's extremely intelligent & people friendly. For her science project (training our Dom) DD won a blue ribbon, class champion, & Best in Show at county. Then at state, she got an award of excellence & a Superior (basically as high as one can get.)

 

[islandgirl82]

Quote:
That's too funny.


Congratulations to your daughter and dom! I saw the video you had posted with the card trick and showed it to my children. They loved it. Yours may enjoy the BBC documentary "The Private Life of Chickens" if they haven't seen it already. It's been around for a while.

 

[Roadsidefarm]

Posing Birds:
What is the ideal way to pose a Dominique for show? I was trying to look it up and found out that it is different depending on the type of bird. I'm thinking with the Dom the biggest goal is for them to stand with their heads upright to display that "u" shape?

 

[Turk Raphael]

Posing Birds:
What is the ideal way to pose a Dominique for show? I was trying to look it up and found out that it is different depending on the type of bird. I'm thinking with the Dom the biggest goal is for them to stand with their heads upright to display that "u" shape?

I suggest taking in a show or two without entering birds. The experience would be priceless and you could meet experienced exhibitors who should be more than glad to give you some very valuable information...Merely observing could give you many important clues.

 

[Faraday40]

I had the camera out today to take some pics of newly hatched chicks. My sweet Bubbles was looking so cute. I just had take a pic to share.

 

[Chaos18]

He's a youngster at 23 weeks. I think he's got decent potential though. Thoughts?