- Nov 28, 2010
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You're welcome. The REAL master, Mark Fields, has an excellent illustrated explanation of sexing Dominique chicks using the legs and the head spot method on his website. (BTW, after looking at a number of chicks of different ages that day, it appears all the chicks in this line have light colored legs)
http://www.dominiquechicken.com/Sexing_Dominique_chicks.html You'll want to bookmark that site so you can refer to it often, especially if you didn't get a chance to buy Mark's book.
I've only bought well started birds from this line, and didn't breed them together, so I've never had pure chicks from this strain before. That said, based on what my other birds look like, of the seven shown up close I suspect they're all cockerels. Remember, for pullets we're looking for a small, well defined spot with no black mottling or "leaking" or fading to grey. There are several factors that come into play; perhaps these chicks are a blend of two or more strains, maybe this line has chicks that exhibit more 'smokiness' and fading in their down color than what I'm used to. They are certainly lighter overall than my peeps, but then, that's why I wanted this strain. (mine tend to get too dark) I have a handsome Cock from this same gentleman that is too light to show, but throws beautiful daughters crossed with my hens. If these *are* all males, I won't be too disappointed, as I can pick two (or three) and use them for producing pullets.
Starting with the picture of three: the spot is huge, and not well defined at all, more like a big, fuzzy blob. In the middle, the "spot" is actually wishbone shaped, (making a "Y" shape), and on the far right, a well defined spot that makes me hope it's a pullet, but look carefully, notice the way the yellow "fades" out from the back and down the neck, see the wispy grey toward the beak? It could be a pullet, but I'm not holding my breath. (well, maybe just a little...
)
The first chick on the left in the third picture is marked the same way, though the spot is much smaller. The second and third chicks are cockerels; the spot is "interrupted" with black in several places. The fourth has no well defined spot, more like a blotch with enough grey in the middle to turn it into a "U" shape.
Now look at the group shot; you can make out nine heads in that picture. Though you can't see their feet, trust me, every one of them is wearing blue booties.
You're welcome. The REAL master, Mark Fields, has an excellent illustrated explanation of sexing Dominique chicks using the legs and the head spot method on his website. (BTW, after looking at a number of chicks of different ages that day, it appears all the chicks in this line have light colored legs)
http://www.dominiquechicken.com/Sexing_Dominique_chicks.html You'll want to bookmark that site so you can refer to it often, especially if you didn't get a chance to buy Mark's book.
I've only bought well started birds from this line, and didn't breed them together, so I've never had pure chicks from this strain before. That said, based on what my other birds look like, of the seven shown up close I suspect they're all cockerels. Remember, for pullets we're looking for a small, well defined spot with no black mottling or "leaking" or fading to grey. There are several factors that come into play; perhaps these chicks are a blend of two or more strains, maybe this line has chicks that exhibit more 'smokiness' and fading in their down color than what I'm used to. They are certainly lighter overall than my peeps, but then, that's why I wanted this strain. (mine tend to get too dark) I have a handsome Cock from this same gentleman that is too light to show, but throws beautiful daughters crossed with my hens. If these *are* all males, I won't be too disappointed, as I can pick two (or three) and use them for producing pullets.
Starting with the picture of three: the spot is huge, and not well defined at all, more like a big, fuzzy blob. In the middle, the "spot" is actually wishbone shaped, (making a "Y" shape), and on the far right, a well defined spot that makes me hope it's a pullet, but look carefully, notice the way the yellow "fades" out from the back and down the neck, see the wispy grey toward the beak? It could be a pullet, but I'm not holding my breath. (well, maybe just a little...
The first chick on the left in the third picture is marked the same way, though the spot is much smaller. The second and third chicks are cockerels; the spot is "interrupted" with black in several places. The fourth has no well defined spot, more like a blotch with enough grey in the middle to turn it into a "U" shape.
Now look at the group shot; you can make out nine heads in that picture. Though you can't see their feet, trust me, every one of them is wearing blue booties.
