Dominique Thread!

[Sylvester017]

@Winderdear That's what we love about Doms - they are ALL lap chickens!!!

3 JUVENILE PULLETS

6 YRS LATER OUR REMAINING DOM STILL JUMPING INTO DH's LAP

 

[Sylvester017]

After losing prolific egg-layer breeds to shorter lifespans we switched from popular egg-layer breeds to hens with reputations for less eggs, have broody tendency, and with sweeter temperaments -- tops for us after a dozen years of basckyarding are:
DOMINIQUES
BEARDED SILKIES
BREDA (unfortunately this breed turned out not hardy and sort of phased out)

Doms are Cuckoo-patterned, typically mid-size averaging 5-lbs, laying small-med eggs

Bearded Silkies come in many color patterns, a larger bantam, 2 to 2.5-lbs, small eggs

Breda's are one of our favorite breeds for temperament but have a small gene pool & not hardy, around 5 lbs, small-med eggs, come in blue/black/splash, mottled, or cuckoo pattern.
Our Blue Breda is outside the pen w/ Cuckoo Breda inside pen. Breda have heavily feathered legs, vulture hocks, no comb, triangle crest on head - beautiful birds but genetics cause health problems and extremely difficult to find them now.

 

[Sylvester017]

I am thinking about ordering sime in my next few orders. I will definitely be reading some of the information posted here!

Not sure how interested you are in learning about Dominiques but I had the rare opportunity a decade ago to read a book by Mark A. Fields called "THE AMERICAN DOMINIQUE: A Treatise for the Fancier" which really helped me appreciate this gem of a chicken! Amazon sells the hardcover for $49.99 and Kindle for half that price if you're interested. I don't show or breed chickens but I got a healthy appreciation of Doms after reading the book. The Voters, Mr. Hyman, & Mr. Fields loved this breed.

https://www.amazon.com/American-Dom...=the+american+dominique,stripbooks,144&sr=1-1

 

[MiddleAmerican]

 

[McChooky]

I raised 5 baby Doms (and a barred rock ) from baby chicks a couple years ago (ordered online ) but sadly I'm down to just 2 now They want nothing to do with my brown leghorns or the legbar cockerels I added They love the beautiful black and white silver laced wyandotte I added .Go figure!

 

[Sylvester017]

@MiddleAmerican -- Love your gorgeous flock! The roo's are so very stately!

 

[MenelausMontrose]

I've got several bantam Dominiques, including my one rooster. Great birds. The one hen that's laying regularly gives us about 5 eggs a week. And they're very friendly, although mine avoid getting picked up if they can help it. They're happy to jump up on me on their own terms.

Anyone know what you get if you cross a Dominique rooster with a Rhode Island Red hen? Opinions seem mixed online. Not sure if the pullets will look exactly like Dominiques, or if they will have some red bleeding through. I'm hoping I'll be able to tell my purebreds apart from my mixed birds.

 

[Sylvester017]

@MenelausMontrose - I'm not a breeder. But just curious why you would dilute a pure Dom w/a Rhode Island Red? There have been standard and bantam Dom breeders working for decades to retain Dom characteristics so just wondered what you're aiming for? Not a critique but wondered what you had in mind. I know lots of breeders like to experiment.

And I definitely agree that Doms are jump-in-your-lap birds on their own terms. Getting picked up is not any hen's choice unless trained from chicks. We had only one Silkie that ever pulled at our socks or pant legs asking to be picked up and cuddled. She cried if we didn't take her on car rides too.

Our young Dom pullets were very much lap chickens with or without treats for them.

 

[MenelausMontrose]

@Sylvester017, this is my first flock so I have just the one rooster, and a mixed flock of 4 bantam Dominiques and 4 bantam Rhode Island Reds. There are multiple nesting spots, but there is Only The One Spot that everyone wants to use.

I'm pretty sure that some Dominique/RIR cross eggs are going to end up in the clutch of whoever goes broody first, so I am hoping to easily be able to identify the crosses, because I do want to maintain some pure Dominiques in the flock.

At the same time, I have 2000 square feet of run and 9 bantams, so I definitely want some more chicks, regardless of whether they're purebred or mixed. And I really look forward to seeing how the hybrids would turn out--both in terms of coloration and personality. The two breeds behave very differently, or at least mine do.

If it turns out Dominique coloring is a dominant trait, then I suppose I'll have to assume the next generation is mixed regardless of what they look like. Then when I want pure Dominiques I'll have to build a breeding pen and keep my rooster and a couple of my original Dominique hens separate for a bit to ensure that particular clutch doesn't have any RIR eggs that snuck in.

That silkie sounds like a great bird. I have exactly one RIR hen who needed a lot of care as a chick, and so she likes being held and stroked (the picking up part she is still less enthused about). We definitely want her to go broody so she raises her chicks to like us.

 

[Sylvester017]

@MenelausMontrose - such fun you are on! Whatever you do keep some pure Doms in the end. That roo is a gem

Dom chicks (at least the standard size) are automatically friendly, outgoing, talkative, unafraid, people-friendly chicks from the start. If you want really friendly RIR chicks (or any breed chicks) holding them often and feeding treats from your hand will train them to like you . Keep us posted on your experiences and w/ pics