Dominique Thread!

[cgmccary]

This is why it's hard to find a vet that you can really trust with your poultry.

Impossible around here to find one as well. We do a lot better doing things ourselves. I look on sites like this when I need to know what to do about a health issue. One time I had a hen tore up by a dog. I took her to the vet who put her in an oxygen tent overnight (the shock was about to kill her it seemed to me). The avian vet wanted to sew her wounds up. I told them not to because they would just get infected. I just kept the wounds clean (each day) and put antibiotic ointment on them. The next day when I went to pick up the hen, the avian vet was sending me home with some baytril (or some such antibiotic) mixed in water. There was a little cup of it. I asked, "How much of this do I mix with a gallon of water or what?" The avian vet said, "Oh it is already mixed for you so you just give her that." So I responded, "So I only give it for 1 day?" The Vet said, "No, for at least one week." She looked shocked when I told her that a laying hen drinks 1-2 cups of water a day and this was not even a cup so wouldn't last a day. They went back and made me up a gallon. {the neighbor whose dog tore up my hen had to pay the bill, not me}. My hen healed up and lived on.

Since then, I look on this site and another, search, & if I need a prescription medication, I just call my regular vet and say, I need this or that because I think I have such & such. Chickens are real good at hiding illness (and even wounds) until it is too late anyway or until they heal up (I found an horrendous wound scar under the wing of one of my hens and I never knew she was hurt -- it looked like it had once been a hole in her side. She recovered, hidden on her own.).

 

[Mr MKK FARMS]

I have a question for all the Dominique lovers. How do you tell Barred Rocks and Dominiques apart so easily. And what is the best way to do it, by look'n at the combs?
Thanks for all the help in advance!

 

[RedBugPoultry]

I have a question for all the Dominique lovers. How do you tell Barred Rocks and Dominiques apart so easily. And what is the best way to do it, by look'n at the combs?
Thanks for all the help in advance!

Yes, the answer is in the comb! Dominique always should have a Rose Comb where Barred Rocks should have a Single Comb. I am not sure about the body type on the Barred Rocks though as I only raise Doms.

 

[NYREDS]

I have a question for all the Dominique lovers. How do you tell Barred Rocks and Dominiques apart so easily. And what is the best way to do it, by look'n at the combs?
Thanks for all the help in advance!

The comb is the most obvious difference for those unfamiliar with the 2 breeds. Dominiques are rose combed & all Rocks are single combed. Beyond that the body types are very different & the colour is actually different as well. Berred Rocks are barred [duh] while Dominiques are cuckoo. The difference in colour is clear once you learn to see it.

 

[Gallusfarm]

My Dom rooster hates my wife. He will fly up at her head. He will jump up and kick at her back. I am the one who took care of them from the time they were chicks but now my wife has been taking care of them. For the most part he doesnt bother me at all. Some times I can even pick him up and he will not fight me. Is there anything she can do to turn his behavior around. On the plus side he is protective of the hens. He escorts them around, finds food for them and takes them to it. Greeting every creature who comes near to see if they are safe. She yells at him when he does this I think that just makes it worse in my opinion.

Cervical dislocation works for me. I don't buy the need to keep for a cock bird in order for hens to thrive. They are competent enough to find their own shelter and food. If you are keeping the birds as pets, then you should find a male that fits. In my experience you cannot change this behavior completely. It is easier to bump off the problem bird and spend your time finding a calm bird that fits in with your family.

 

[domfarm]

She needs to be a bigger rooster than him, basically. Do a search on this forum for 'aggressive rooster' and you will find many threads with many tactics. With my own roosters, I just make sure that they always know who is boss. That doesn't mean I ever treat them badly. But neither do I coddle them or ever treat them like pets. If one tries to jump or flap at me, I'll pick him up and pin his legs with my hand and walk around with him tucked under my arm so he can't flap at all, until I can't stand to hold him any longer. I don't give treats to the roosters, because a dominant male would never let a subordinate male have his snacks. If they do the little wing-down dance at me, I walk at them like I'm charging them or wave my hand or foot out at them, and they are forced to run away as the loser. And in the end, if a rooster is simply too aggressive to get the point, he goes to freezer camp!

Thanks that may be the issue. When he comes over to me I just pick him up and hold him for a bit. My wife does not pick him up. I will have her start catching him when he comes up to her and see if that works. For now he is the only rooster I have so cant get rid of him until I get more.

 

[Kennas Mom10]

We have just gotten our first chickens, Dominiques , 3 hens and one rooster who is already acting like the man of the house (coop) at 3.5 weeks old. Excited about seeing what we can do with them

 

[NYREDS]

Cervical dislocation works for me. I don't buy the need to keep for a cock bird in order for hens to thrive. They are competent enough to find their own shelter and food. If you are keeping the birds as pets, then you should find a male that fits. In my experience you cannot change this behavior completely. It is easier to bump off the problem bird and spend your time finding a calm bird that fits in with your family.

Agreed. If you don't plan to breed there's no real need to keep a male at all. That said, if you don't plan to breed but you like the idea of having a male arould why not have one you don't need to fight with.
Before someone points out that this is different than things I've said about aggressive males in the past I'm talking here specifically about a pet flock. In my breeding pens cock bird behavior isn't a factor I take into account.

 

[buffalogal]

Agreed. If you don't plan to breed there's no real need to keep a male at all. That said, if you don't plan to breed but you like the idea of having a male arould why not have one you don't need to fight with.
Before someone points out that this is different than things I've said about aggressive males in the past I'm talking here specifically about a pet flock. In my breeding pens cock bird behavior isn't a factor I take into account.

Unless they're spending time in the breeding pen (which is limited), every bid in my flock is out together (and underfoot), so behavior becomes a huge selection point. Man fighters, child stalkers and pullet rapers don't stay no matter how attractive they are. I want my birds to be productive and pretty, but I also expect them to *act* like a domesticated animal. I'm the main caretaker for all the poultry, so I don't get challenged, but other family members have been, and I won't put up with it. The first time, I chase them down, catch them, grab them by their hackles and shove their face to the ground and hold them. (from my POV, the longer the chase, the better; I want that bird to know if it crosses me or mine in any way that I am willing to move heaven and earth to make it "eat dirt",and that there is no place it can hide to escape) The second time, they go into 'solitary", which for a gregarious, flock oriented bird like a chicken, is pretty strong punishment. I leave them alone until the other birds have had plenty of time to rearrange the pecking order around his absence, so he enters not as cock of the walk, ready to challenge even a human, but as Mr Nobody, who has no status with any flock members. *if* there is a third time, the bird is sold to the first person who answers my craigslist ad.

 

[hobbychicken]

I was told by several breeders that aggressive cocks produce aggressive male offspring. I won't breed a highly aggressive cock.