Dominique Thread!

[Poinsettia]

Got one dominique chick coming in in a few weeks, it's exciting!

Congratulations!

 

[Jungleexplorer]

Sorry I double posted.

I like your avatar!

What breed is he?

He is an American Game, Golden Duckwing. I wish I could take credit for breeding him, but I hatched him from an eggs I got off eBay. Funny thing is, he looks nothing like the picture on the eBay sale page. He actually is a lot prettier then the picture of his father. If the breeder knew he was going to turn out this good, he probably would not have sold me the egg. Ha Ha!

 

[Poinsettia]

He sure is handsome!

 

[Jungleexplorer]

My one dominique hen is only laying one egg every few days. Is this normal? She also will not lay in the nest. She lays while on the roost and the egg falls and breaks. What is up with that? I have training eggs in the nest and everything.

 

[Poinsettia]

Check out these links they may help. Also how old is she?


https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/529019/a-hen-laying-eggs-on-the-roost

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/736696/why-is-my-hen-laying-her-eggs-on-the-roost

 

[Jungleexplorer]

Not sure how old she is but I think about a year. Thanks for the links. I think she is still learning control is all.

 

[WallTenters]

You might also make sure they are drinking enough water. Not sure if it's true or not but I was told sometimes if they are dehydrated and thus a bit prone to unpassed eggs, it is not until they go to defecate in the morning before they are really awake that they are relaxed enough to pass the egg. ? May be bologna but it never hurts to double check and make sure you have good clean water available at all times.

 

[LilBeaverDoms]

WOOHOO!!
16 little black balls of fluff showed up this morning!
This is my first foray into raising chickens. So after months of researching, changing my mind, researching some more, deciding what I wanted out of my flock, flock sustainabilty, broodiness, combination meat and egg production, winter and summer hardiness, etc., etc., etc.... I finally decided on Dominiques.
I ran into a neighbor lady in church and she was about to place an order of chicks from Murray's, so I went in with her and we got the chicks this morning. She got RI reds.

The wife eyed me with suspicion when I drug the old water trough up onto the front porch but didn't say much. When she asked me where the baby chicks were going to stay, her reaction to "in the living room" was to laugh loudly and say "No, really, where?".
So after a few days of her asking anyone who had ever even eaten a chicken salad where baby chicks need to stay for the first few weeks, she resigned herself to the fact that chickens were going to be in the house.

So as soon as the order was placed, I had the tank turned into a brooder.. A layer of oak leaves, a layer of sand, a layer of shavings, and a heat lamp. Then came the three-year-old's relentless question of "Can we get the chickies now???"

So of course I got excited when I went into Atwoods and they had chicks, so I bought 4 just to bring home and give the brooder a test run

So now I have 16 little doms, and 4 chipmunk looking pullets.

Thank you to all who have contributed to this forum! BYC is where I did a majority of my research. Hope my first post wasn't too long or rambling. I'm just a little chicken brained and excited! hehe.
Jason

 

[buffalogal]

Welcome to your new addiction Jason.

 

[Jungleexplorer]

Well. My one Dominique hen is proving to be a little stubborn girl. She was laying all her eggs while on the rooster in the coop and so they were all broken. After a dozen broken eggs, someone suggested to put and older hen in with her to teach to use the nest. After five more broken eggs, I decided to close the door to the coop and force her to lay somewhere else. She has not laid an egg in a week. She was laying everyday before I locked her out of the coop, but now she refuses to lay. You can tell she wants to, but she just won't lay anywhere else but while on the roost. I don't know if it is youth, stupidity, stubbornness, or some sort of of mental handicap, but I am slowly becoming disenamored with Doms as a result of it. I had some barred rock hens before that were so dumb that they could barley remember to breath. I really hope Dominiques are not like that.