Dominique Thread!

[centrarchid]

How far are you into your project to keep the traditional aspects of the breed? Went back and re-read some of your posts, sounds fascinating and somewhat of a daunting undertaking.

Slow progress. I started off with 50 pullets of my breeding to get 10 that layed well for two years. Less than half of those went broody in second year and I lost a good one to dogs when mine where confined leaving me with just three. I hope to get a little over 50 pullets again this year to repeat with better percentages of those that lay well and get broody in second year. Rooster side puts on weight quite well although rooster fertility is an issue, at least when whether is hot. When it is cold roosters may be more fertile. Even though hens are going broody, they are not as good at being mothers are games reared under similar conditions. Dominiques track more mud into nests and seem to break more eggs. I am striving get so every time 50 pullets are started, at least a dozen will be suited for use in brood pens by two years of age. The three hens currently in breeding pens will be allowed to remain so long as they continue to lay well. So far this year all my hens have given close to a hundred eggs each but that will slow when it gets hot. Realizing another hundred not likely.

 

[Cooptopia]

Slow progress. I started off with 50 pullets of my breeding to get 10 that layed well for two years. Less than half of those went broody in second year and I lost a good one to dogs when mine where confined leaving me with just three. I hope to get a little over 50 pullets again this year to repeat with better percentages of those that lay well and get broody in second year. Rooster side puts on weight quite well although rooster fertility is an issue, at least when whether is hot. When it is cold roosters may be more fertile. Even though hens are going broody, they are not as good at being mothers are games reared under similar conditions. Dominiques track more mud into nests and seem to break more eggs. I am striving get so every time 50 pullets are started, at least a dozen will be suited for use in brood pens by two years of age. The three hens currently in breeding pens will be allowed to remain so long as they continue to lay well. So far this year all my hens have given close to a hundred eggs each but that will slow when it gets hot. Realizing another hundred not likely.

Wow, that is a huge amount of work so far, and some great information. Have you noticed or tracked any correlation in the desired traits (ranging, higher egg production, broody by 2 etc) and any of the specific stock origin? Just wondering if any of the breeders/suppliers you obtained stock from have stronger genes as it relates to the oringinal "homestead" purpose of the Dominique.

 

[Lacy Blues]

Slow progress. I started off with 50 pullets of my breeding to get 10 that layed well for two years. Less than half of those went broody in second year and I lost a good one to dogs when mine where confined leaving me with just three. I hope to get a little over 50 pullets again this year to repeat with better percentages of those that lay well and get broody in second year. Rooster side puts on weight quite well although rooster fertility is an issue, at least when whether is hot. When it is cold roosters may be more fertile. Even though hens are going broody, they are not as good at being mothers are games reared under similar conditions. Dominiques track more mud into nests and seem to break more eggs. I am striving get so every time 50 pullets are started, at least a dozen will be suited for use in brood pens by two years of age. The three hens currently in breeding pens will be allowed to remain so long as they continue to lay well. So far this year all my hens have given close to a hundred eggs each but that will slow when it gets hot. Realizing another hundred not likely.

You probably know this already but I want to mention it just in case someone else may be thinking about undertaking your venture.

If you get a broody and she hatches out her eggs and raises her chicks (even for a short time) and you take those chicks and get them to adulthood; you can then wait for them to go broody as their mother did.

If you have another hen that does the same for you, then you have two families going broody. When the chicks grow up, you take a cock bird who was raised by his mama and cross him with a hen from the other family who was raised by her mama... in theory, you should have a very strong tendency toward broodiness from this mating.

... just trying to help and toss in my 2 cents worth.

 

[centrarchid]

You probably know this already but I want to mention it just in case someone else may be thinking about undertaking your venture.

If you get a broody and she hatches out her eggs and raises her chicks (even for a short time) and you take those chicks and get them to adulthood; you can then wait for them to go broody as their mother did.

If you have another hen that does the same for you, then you have two families going broody. When the chicks grow up, you take a cock bird who was raised by his mama and cross him with a hen from the other family who was raised by her mama... in theory, you should have a very strong tendency toward broodiness from this mating.

... just trying to help and toss in my 2 cents worth.

What you describe is close to what is being done. I started with several strains making pure and crosses of each. Close to 2/3's of those got culled in their entirety owing to growth, appearance or in one case a lack of resistance to my local worms. It was fifty of those not culled I started with for the two years test. The three hens will each found their own line. Current roosters (n=3) are related to those hens as either full or half-siblings. Once dominiques get into breeding pens which they are not yet, all possible crosses will be made which means three for each hen. Target is ten chicks per hen per cross. Eggs will be incubated artificially since hens already proven.

 

[centrarchid]

Their is more to broodiness than hunkering down on nest to incubate. I routinely hen hatch American Games in parallel to the dominiques and for some reason hatch rate realized by Dominique hens is much lower. A typical game hen nest has 10 to 14 eggs when brood set and 9 to 13 eggs can be expected to hatch. The Dominique hens are much more variable in egg number when brood set and number hatched is consistently lower. I am lucky to get a Dominique hen to come off with a 50% hatch. Some is due to fertility of eggs but a clutch of Dominique eggs usually looks dirtier by day before hatch. Dominiques may also vary with turning frequency. I have about 10 pullets generated last year when trying to assess broodiness so will use them to see what is different in broodiness between then and similar aged games.

 

[Cooptopia]

Their is more to broodiness than hunkering down on nest to incubate.  I routinely hen hatch American Games in parallel to the dominiques and for some reason hatch rate realized by Dominique hens is much lower.  A typical game hen nest has 10 to 14 eggs when brood set and 9 to 13 eggs can be expected to hatch.  The Dominique hens are much more variable in egg number when brood set and number hatched is consistently lower.  I am lucky to get a Dominique hen to come off with a 50% hatch.  Some is due to fertility of eggs but a clutch of Dominique eggs usually looks dirtier by day before hatch.  Dominiques may also vary with turning frequency.  I have about 10 pullets generated last year when trying to assess broodiness so will use them to see what is different in broodiness between then and similar aged games.

Do you think that is what has happened by taking them out of the homestead? I'm sure the brood rates would have been much higher fo them to be so common in the day. Do you have any Cackle Hatchery stock? If so how do they fare in you studies so far?

 

[centrarchid]

Do you think that is what has happened by taking them out of the homestead? I'm sure the brood rates would have been much higher fo them to be so common in the day. Do you have any Cackle Hatchery stock? If so how do they fare in you studies so far?

Yes, removing them from the homestead must have caused some loss in toughness. My rearing is pretty close to that so selection will hopefully restore those qualities.

Three source strains not culled are Voter, Cackle Hatchery and Hyman. Cackle Hatchery is somehow a combination of other two although they already look to be responding to Cackle's strong selection for egg output which means they run a little small. I think I may be one of the last to have Voter strain birds; hopefully that is incorrect and somebody else has some cause I would like fresh blood from that line. So far the Voter birds are my favorite. The Voter chicks look different and white birds used to pop out once in a while. My birds which have lots Voter in them are light colored as male with nice tails.

 

[chandralanelle]

I went to a spring livestock show in my state and I didn't see a single dominique. Is that normal? I didn't see any at my county fair in the fall either. Is it just my area? I fell in love with doms when I first started researching chickens. They are my favorite so far. I know they are listed with the albc but I had never seen one in person until I hatched mine. It just makes me want to work with them even more.

 

[riversedgefarm]

Hi I have bantam dominique does anyone else on here raise and show them??

 

[buffalogal]

Why do you think Cackle hatchery ever had any Voter or Hyman stock?