Dominique Thread!

[Lucky Lemon]

Do any of you know, if you cross a Dominique rooster with another breed (for instance an Americauna), does the barring (darker for females, lighter for males) still hold true?

I am having the hardest time deciding what my three are that I crossed, they all have the darker barring typical of a Dom hen, but their combs are so bizarre that I can't make any gender guesses based on that yet. They look like Dom chicks but with fluffy cheeks from the Americauna.

 

[Delight in Dominiques]

Some of the most important points that are disregarded in interpreting the dominique standard are weights and structure. The Sewel print clearly gives the representation of a larger,course fowl that would not fit the weight standards today or the stucture of a fine boned bird. The interpretation of broad full and compact should be more towards oblong and not moderatly square. The Sewel birds have breasts that are to forward,with an underline that is low,clumsy and too full behind the legs. Wings are too short. This conversation has been going on for to long with Dominique enthusiasts and these course birds continue to dominate the shows today. Until proper weights, structure and closer feather are taken into consideration at shows only then will good true typed dominiques be reconized.

 

[Alaskan]

Some of the most important points that are disregarded in interpreting the dominique standard are weights and structure. The Sewel print clearly gives the representation of a larger,course fowl that would not fit the weight standards today or the stucture of a fine boned bird. The interpretation of broad full and compact should be more towards oblong and not moderatly square. The Sewel birds have breasts that are to forward,with an underline that is low,clumsy and too full behind the legs. Wings are too short. This conversation has been going on for to long with Dominique enthusiasts and these course birds continue to dominate the shows today. Until proper weights, structure and closer feather are taken into consideration at shows only then will good true typed dominiques be reconized.

I am in complete agreement, thank you for stating that so clearly!

 

[centrarchid]

When I look at the coarse versus not a key difference is the leg size. The coarse birds appear to have larger feet. Some of the more eastern American Dominques that show well have much heavier lower legs. To my eye they also look a lot more like Barred Plymouth Rocks. Wing length seems to be independent of the coarseness or at least can be be. Birds such as those of Fred Farthing are not all that coarse but they have the short wings. Mine are mixed on the short wings with some having and and some not. Even the more gracile Voter strain birds I have which on the least coarse end of spectrum for American DOminiques are still chunkier that Schillings birds when it comes to the body.

 

[Fowlisfair]

So how do most of you folks store hatching eggs until you have enough for a "cohort" to borrow a phrase. What are some of the best and worst techniques you have tried to keep them cool enough to slow down embryo development while you wait for enough eggs to set as a clutch? How many days do you normally keep them before setting them?

 

[Alaskan]

I live in Alaska... A cold room isn't a problem. I store them in a north facing room, which stays 50 to 60 during the summer, and closer to 40 in the winter. I store them pointy side down or on their side, and try to shift the carton every time I walk by the room, and make sure I do a proper shift/rotation every night.

I hold eggs as long as I need to, but I try not to hold them much longer than two weeks.

 

[centrarchid]

Dom cockerel dumping heat by partially extending wings and facing into wind.

Missouri Dominique hen with brood after driving cohort 1 from area of feed bucket. Dog is about to catch snake in background.

Unfortunate interest of cohort 1 in digging a dust bath in my tractor trail.

 

[centrarchid]

Ongoing experiment to optimize roosting setups for Dom cohorts so they can be spread out for free-ranging yet be protected from Great-horned Owls. Great-horned Owls have hard time actually eating birds because of dogs (now dog because of loss) but they can disturb them causing birds to disperse to roosting locations not so easy to protect.


Cohort 1 (23 birds) in pen during much of day during imprinting process.

Feces rich area that will be modfied in later versions for composting. Care must be taken so this does not attract too many predators and pests.

Opened configuration when birds are out. This is how is looks when they go back in from night. Imprinting process not perfect as some birds have a hard time figuring out how to get back in each evening. Four had to be moved from Bradford Pear immediately behing roost this evening. Dunces.

 

[centrarchid]

I can make out 8 pullets. Most of these gals should stand out relative to most American Dominique pullets. About half of the cockerels should also be on average odd.

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Three cocks are being used to generate cohorts. Cohort 1 is out of the darkest cock which is shown below while the cohorts 2 and 3 are out of lighter cocks. The same group of hens has been used for each cohort.

 

[JediJinx]

Centrarchid I am curious what type of games you used to cross into your dom line? What was the reasoning for the experiment? I have crele games of smallish size that fare very well free ranging 24/7. The only care we provide them is a roosting bar under an awning which they use mainly to escape rain. I have often wondered what offspring they would create with a dom hen. My doms are ok free ranging and getting enough to eat but their skills in predator evadement are sadly lacking.