Dominique Thread!

[Poop Cleaner]

My worst fear are wandering dogs from neighbors as well.

Of course night time predators are a concern but they are locked in at night.

 

[MeeMa Brown]

My Dominique hen gets along with my Speckled Sussex, Buff Orpington, Golden Compine and Rhode island reds. She is not on bottom of their order and i do wish for more Dominiques!

Hey MeeMa, tell me about your gold campines

I've always wanted a few.

About my Golden Compines...they were fun surprises as sub on my order....mottled speckled chicks so cute. They grew quickly and started laying at 22wks. They lay daily a white egg just under 2" size. There a little flighty but hang with the flock fine. The are economical feeders and since they are about 3 to 4 lb. The po is smaller. Haha hahaha I really like the coloration. Named after Jackie kennedy and Grace Coolidge and the roo is Ike...they live in our "white house"
Coop/run. Ike is very hadsome and very protective. None are agressive.
Will add pic later

 

[Sylvester017]

This is my first flock and they are all doing fine. My Dominique is the head hen. Very firm but fair. The Barred Rock is number three and more mean to the ones below. That seems to be how it goes though in flocks/herds.

Dominique, RIR, BR, BO, 2 EE's, 2 Ameraucanas, Andalusian, BSL.

I personally do not care for the EE's or Ameraucanas. Too dramatic and fussy. I like the rest though.

I hope your Dom stays at the head. I've had both BRs and Doms and prefer the lighter-weight Dom whose temperament seems reliably fair. I found our BRs were larger and bossier in general. I personally do not care for the EE or Amer either since ours were too timid around the dual-purpose breeds - it stressed me to watch them be so jittery and jumpy LOL. You have some nice egg-layer assortment breeds

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[Faraday40]

EEs definitely have personalities. I find each one is so different. One of ours was outragiously dumb & had problems finding the door on the chicken tractor on a daily basis. (Funny part was how beautiful she was.) Her sister was as cocky as a rooster & enjoyed chasing squirrels. (Literally, she patrolled the yard & took great pride in chasing them off.) Their 1/2 brother was super friendly but crowed nonstop & mated the hens bald.

A neighbor had some Barred Rocks, & I found them to be bossy. They not only picked on the EE pullets I gave her, but also aggressively pecked at human fingers. I could understand a peck toward a stranger, or a protective broody, but our neighbors couldn't pick up their own hens, That's the main reason we got a Dom. My DD really liked the feathering of the BRs, but I didn't want to deal with a bossy hen in our flock.

So far, our little Dom (Bubbles) is a perfect little chicken. She follows us around, will jump into our lap if invited, & even climbs up onto an extended arm like a parrot. I have to say, I also enjoy her cute, little pink eggs - especially since most of our hens are on their "winter break."

 

[JediJinx]

The term "Dominque" or "Dom" refers to the barred pattern and in no way proves that the Dom gamefowl came from crossing in Dominiques although in the history of the Dominique some long ago gamefowl breeders are said to have used Dominiques (probably since they were very abundant very popular in those days - 1800's) and I am sure there are many lines that have used them, but the Dominique is not where gamefowl got their gaminess..

The aggressiveness of the Dominique is variable as in all breeds. For a LF show breeder to choose between birds of identical physical traits, it is practical to use a male bird that is not overly aggressive nor is he overly docile either. A bit of "pluck" so to speak is essential for showiness, and for good fertility. However, a show person does not want a jerk in the show pen or in the breeding pen. In my opinion, Dominiques are "reasonable". My Doms cannot reside in the same pen as the gamefowl - the games would kill them.

Therefore, the well bred Dominiques should have alert, confident demeanor, ready to display his stuff, but not chasing off humans, fighting each other or battering the hens.

 

[JediJinx]

Here's a question I've been wondering about for the past couple of days: When does a dom rooster's comb fully grow out? And, is it possible for him to not have the spike at the top?

By one year it should appear the way it will be unless part gets frozen off. Yes it is possible to not have a spike, but it is a fault. Do not judge combs until he is close to 8 months. Wattles are also important, they should be even, medium sized and roundish, not long or pendulous.

On roosters - it is super important to get the very best rooster you can get your hands on to breed your hens. The reason being, with this good rooster you will see what your line will look like as you raise new generations. The rooster will stamp your line. Because you will probably be breeding him over successive gens of his daughters. By the end of the third year you will have birds that will have 92% of the original cock - so he better be a good one. You can always choose one of his sons if he turns out better than his father, but it is better to have superior roosters than superior hens, since he can "spread the wealth" over a larger gene pool. You would only want to breed a son over his mother if she is superior to the original cock. Just my opinion.

 

[JacobandMeagan]

2 new babies just in case the other 3 do all turn it to be males. And it looks like they are

 

[blueclip]

2 new babies just in case the other 3 do all turn it to be males. And it looks like they are

They are so cute! They look like pullets (dark legs). Where'd you get them? And why only 2?

 

[JacobandMeagan]

I just bought 3 that were already 8 weeks old. The pen I am putting them in only has room for 5 grown Dominique's

 

[Poop Cleaner]

I hope your Dom stays at the head.  I've had both BRs and Doms and prefer the lighter-weight Dom whose temperament seems reliably fair.  I found our BRs were larger and bossier in general.  I personally do not care for the EE or Amer either since ours were too timid around the dual-purpose breeds - it stressed me to watch them be so jittery and jumpy LOL.  You have some nice egg-layer assortment breeds .

Thank you. Unfortunately I lost her tonight along with a black sex link for whom I was really rooting for because she was making a good recovery from being skinny and featherless. The Dom was my fave. Would greet me every morning and was a great leader.

I found the BSL's wing, along with the dom's feathers in a pile behind the coop this evening.