Dominique Thread!

[EastNashChick]

Thank you.

3 things I look for in Dom make chicks, 1). a broken jagged irregular shaped headspot in contrast to tight circle or almost no headspot in the females
2) larger feet than the girls that are predominately yellow
3) lighter coloring

 

[Faraday40]

For those experienced chicken owners, I ask for some rooster advice

Currently I have 2 huge Orpington roos & 14 hens. (Both are 14 months old, brothers,& always raised together.) They have gentle temperaments, do not fight each other, & are not human aggressive. Some "favorite" hens have missing back/head feathers. Otherwise, things are all good.

I now have some young males growing up. I'd like to replace one current roo for a new boy (not genetically related) now growing up. Am I asking for trouble? Could this change ruin the peace I currently have? The only reason for the change is to add some "color," so if it may cause fighting, then perhaps I'll just stick with my current boys.

 

[Alaskan]

If you will have trouble completely depends on the personalities of all involved.

Truly.



As to missing back/head feathers. I try my best to breed away from missing back feathers. I talked to several long term breeders, they all said that loss of back feathers was usually a problem of the hens having softer more brittle feathers than is ideal.

As to back of head feathers, that is usually an issue of the rooster, and I will tolerate mild cases.

I have one Dom cock over 4 hens, and all four look pristine, with excellent fertility.

I have a pair of Spitz, and she looks pristine too.

I have two male d'anvers (bantams) over a single female....amd they have pulled out more head feathers than I would like, but that is understandable since the ratio is totally wrong in that pen. Her back however is perfect. And yes, the fertility of her eggs is perfect.

 

[JediJinx]

Totally depends on your particular birds. I have 2 roosters over 13 hens and most have that "favorite hen" look to them. I am keeping every last pullet from this years' batch to keep a better ratio upcoming.

On keeping more than one rooster. As I mentioned before, totally depends on the particular birds in question. You just have to see. Don't immediately think things will be terrible even if there is some fighting. My two Dom roosters took a while to work it out when the son got to maturity. They still spat at times but there is no blood anymore, Dad knows when to get the heck out of there. One has to submit to the other on most occasions for there to be peace. Have seen this with Doms and OEG LF roosters that I kept together.
A father bird who has raised his "son" will accept him or brothers raised together. Never have I seen it work out to bring in totally new mature rooster to the flock.

 

[hellbender]

Oh happy day! We finally closed the deal on 5-six month old Doms from a breeder in my state. I was almost at the point of ordering 15 or 25 birds from Cackle Hatchery (and I still might) but I really wanted/ needed the half grown birds for at least one hatch this summer.

I've forgotten who it was but thanks to the person who sent us the contact information when we first mentioned wanting some new birds. They are 2.5 hours away but that is merely a minor inconvenience.

JASON

 

[blueclip]

I have an interesting question about that. I know you gave the example of the father dom and his son, but what are the relationship dynamics between father roosters and their sons? I've seen a shamo father who is aggressive toward his son but the son does not want to fight him back. I'm just curious if roosters and their sons get along once everyone is mature.

For your two doms, you would think the father would be more dominant seeing as he's older and more experienced, but I guess the son has youth and hormones on his side

 

[JediJinx]

Father not always dominant if he is a laid back bird. If you keep enough hens, enough space for them, etc. they will work it out.

 

[blueclip]

What's the heaviest Dom rooster or hen you guys have ever had? If you were to compare your biggest dom to another breed, how big would you say it was? Example: "I had a dom rooster that was as big as an orpington rooster", or "A dom hen that was the size of a delaware."

 

[Alaskan]

My Dom rooster is bigger than a leghorn rooster, much different shape than my ameraucana rooster but maybe the same weight.

He is bigger than my Spitz rooster.

That is all I have rooster wise.

 

[Alaskan]

Ah, but remember that the goal with Doms is not a great big giant rooster.

You want meaty but streamlined and feed efficient. So the ideal is bigger than a Leghorn but smaller than a Barred Rock.