Dominique Thread!

[Delight in Dominiques]

last years breeder hens coming off molt and getting special treatment to start in breeding pens.

 

[Delight in Dominiques]

Just one more for fun. This year's hatch pullet from a secret ingredient. Looking forward to males from this girl.

 

[Leahs Mom]

@Delight in Dominiques
Tried to send a personal message but it won't let me. Not sure if there is something wrong with the system today.

I was wanting to know if you sell chicks and/or hatching eggs and where you're located if you do. You could try to send me a private message.

 

[Delight in Dominiques]

@Delight in Dominiques
Tried to send a personal message but it won't let me. Not sure if there is something wrong with the system today.

I was wanting to know if you sell chicks and/or hatching eggs and where you're located if you do. You could try to send me a private message.

Sorry I will not have any thing available this spring, I can get you in touch with a club member in Indiana that should be able to help out. I feel her birds are of good quality. Go to the Dominique Club of America and make contact with the North East Regional Director to get more information.

 

[Leahs Mom]

So the NE Regional director is who you recommend as the source to purchase from?

 

[Sylvester017]

View attachment 1211326 last years breeder hens coming off molt and getting special treatment to start in breeding pens.

I was shocked at the amount of molting feathers from my 3 Dom girls -- they're 41/2 months old and they've shed tons of feathers. I've kept them on higher protein chick grower plus vitamins and supplementation since they were day-old and glad I did -- I thought they'd be finished w/ molting their juvie feathers by now but obviously not!

 

[Chickassan]

They molt a whole lot! When I got Hobo she lost feathers from the minute i took her out of the box she came in to about a month after she started laying .I thought something was wrong with her but it was just molting.

I was shocked at the amount of molting feathers from my 3 Dom girls -- they're 41/2 months old and they've shed tons of feathers. I've kept them on higher protein chick grower plus vitamins and supplementation since they were day-old and glad I did -- I thought they'd be finished w/ molting their juvie feathers by now but obviously not!

 

[Sylvester017]

They molt a whole lot! When I got Hobo she lost feathers from the minute i took her out of the box she came in to about a month after she started laying .I thought something was wrong with her but it was just molting.

Thanks for the affirmation -- I thought I was doing something wrong w/ them too. The fact the 3 Doms are the same age and molting at the same time just flooded the coop and yard w/ so many feathers. My Cuckoo Breda and Silkie molt but usually not at the same time so there was less plumage strewn about -- but w/ 3 Doms shedding all at once it was a shocker! First they lost their baby fuzz for new juvenile feathers, then the juvie feathers dropped to grow in bigger feathers, and now they are molting to grow in their longer wing feathers and winter fluff. I've never noticed any baldiing spots on the Doms because of the molting -- just kept noticing more and more dropped plumage. Like @Faraday40 mentioned before, I've noticed the Dom feathers have no odor compared to other molting chickens I've had.

 

[Chickassan]

No you'll never see a bald spot, I'm not sure how many feathers doms have but it must be a ton. After the molt gets finished though you'll hardly ever see a dom feather anywhere. I read somewhere that doms were once raised for pillow stuffing, i can totally see why.

Thanks for the affirmation -- I thought I was doing something wrong w/ them too. The fact the 3 Doms are the same age and molting at the same time just flooded the coop and yard w/ so many feathers. My Cuckoo Breda and Silkie molt but usually not at the same time so there was less plumage strewn about -- but w/ 3 Doms shedding all at once it was a shocker! First they lost their baby fuzz for new juvenile feathers, then the juvie feathers dropped to grow in bigger feathers, and now they are molting to grow in their longer wing feathers and winter fluff. I've never noticed any baldiing spots on the Doms because of the molting -- just kept noticing more and more dropped plumage. Like @Faraday40 mentioned before, I've noticed the Dom feathers have no odor compared to other molting chickens I've had.

 

[txplowgirl]

Whew, just finished reading this whole thread, took me almost a month. Grew up with chickens, had several different kinds including bantams, ducks and geese. Never really paid any attention to them except for eggs and meat.

But I have always wanted more and 35 years later i'm in a place I can. Only allowed 5 hens and a roo but that's ok.

My mom, who's still alive, was talking about Dominecker's, as she called them, telling me how she grew up with them and would love to find some more so I started looking into them.

I've learned a lot of info about these creatures in the last month and I think I have already fell in love and I haven't even seen 1 in person yet,.

Several things have come together that just makes me want to get them even more. I have been a family historian, some say genealogist for about 35 years now and have been a member of Ancestry.com for about 12. I have taken the DNA tests and have in the last several months been researching several ancestors who were in the colonies during the late 1600's to 1700's.

Found out that this breed was with the colonists and how it's almost disappeared a couple of times through the centuries. Makes me want to help keep them alive. So I have been reading Mark Field's book on The American Dominique, I also joined the Dominique Club of America a few days ago, still waiting on my password so I can access the breeders list.

I am not set up yet for them but I will be come spring. I have a 6 ft fence in the backyard made of sheet metal that surrounds the whole backyard. 90 feet long and 40 feet wide. That shouldn't be a problem for just 6 birds. They'll have plenty to forage on including my garden. Bought a 10' x 10' x 5' dog kennel that I intend to turn into a coop. LOL, they should have plenty of room in that. Gonna be spending the next couple of months making it predator proof as well as a comfortable place for them to live in.

I want to breed to at least SOP i'm not for sure if I want to show yet or not. I know with just 5 hens and a roo it will take quite a bit longer to get anywhere but since i'm retired and not doing anything, I've got at least the next 20 years to kill, i'm 53, so why not.

Just googling Dominique show breeders I've gotten several leads so I will be contacting them in the spring see if I might get something. If not, i'll go with Cackle Hatchery and start from there. I also jumped the gun and bought an incubator that holds a dozen eggs for just in case someone was willing to sell me a handful of eggs.

And as a backup to my backups I found out a couple days ago that I have a friend who's father just happens to have Dominiques. No eggs until spring either. Will not sell any birds to me until spring then he will be willing to sell culls to me as well as eggs. Not for sure that I like the sounds of that but I will at least have a look anyway.

And if you've read all that,. Hidy everybody!!