Dominique Thread!

[bellium]

i’m wondering whether the 4.5ish week old chick here (labeled 4 in a few of the photos) is a dominique? TSC sold me “marans”, and this is one of them (my “orpingtons” turned out to be appenzeller spitzhaubens, go figure). i’d really, really like it if you also told me this was a pullet and not a cockerel.

 

[duluthralphie]

Well I would have to say they are smarter than any of my other chickens.

Nope, not mine. The SS surpass them by a mile in all respects. They are all about even, as far as I can tell.

View attachment 1336373 View attachment 1336374 View attachment 1336375
i’m wondering whether the 4.5ish week old chick here (labeled 4 in a few of the photos) is a dominique? TSC sold me “marans”, and this is one of them (my “orpingtons” turned out to be appenzeller spitzhaubens, go figure). i’d really, really like it if you also told me this was a pullet and not a cockerel.

That looks like a cushion comb more than a rose comb. I assume your marans had single combs. Could be anything including a cross.

 

[Alaskan]

Ugh! Now that's a mud pit! Our mud season isn't in full swing yet. However, the crazy weather is abundant.

Chilly last weekend but temps within normal range.
Then I built a snow-chicken on Tues
View attachment 1336271

Today the temp got up to a balmy 71'F and it felt like a sunny summer afternoon.
But on Sunday we're expecting more snow & a low of 26'F.

I can't say I'm missing our usual 50-60'F rain showers & flooding, but the huge temp swings are causing headaches.

good job on the snow chicken

 

[Alaskan]

View attachment 1336373 View attachment 1336374 View attachment 1336375
i’m wondering whether the 4.5ish week old chick here (labeled 4 in a few of the photos) is a dominique? TSC sold me “marans”, and this is one of them (my “orpingtons” turned out to be appenzeller spitzhaubens, go figure). i’d really, really like it if you also told me this was a pullet and not a cockerel.

huh.

Looks to me like a Dominique cross, male. But TSC shouldn't be selling mutts, only pure bred, right?

Do you know where your TSC got their chicks?

 

[Alaskan]

Actually. .. maybe an EE? They don't usually come in cuckoo... but if they had tossed a cuckoo marans in the breeding to get olive eggers... maybe so.

I have seen some hatcheries selling not only EEs, but also olive eggers.

 

[Sylvester017]

@duluthralphie I absolutely LOVE the beautiful U-shape back on your females. Wattles is a strange mix on Doms -- I have one with nice medium wattles and two that I would like to see not as long -- but then, I don't like long wattles or huge combs on ANY breed of chicken -- just a personal thing. Yours are definitely cuckoo patterned and not straight barring. Look closely at individual feathers (tail feathers are the easiest to see) and you'll notice the uneven lines on both sides of the feather and sometimes even some "V" barring. Your roo is pretty too even though he won't stand still. Doms are such an active breed to try to capture in still photos.

 

[Sylvester017]

View attachment 1336373 View attachment 1336374 View attachment 1336375
i’m wondering whether the 4.5ish week old chick here (labeled 4 in a few of the photos) is a dominique? TSC sold me “marans”, and this is one of them (my “orpingtons” turned out to be appenzeller spitzhaubens, go figure). i’d really, really like it if you also told me this was a pullet and not a cockerel.

Because of the darker color I would wager a good guess at female -- usually the male barred/cuckoo juveniles will show lighter coloring. As to the breed, keep watching the comb to see if it stays flat on the skull and has a leader/spike/point at the back of the comb (for a Dominique). My Dom females for about 3 months hardly grew their rosecombs and slowly little by little the combs get fleshier and pointy at the back. Post pics again in 2-3 weeks for us to see coloring and comb progression for more guesses -- this is fun!

 

[Alaskan]

Really dark cuckoo male..... dark because he is a cross

 

[duluthralphie]

@Sylvester017
I am guessing it depends on where we look and what we define as barred and cuckoo.

When I look for barring I look at the feathers at the legs or skirt area to see if I can see the barring. I was taught many moons ago ( more moons than I wish I had lived) that is the area that will tell you how strong the barring trait is. If the feathers are not barred there they will be incomplete else where.

Then I look at the tail to see if that have good barring. These areas have become even more important to me since my involvement with the Legbars. They feather out fast and the barring is harder to spot.

Thanks on the U backs. That is an absolute if the bird is to become a breeder here. Combs and waddles are the things I am working on most right now. As I recall they are only 5 points (when judged by points) but they are the thing I notice first. I hate the large waddles. but I am not going to give up body type, size and barring to chase the waddles down.

I had an issue with telescoping combs but I think those are almost gone now from my flock. I would not mind getting a hold of a good rooster with a good comb from a diverse flock to bring into mine. But as of yet, all I find are birds that are closely related to mine (mainly because I sold the chicks to them or their supplier).

Here is the cockerel I showed last fall.

He was best of breed. I can see the "cuckoo" in this picture now. But I also see the barring on the legs (fluff area) and down the hackles.

 

[Faraday40]

Nope, not mine. The SS surpass them by a mile in all respects. They are all about even, as far as I can tell.

SS= Speckled Sussex? Hmmm. I never thought of my son's SS as "smart." She worked her way to the top of the pecking order quickly, so she's not dumb (a slight bully to other hens perhaps). Most of our flock are Orpingtons, so it's easy to look like a genius next to them. LOL

The kids have fun training our birds & the Dom is the easiest to work with. She's so curious, outgoing, and willing to please. The SS is fearless and will fly up into the kids' fort and even seems to enjoy going on the swings & slides with them. The SS is a lot of fun, but the Dom is our problem-solver and has a longer attention span. With only 2 to compare, I'm guessing I see more indiv personalities than breed specific traits.