Dominique Thread!

[Compost King]

My Dominiques abruptly stopped laying on the equinox (last eggs Sept 20th), I was under the impression they were a great winter layer. They are just hatchery stock and that may be why they are different on winter laying that what i have read. Not a big deal I have Dorkings who will lay all winter as well as others that lay in winter but I figured I would mention this in case some one pipes in to tell me I may have another issue with my Dominiques that needs to be taken care of.

 

[Alaskan]

My Dominiques abruptly stopped laying on the equinox (last eggs Sept 20th), I was under the impression they were a great winter layer. They are just hatchery stock and that may be why they are different on winter laying that what i have read. Not a big deal I have Dorkings who will lay all winter as well as others that lay in winter but I figured I would mention this in case some one pipes in to tell me I may have another issue with my Dominiques that needs to be taken care of.

Huh... that is odd.

Mine were pretty regular layers, they never stopped laying mid summer..



I would check for lice and mites etc.

Also, how old? Older girls are less productive.

Oh... I had Dominiques from Cackle and a couple of different breeders/breeder lines.

 

[Compost King]

They get checked weekly for mites and lice. I got mine from TSC. They seem healthy and energetic. Its not like its a problem for them to not lay eggs, I have too many as it is and now they eat half as much feed. I think I will do a closer examination before the end of the week, poo inspection etc. Maybe spend a little more time with them when searching for Mites/Lice. I may just have a line that stops laying when daylight goes below 12 hours. Strange for Dominiques or even Barred Rocks (who are often bred into Dominiques by hatchery breeders)

 

[Sylvester017]

My two Dom girls are just a little over two years old -- one is still laying consistently and one isn't and they are the same age from the same feed store shipment. I've had better layers/larger eggs from White Leghorns but they don't have the outgoing personalities of the Dom girls! Love my Doms and they blend in the flock with my Cuckoo Breda hen:

Dominiques

Breda hen

 

[centrarchid]

My two Dom girls are just a little over two years old -- one is still laying consistently and one isn't and they are the same age from the same feed store shipment. I've had better layers/larger eggs from White Leghorns but they don't have the outgoing personalities of the Dom girls! Love my Doms and they blend in the flock with my Cuckoo Breda hen:

Dominiques
View attachment 1922399

Breda hen View attachment 1922400 View attachment 1922401

One with white earlobes has something in her besides American Dominique.

 

[Chickassan]

These seem to take a month or so hiatus then resume laying throughout the winter.
Hobo the eldest is molting at the moment, she hasn't produced an egg since the last week of September and is now in full hard molt.
She'll be laying again by Halloween even if she isn't completely refeathered.
Dutch who is a bit over a year old has not stopped laying yet, it is coming though her comb is shrinking.
Thats the sign here, when that comb shrinks the factory shuts down.

This is Hobo about a week before she went on break.
Her comb is maybe 1/3 that size now, very compact and neat.

My Dominiques abruptly stopped laying on the equinox (last eggs Sept 20th), I was under the impression they were a great winter layer. They are just hatchery stock and that may be why they are different on winter laying that what i have read. Not a big deal I have Dorkings who will lay all winter as well as others that lay in winter but I figured I would mention this in case some one pipes in to tell me I may have another issue with my Dominiques that needs to be taken care of.

 

[Sylvester017]

One with white earlobes has something in her besides American Dominique.

No, my friend -- the white earlobe girl is not a Dominique -- she is a rare Cuckoo Breda -- Breda have white earlobes, white legs, have no comb with only a triangle crest on top of their head, cavernous large nostrils like a Raven, a Crow, or a Polish chicken, Breda have heavily feathered legs and long toe feathers, and vulture hocks. The Breda feather colors come in BBS (Blue, Black, Splash), Cuckoo feathers, or rare White. I posted my Cuckoo Breda hen pic and my two Dominique hens to show that they blend in color similarly when together in a flock.

Cuckoo Breda hen with full toe feathers

This is my Blue Breda hen

This is a young Cuckoo Breda pullet

And these are my two Dominique hens -- the appropriate red earlobes and rose combs, no feathered legs, and no vulture hocks -- but because of the cuckoo feathers they blend with my Cuckoo Breda hen: I love the combs on my Dom girls but grossly disappointed that they developed too much cushion on their backs.
TWO YEARS OLD

As one year old Doms my girls (below) had a pretty U-back but as the top pics show they developed too much cushion at two years old (above)
ONE YEAR OLD -- pretty U-backs

 

[Faraday40]

Those really do look like vulture hocks.

 

[Sylvester017]

Those really do look like vulture hocks.

Teehee! Here's a couple more pics of my Cuckoo Breda's vulture hocks and feathered toes:

Rear view of hocks and toes

Vulture hocks are very prominent on her pullet photo

Breda with a nice U-shape back better than my Dominiques

White lobes Cuckoo Breda at the front w/ 3 Dominiques (inside the raised garden bed)

Cuckoo Breda hen weighs 3 kilos, has a more slender body than A Dominique and actually has more of a U-shape to her back than my Dominique girls -- this Breda is 3 years old and never developed a cushion on her back the way my two Dominique hens did!!!

 

[Alaskan]

View attachment 1941543 View attachment 1941544

Great dog.