Dominique Thread!

[Tookie]

@Tookie For some reason bantams seem to have longer life spans. Maybe because they lay fewer eggs and go broody during which time it gives their body a rest to replenish body nutrients? Just guessing.

Ah, it's cause their body is smaller, and doesn't get worn out as fast, if that makes sense.

 

[Sylvester017]

@Tookie For myself I want to think that broody breeds live longer because their body gets a rest from egg-laying during that time. For some reason broodies get so focused on broodiness they don't have much appetite. So, we concentrate on breaking broodies and feeding and watering them to replenish their body nutrients. Some hens are hard broodies and take longer to break while others are not focused and lose the habit in 3 or 4 days. Our Doms from Privett Hatchery were never broody but our Silkies are determined broodies. Some personalities were easy to break while others took longer.

Even though our Doms never went broody two of them were laying during extreme heatwaves in summer so we lost one to heatstroke at one-year-old and her sister to heatstroke during egg-laying at two-years-old.

The Dom sister we have remaining was never a good egg-layer and here she is at 6-yrs-old. She layed about a 1/2 dozen eggs this Spring and quit. Hence I've attributed long-lifespan to less egg-laying. And for some reason she never layed eggs during hot summer months -- only during the cooler Spring months. Probably a fluke conclusion on my part about prolific egg-layers but that's how it turned out for me.

 

[Yze]

@Tookie For myself I want to think that broody breeds live longer because their body gets a rest from egg-laying during that time. For some reason broodies get so focused on broodiness they don't have much appetite. So, we concentrate on breaking broodies and feeding and watering them to replenish their body nutrients. Some hens are hard broodies and take longer to break while others are not focused and lose the habit in 3 or 4 days. Our Doms from Privett Hatchery were never broody but our Silkies are determined broodies. Some personalities were easy to break while others took longer.

Even though our Doms never went broody two of them were laying during extreme heatwaves in summer so we lost one to heatstroke at one-year-old and her sister to heatstroke during egg-laying at two-years-old.

The Dom sister we have remaining was never a good egg-layer and here she is at 6-yrs-old. She layed about a 1/2 dozen eggs this Spring and quit. Hence I've attributed long-lifespan to less egg-laying. And for some reason she never layed eggs during hot summer months -- only during the cooler Spring months. Probably a fluke conclusion on my part about prolific egg-layers but that's how it turned out for me.
View attachment 3550274

She's a pretty hen. Someday when I have my Dominiques, I hope to have ones that are overall consistent egg producers, but occasionally broody.

 

[Sylvester017]

@Yze Chickens seem to handle colder weather better than heatwaves. If you have Doms that lay during a heatwave, monitor them. I assumed our Doms were going to be okay because we had ice bottles in their drinking water and had misters going in the yard -- but if they are in a hot coop nestbox expect heatstroke/death. Because I'm retired I can monitor any heatwave egg-layers diligently now by holding up cold water for them while they're in a nextbox and keep the nestbox lid propped open. Even though our coop is under a patio roof in shade, it's not much help when temps go to 115 with heat index at 122 !!!

 

[Tookie]

@Yze Chickens seem to handle colder weather better than heatwaves. If you have Doms that lay during a heatwave, monitor them. I assumed our Doms were going to be okay because we had ice bottles in their drinking water and had misters going in the yard -- but if they are in a hot coop nestbox expect heatstroke/death. Because I'm retired I can monitor any heatwave egg-layers diligently now by holding up cold water for them while they're in a nextbox and keep the nestbox lid propped open. Even though our coop is under a patio roof in shade, it's not much help when temps go to 115 with heat index at 122 !!!

Now I'm worried about my hens laying in the hot nesting box...

 

[Sylvester017]

Now I'm worried about my hens laying in the hot nesting box...

Don't panic. Supposedly, this year is to be a cooler year than the last decade. I've lived in So Calif for over 78 years but the last five years had record-breaking high temps I'd never seen before. When we had a 115 degree day with a heat index of 122 is when we lost our first Dom. The next year was another record high summer when we lost the 2nd Dom -- both were lost laying eggs in a hot nestbox. We use a wood block to keep the nestbox lid cracked open on hot days now. A waterer secured near a favorite nestbox wouldn't hurt if you aren't home to monitor your flock. We also have a wire floor for better air circulation during the summer months and a solid floor tray for colder winter months. We never shut the coop pop-door because the outside pen is locked at night therefore giving better air circulation in winter as well as summer. Seems to help as we haven't lost any more hens to heatstroke.

 

[Sylvester017]

Poor Dana -- she layed two bloody eggs in two days. She's six-yrs-old so I don't want to see her go through this. After losing a sweet Silkie years ago to a bleeding ovarian tumor I don't want to go through a similar experience again. It's probably nothing to worry about but when one is attached to one bird for so long one can't help but feel bad.

Two bloody Dominique eggs and one small Silkie egg in the middle

 

[Yze]

Poor Dana -- she layed two bloody eggs in two days. She's six-yrs-old so I don't want to see her go through this. After losing a sweet Silkie years ago to a bleeding ovarian tumor I don't want to go through a similar experience again. It's probably nothing to worry about but when one is attached to one bird for so long one can't help but feel bad.

Two bloody Dominique eggs and one small Silkie egg in the middle
View attachment 3556861

Aw! Poor chicken!

 

[MiddleAmerican]

Ive been cranking out batches of Dominiques all growing season. I’ve been giving chicks to friends, family, anyone that’s wants them. Doing my best to spread the word about this awesome breed of chicken!

 

[Yze]

Ive been cranking out batches of Dominiques all growing season. I’ve been giving chicks to friends, family, anyone that’s wants them. Doing my best to spread the word about this awesome breed of chicken!

You're doing the Lord's work, as they say.