Dominique Thread!

[Upcycled]

Lost my second week old Dom chick to flux and prolapsed vent. Prep H...prayer...nothing helped.

I ordered 28, they sent 35, so McMurray wont credit me, but I don't want to lose more DOMS!!! I have Delawares, EEs, Austrolorps, and Dominiques...and they are all getting HUGE, except some of the Doms. And far and away, the Doms are my favorite because we saw them in Williamsburg on vacation, they are a Heritage breed and I want to breed some someday. I mean I ordered roos ON PURPOSE.

So far, I have lost a roo and a hen.

I'm down to only one more Dom roo, and five little hens. And one of the surviving hens looks pitiful.

I am calling McM in the morning and see if they will send me a minimum of Doms, so that they will be almost the same age. DO you think they will...I mean 25 is their minimum, right?

What do I do?

 

[mprivett]

Oh gosh I'm so sorry for your loss....it's awful losing them

Do you have any local Dominique breeders near you? Perhaps you could get some stock from one of them. Where are you located? It seems odd to me that your Doms are suffering--I've always thought they are one of the most hardy breeds. Mine sure are troopers and I'm not the best at keeping everything clean and all that

 

[Upcycled]

I'm south of you, and not very far, actually, but no breeders locally.

All the rednecks (of which I am proud stock) just call the "Dominickers" and what they CALL a "Dominicker" is just a bastardized Barred ROck...with the plain comb.

No SOP in these barnyard mutts. Mutts are GREAT, but I want to HELP Doms by breeding to perfection in the future. I really, REALLY want to do that>>>with all the years it takes. I REALLY want to....and I thought hatchery stock was the place to start. Might have been the cold waether shipment. Mine were drop shipped from Minnesota down our way...so??? Maybe they took a chill in shipment. Their brooder is hanging at 82 degrees....

Thank you for your concern.

I'm sure this will only be the first>>>>until half my flock gets taken away by a hawk or some other horror show.... so I need to toughen up.




(spelling edit)

 

[WallTenters]

Have you tried giving them some sugar water? Add sugar to their water (search on this form for the correct amount) and it usually perks them up to make it through :< good luck!

 

[Upcycled]

No but the sugar water they did get---combined with QUIK CHIK---might be what gave them the runs. No sigar water but for the first 24 hrs, though.. Though the other chicks are pooping fine.... I think its just the Doms...

Thank you all for your kindnesses.

Im going to spend the day tomorrow painting their coop and trying to not feel like the worst new poultry mom ever.

 

[WallTenters]

mprivitt, love your hen's coloring - nice yellow legs! I wish all my pullets had legs like that! Do their feathers end in black? The lacing looks beautiful but maybe it looks like their feathers end in white? I don't have my glasses on so I might be seeing things

 

[Gallusfarm]

Quote:
I agree, espeically the hen in the first photo, on the left. It almost looks like lacing - that's they way they should look, you'll notice that whats the SOP drawing looks like. Those are very nice looking birds.

 

[gootziecat]

I have one hatchery Dom hen and I really like her. But I'm really put off by the egg size. Does anyone have a Dom line that lays large eggs? I checked with Mr. Stickler in Ohio and he says his hens do not lay a large egg. Thanks.

 

[centrarchid]

Quote:
I have doms from seven sources now. Egg size consistently small relative to size of hen. But they do lay fairly regularly and do not have to be feed a lot to get that level of egg production.

 

[WallTenters]

The egg size on our pullets from different sources has ranged from medium-large. Actually, the biggest eggs I get are from Bob Berry's pullets out of GA, he ships chicks and is a very nice guy. http://bobsbiddies.webs.com/

I should add the poster above me has it right. In relation to how much I feed them, I get way more egg per pound of feed than my mother is currently getting with her RIRs. My older pullets and hers were hatched the same week, and started the same (I brooded them all). She feeds the same feed I do, I have more chickens and she has to buy more feed and my pullets laid straight through winter and hers slowed down quiet a bit.