FREE-RANGE KEEPING OF AMERICAN DOMINIQUES

[Mrs. K]

I do apologize, I did not pay attention to your avatar. I did think you were new to chicken raising, and predators can wipe out flocks in similar set ups.

It would be interesting to hear more about harem raised chicks, which is an expression that I have not seen here.

Mrs K

 

[centrarchid]

FOUR WAYS CHICKS HAVE BEEN RAISED BY ME
I am into behavior so imprinting is particularly interesting. Some of this I am trying to manipulate to improve my rearing efforts.

Brooder Raised
Chicks reared in brooder imprinting only on other chicks.

Hand-Brooder Raised
Chicks reared in brooder although imprinted on you as well as each other. Imprinted chicks will follow you like they follow hen even when now food involved. This type seldom practical except for kids not in school to do.

Hen Raised
Hen only participates in rearing chicks. All parties (chicks and hen) imprinted in each other. Once chicks weaned from hen, they have only each other. This system occurs when hen rooster ratio is high.

Harem Raised
Hen provides virtually all nurturing during first five weeks although rooster provides tidbits and limited protection from predators. During this time rooster and chicks bond on each other and process seems to occur when rooster puts his head down among chicks as they forage together. With respect to ground predators, rooster will get loud and stand in open as hen slinks of with chicks, when predator distracted rooster goes for cover as well. With some ground predators rooster will assist hen in attacking it and occasionally can surprise something like a fox or young dog. With respect to hawks (Coopers in particular), the rooster is the front line defense while hen largely tries to cover chicks up. I have seen hawk rooster interaction multiple times in games but not yet with American Dominiques where chicks are involved. Game acts like a broody hen when dealing with threats and does it only for chicks of his harem. When hen weans chicks as they become juveniles, the rooster then takes over brood care as hen starts another clutch. The rooster then has juveniles with him until they are pushing 12 weeks old. He provides protection from predators during that time as well. Some roosters during first weeks will actually brood during rain events or when weather cold. Rooster also very important in getting juveniles to roost up if hen has not completed or started process. At some point after 12 weeks rooster boots offspring from harem or at least they drift off during day. This system occurs when hen rooster ratio is low.

I do not think the broody rooster behavior is derived from red jungle fowl. Possibly broody rooster behavior is derived from grey jungle fowl used early in domestication process or it developed independently through walk rearing as practiced by keepers of gamefowl using walks over last several thousand years.

 

[Mrs. K]

Very interesting. Is this an instinct related to Dominiques? I have 4 dominique chicks, and I will be picking a new roo in the winter. I have not seen anything like that in rooster behavior, however, I have only been having roosters for about 6 years. My next roo will be my 4th.

Last summer, I had a good rooster. I had not lost a hen in over a year. The hens looked a little rough, but they adored him, and he was not aggressive to me. However, I did have a hen with chicks, and he ignored her and the chicks. When I opened the run in the morning, he would take himself and the layers out to forage. The hen with chicks, would also go forage, but she tended to stay closer to the coop, and quite separate from the other group.

As the chicks got older, the groups got closer together. In the winter, mine spend more time and more days locked in the run, depending on the weather. Wind seems to make them more vulnerable to day time predators..... and the flock became one. Late in the fall, my roo was attacked and lost all his tail feathers, and a couple of weeks later, lost him and a hen all together.

The roo I raised over the winter, was a no go, poor fertility and aggressive attitude.

This is quite interesting. I live in western SD, on a very rural ranch. I have just had hatchery hens, and this year, ordered some through Sandhills Preservation, with the idea of playing with some more heritage breeds. The dominiques were not what I ordered, but rather to make the numbers up.

 

[Mrs. K]

what is walk rearing?

"Hen rooster ratio is high" do you mean that there are numerous roos per number of hens (5 roos per 20hens, or the opposite, very few roos per a number of hens ( 1 or 2 roos per 20 hens).

When you talk about multiple harems, do you mean multiple flocks in the same area, but each group of birds managed by a single roo?

And when the roo boots them from the harem, does that mean they leave the flock and create a new one?

This is very interesting and considerably different than most BYC posts.

 

[centrarchid]

Is this an instinct related to Dominiques?

I do not know. When I have had Dominique in free-range harems the sex ratio was high enough that even game rooster would not tend offspring. The roosters are like male humans, they will invest less if they can get away from it or if quantity of young fathered can compensate reduced survival or quality. Two bull stags will be released later this summer, each with a single hen to see what they do. I am new to American Dominques so still learning what makes them tick.


I am having fun watching two harem masters fight over foraging territories. One is an American Dominique and the other is part of my Missouri Dominique project which involved crossing in some game. The Missouri Dominique seems to act a lot more like the games. They got into a real scrap a couple days ago and now use crowing to indicate their positions when in area of territory overlap. They are no longer going out of their way to interact. Hens have not been allowing master of other harem to cover them even though the masters have tried for extra-harem treading. These observations currently possible because habitat is so complex.

 

[centrarchid]

what is walk rearing?

"Hen rooster ratio is high" do you mean that there are numerous roos per number of hens (5 roos per 20hens, or the opposite, very few roos per a number of hens ( 1 or 2 roos per 20 hens).

When you talk about multiple harems, do you mean multiple flocks in the same area, but each group of birds managed by a single roo?

And when the roo boots them from the harem, does that mean they leave the flock and create a new one?

This is very interesting and considerably different than most BYC posts.

Walk rearing we did with games where a broodcock and one to a few brood hens (if multiple then hens usually full sisters) where at a free-range location where we did nothing other than release birds and harvest offspring in fall that hatched prior to June 1. I do not know the etymology of term "walk" but guess it means all locations were in walking distance for us which not always case.

Hen ratio high means many hens per rooster, low means few per rooster.

Multiple harems usually means flocks are on discrete / different walks where ranges not only do not ovelap but are also not contiguous / touching. On a few larger farm lots with multiple out buildings and farmer present all day every day we could maintain more than one harem where territories where contiguous even with games but you had to be ready to pulls cocks once / if they started scrapping because whatever spacing mechanisms that where at play would be broken down between those birds for remainder of that season. Farmers are hard to find these days that allow such now. I am trying to figure out how to do it even though I have a day job.

When multiple harems at same location I consider them to be discrete flocks. When groups of juveniles milling about with over lapping ranges with other groups of juveniles and harems, then I call those subflocks.


When the harem master boots offspring they usually go hang with other similarly booted groups until early winter. It is during early winter that birds settle into flocks / harems they will be in next breeding season. This latter part is based mostly on memory where we had multiple roost sites on biggest farm lot that could support multiple harems.

 

[Mrs. K]

That darn day job! haha

this has been an entirely different conversation than usual on this forum. And I am quite interested, especially since I have some dominiques. Space is not an issue here, but I have lost so many free ranging over the years, I could not be comfortable if they were not locked up in fort knox at night. ...... but, I see your point, the ones that survive the longest are the ones you want to keep and encourage..... I just am pretty positive I would be a zero hens before we got to rebreed the survivors.

I will be quite interested in following your posts on this subject, please do keep posting your observations.

Mrs K

 

[centrarchid]

That darn day job! haha

this has been an entirely different conversation than usual on this forum. And I am quite interested, especially since I have some dominiques. Space is not an issue here, but I have lost so many free ranging over the years, I could not be comfortable if they were not locked up in fort knox at night. ...... but, I see your point, the ones that survive the longest are the ones you want to keep and encourage..... I just am pretty positive I would be a zero hens before we got to rebreed the survivors.

I will be quite interested in following your posts on this subject, please do keep posting your observations.

Mrs K

My birds are not at as much risk as you might think. We have excellent predator control and could probably keep silkies if they could tolerate the tall wet grass. Predators are present and occasionally try but dogs in particular shut predators down. A point not indicated is I will have backups, lots, in breeding pens as well as more being raised separately but also free-range with paddocks defined by electrified poultry netting.

Sometimes the heavy vegetation hurts predator as well. They have to get closer to chicken to catch and often even see it. Chicken can often run through heavy vegetation making racket all the way. Heavy vegetation slows predators and makes it easier for my dogs to locate and put hurt on them. We have had two red fox kills by my dogs and both times it occurred in heavy vegetation. Protection provided by vegetation is currently seasonal which I will effort to improve over next couple of decades as "finca" is managed into existence. This project is long-term.

 

[centrarchid]

Silver / White Poplar

Grove shown at center of image forms largest single cover patch in entire property. Red-tails cannot penetrate it on the wing. Fox can but so can my dogs. Only real problem with it is grove is very close to property line with neighbors where my birds might cross fence to visit them. Same neighbors have dogs that in past would make runs after my birds. I will probably allow only games to use this and either harvest them early or setup so sub-flocks using it are pullet only to keep noise down.


Same grove showing >40 foot width. It is more than 100 feet long. Taller trees pushing 20 tall. Great-horned owl will have a very difficult time hunting this stuff at night.


Stems at chicken-eye level.

What chicken sees looking up.




Leaves of trees.

 

[buffalogal]

What is "finca"?

I've been raising Dominiques this way for almost a decade at this location. (along with Anconas, Buckeyes, Ameraucanas and a motley assortment that includes games, Wyandottes, Leghorn and a few odds and ends), and the birds are the healthiest and certainly the hardiest and liveliest they have ever been. I also believe they are, if not "happy", at least content. Mrs K, the Dominique is a natural choice for traditional free range (as opposed to the USDA's "shed raised" version of free range). They were originally called "dunghill fowl", as back in the day, one cleaned the barns and stables and piled the hay, litter and manure into heaps that were later hauled out and spread over the fields. The barnyard flock "made their living" scratching and searching out the spilled feed and insects that lived in those piles as well as foraging all over the farm. It's nice to see someone else raising them "the old way", centrachid, I'm sure you'll find they'll thrive.


I look forward to reading your progress and if you're interested, comparing notes on behavior.