Heritage Large Fowl - Phase II

[NanaKat]

Finally caught up...over 300 posts.
enjoyed the diverse conversations...learn something new everytime!

Walt's big coon is a frightening predator...ours are not even half that weight.

Karen..the pen is best built well once....buy the best materials you can and build it right.

Breeding season is finished here as well. There are six hens still sitting on nests...by their own choosing....only one is a LF Wyandotte. The rest are OEGB and Bantam Delaware...all with chicks due within the week. There are quail hatching in the incubator.

 

[The Yakima Kid]

There are some reasonably decent Doms around, and for me, a breed of interest.

A shamefully overlooked breed, particularly when everything "sustainable" is the new fad.

I am sure that if someone started selling Doms for $5,000 a pair, they might become part of the sustainable fad.

Meanwhile, people are importing those nice Swedish breeds and trying to create the usual "appearance" standard for them. Which is interesting, since the Swedish livestock registry does not create appearance standards for poultry since the Swedish government and farmers do not want anything to overshadow utility qualities, including vitality and health.

I have a number of Dominique hens from last year, and a single three year old Black Star. The Dominiques are incredibly fascinating as they do not behave like any other American class bird I have ever had. They are sort of like a Plymouth Rock with ADHD and are literally the most curious chickens I have ever seen. And stubborn. And sneaky if they want something. Very single minded forage Hoovers.

 

[fowlman01]

Here in California there are some excellent Bantam Doms but no large fowl that I know of.

Walt

 

[Regin]

I have some backyard Dominiques. They where my first chickens.
I will be breeding them selectively, but I don't expect anything SQ for at least a few years.
I have 20 from this years hatches at various ages (7 weeks to 20 weeks).
Every time I had the incubator running, extra slots where filled with the Dominique eggs.

 

[Regin]

I am going to do NPIP testing in a few weeks. I have the option (in South Carolina) to do AI testing as well.

The AI is more cost-wise and has to be sent off to the lab and done every 6 months.

Once certified, the P-T tests only needs to be re-done yearly on site with a minimal number of samples.

Anyone with experience on this? Is the AI testing worthwhile?

 

[gjensen]

I am sure that if someone started selling Doms for $5,000 a pair, they might become part of the sustainable fad.

Meanwhile, people are importing those nice Swedish breeds and trying to create the usual "appearance" standard for them. Which is interesting, since the Swedish livestock registry does not create appearance standards for poultry since the Swedish government and farmers do not want anything to overshadow utility qualities, including vitality and health.

I have a number of Dominique hens from last year, and a single three year old Black Star. The Dominiques are incredibly fascinating as they do not behave like any other American class bird I have ever had. They are sort of like a Plymouth Rock with ADHD and are literally the most curious chickens I have ever seen. And stubborn. And sneaky if they want something. Very single minded forage Hoovers.

I like their type. Kind of a small dual purpose Leghorn type. They have/should have good laying type. I like their size, and activity level.

I mentioned the sustainability fad, because the irony is that with this crowd, they prefer the least "sustainable breeds".

I have come to prefer the more active breeds.

 

[gjensen]

I am going to do NPIP testing in a few weeks. I have the option (in South Carolina) to do AI testing as well.

The AI is more cost-wise and has to be sent off to the lab and done every 6 months.

Once certified, the P-T tests only needs to be re-done yearly on site with a minimal number of samples.

Anyone with experience on this? Is the AI testing worthwhile?

If you are going to interact with certain States, it is worth it. It depends on what you want to do. For your own assurance, I would not recommend it. If you had it, you would know it already. It does not hurt to do it, if you feel the cost is worth it.

 

[LindaB220]

Ok, So I walked out to the coops this evening to check feed and water. Tux and May live together in the little red "livery barn" style coop.
May had decided to sit eggs as the hatching season was winding down. She is 2 this year. I decided to let her have her way. . So tonight I go check she is no longer on the nest. No egg shells in sight. Fine, we are finally done with this off season silliness! I checked the run and there she was setting in the run with Tux watching over her.
Fine I go to move her and let her know I have had enough of this brooding stuff ! Out pop 4 chicks from under her. Well "Hi there little ones! ". Course the coop needed cleaned when she started setting. So I rush off to get the supplies. Lock them in the run and clean the coop. Tux goes in after it is done and calls May and the chicks but the chicks can't climb into the coop. Ooops, Need to build a ramp tomorrow. Put solar light in the coop to encourage May and the kids into it. Not happening , even with Tux's encouragement. He is a good daddy, gentle and protective. Ok, time to punt. May has settled on the run floor over the chicks. But it is getting to 45 tonight and the ground will get cold Hum. Off for more chips and throw a big pile in one sheltered corner of the run. Bump May over onto it, avoiding her angry pecks. The chicks scatter and I scoot them over to her. Check on them later and she is comfortably ensconced on the chip pile brooding her chicks. Fixed a chick waterer for them and put it in the yard. Has Poultry Nutri-Drench in it. Last week, I once again ended up with different chicken feed at Agway and am feeding the adult birds unmedicated chick feed. So guess it will be good for these chicks too. I don't see the need to feed them medicated feed since they were hatched in the coop and probably already exposed to anything the adult birds have seen. I am not sure if it will harm the adult birds to feed them medicated chick feed, so I won't.
And that's the rest of the story...
Best,
Karen

Wonderful story. And a way to making do.

 

[The Yakima Kid]

Here in California there are some excellent Bantam Doms but no large fowl that I know of.

Walt

Thanks. The woman who was showing Dom Bantams at the State Fair has offered to help me out with a trio at a very reasonable price. My husband wants me to wait until spring and see if I can locate some large fowl in another state. He has offered to drive as far as Washington or Idaho or Arizona - although he would really like me to go back to the Rocks and Black Stars since he thinks the Dominiques are too active for his tastes. His favorite Black Stars and Rocks would sit in his lap like cats, while the Doms only poke holes in his pants and trip him by gathering around his feet talking to him. They did ruin a very good pair of his office slacks, though. That was expensive.

Maybe I will look for some high quality Rocks or Buckeyes. I want a bird that is easy to handle and alert to predators and interested and capable of foraging. A friend of mine has an Orpington that is a very active forager - but due to her size, her feed consumption while also working good forage is as high as that of a penned Dominique.

We are working on retiring to our Nevada place, so birds that are predator alert, and can tolerate both temperatures in excess of 100 F and below 10 F are a requirement. We intend to have them in an enclosure, but they need to notice threats in case a predator succeeds in breaking in the fence or dropping from above. The coop and run are covered with expanded metal mesh.

We had an interesting event in our yard a few years back when we were keeping only Black Stars and Barred Rocks. A Barred Rock and a Black Star were hanging out on one side of the yard, while another Barred Rock and Black Star were visiting with my husband at the other end of the yard. We heard what sounded like a chicken squabble, and my husband told them to knock it off and began to walk over. The hawk shot up from the ground by them as he walked up. It seems the hawk must have been very young and inexperienced and apparently the biddies weren't cooperating with him/her.

 

[Zanna]

Thanks. The woman who was showing Dom Bantams at the State Fair has offered to help me out with a trio at a very reasonable price. My husband wants me to wait until spring and see if I can locate some large fowl in another state. He has offered to drive as far as Washington or Idaho or Arizona - although he would really like me to go back to the Rocks and Black Stars since he thinks the Dominiques are too active for his tastes. His favorite Black Stars and Rocks would sit in his lap like cats, while the Doms only poke holes in his pants and trip him by gathering around his feet talking to him. They did ruin a very good pair of his office slacks, though. That was expensive.

Maybe I will look for some high quality Rocks or Buckeyes. I want a bird that is easy to handle and alert to predators and interested and capable of foraging. A friend of mine has an Orpington that is a very active forager - but due to her size, her feed consumption while also working good forage is as high as that of a penned Dominique.

We are working on retiring to our Nevada place, so birds that are predator alert, and can tolerate both temperatures in excess of 100 F and below 10 F are a requirement. We intend to have them in an enclosure, but they need to notice threats in case a predator succeeds in breaking in the fence or dropping from above. The coop and run are covered with expanded metal mesh.

We had an interesting event in our yard a few years back when we were keeping only Black Stars and Barred Rocks. A Barred Rock and a Black Star were hanging out on one side of the yard, while another Barred Rock and Black Star were visiting with my husband at the other end of the yard. We heard what sounded like a chicken squabble, and my husband told them to knock it off and began to walk over. The hawk shot up from the ground by them as he walked up. It seems the hawk must have been very young and inexperienced and apparently the biddies weren't cooperating with him/her.

There are two very good breeders of quality dominiques in Oregon. They are partners, one lives in Sweet Home, the other is in Redmond. The gal in Sweet Home is Heaven Roberts. I will see her Sept. 20th at our local chicken swap and can get her contact info for you if you like. Just PM me and let me know. You could leave her a message through the Oregon Fall Poultry swap facebook page as well.