I may have been the victim of a mixup! PICS

[BigDaddy'sGurl]

Okay, so a little over a month ago I bought a dozen BR hatching eggs from a wonderful lady. At the time she tried to entice me to also purchase a dozen Dominique eggs from her daughter's flock, but I was out of room in the incubator, so I politely declined. Now, two weeks after hatch day (or so...may be closer to 3 weeks) and I have some chicks that, while barred, don't resemble my BR chicks of last year much in the face. They have no comb. Zero. And rather long faces...

I can't seem to find good pics online of dominique chicks of the same age, so I have nothing to compare to...maybe I'm just nuts...well, that goes without saying. Help! Pics:

Also, just for kicks and giggles, are there any glaring genders here? I know the lightbulb in the pic may present a problem, but they all look to be the same general shade of barring in real life...but I am no expert!

 

[tandersphoenix]

Those are not barred rocks. Definitely not single combed!

 

[BigDaddy'sGurl]

Quote:
That's what I was afraid of.

I got the eggs for next to nothing, so no loss money-wise, but I already have a gorgeous young BR cockeral on standby waiting on his lovely ladies to mature...I was wanting purebred eggs by fall and if I have to start over, I am pushed back at least a month now...

I knew they looked odd with absolutely ZERO combs at this point, but I held out hope...

Don't get me wrong, I think they are beautiful, but I have customers who want purebred BR and customers who want purebred dominique. Not a mix of the two. Also, I just bought a dozen of each type of egg from this same lady this week, set two days ago in the incubator, and now I am at a loss because the chicks are already potentially sold but now I feel like I would be potentially deceiving the new owners!

 

[kelidei]

They look like my Cuckoo Marans chicks

 

[BigDaddy'sGurl]

Thanks Kelidei, but this lady definitely had no cuckoo marans...I doubt, no offense to her, that she would even know what one was. She is a nice person but she is definitely a local egg seller who has 3 breeds: brown leghorn, BR, and RIR with a couple of NHR. Her daughter has dominiques... My chicks do resemble yours though...

 

[Year of the Rooster]

It seems you got some Dominique chicks by mistake. And while they may not appear to have a comb, they still do; a rose comb is what it's called.

ETA: the rooster in my avatar has a rose comb if you haven't seen one before

 

[speckledhen]

They are Dominiques, looks like to me.

 

[phasian]

Your birds definitely look like Dominiques. (I have raised both Plymouth BRs & Doms.) Why not just tell your clients about the mix-up? Dominiques are a wonderful heritage breed with nice dispositions and are good layers. Also more cold tolerant. Few people can tell them apart.

One of my poultry clients called to see if I would take a "feather picker" off their hands that they said was a Dominique. When they brought me the bird, it turned out to be a Barred Rock! (Her feather picking habits have never manifested at my farm. I think since I have plenty of space & roosters to boot, that she is no longer bored. She also gets plenty of protein....)

 

[happyhensny]

Dom's are great birds. Very sweet and good temperament.

 

[BigDaddy'sGurl]

Quote:
Thanks for the info! I actually had a dominique hen once and so I have seen this type of comb before. I blame myself for not noticing these little guys sooner...I think I wanted my BR's so badly that I stayed away so as not to get too attached if some died or something...when I felt the danger of mortality had passed I spent more time really looking and imagine my shock! To say I am sad is putting it mildly. I have a BR hen already and she is the best egg layer I own. The dominique hen I mentioned earlier was nearly the worst I ever owned...not to say that is the rule, she was probably the exception...but just imagine the disappointment to think you are finally realizing a dream of the ideal flock just to realize now that it's either change the breed of choice or start from scratch. And I don't even know where to buy more BR eggs at locally as she is the only person to respond to my ad. Also, I can't really afford to take a chance on shipped eggs at this time.

I will have to call the seller and I dread it because I don't think she meant to do this.

Thanks all for your confirmation.