Dominique Thread!

[PheasantsFirst]

Hello!

some how I've had dominiques for months, and subscribed to this thread for longer but never posted anything.
Here are two pictures of two of mine (of six), they were hatched in early or mid April. Ill try to get more pictures soon.

I was amazed to see how good of foragers they were, at only a couple weeks old they were pecking at everything they could in their pen, and now they go for about everything. I even see the occasional one run after a fly. SO happy I got this breed!

 

[nate1the1great1]

Im sorry guys the one i thought was a Dominique turned out to be barred rock hen and I have a roo also but on the other hand i went to get some chicks about 2 hours from my house and I went to get 2 silkies 2 polish 3 naked necks but they said that a Dominique unexpectedly hatched and they didn't want to leave it almpnoe so they gave it to me for FREE lol bc i drove so far so she face it its a hen and she pis a trouble maker as we were driving on the highway she flew out of the box and was going crazy in the car lol but she's almost 3 months now and she is still jumpy and h8s being held but it's ok i have over 40 chickens now and i hsve almost all of them trained to come to me and so I have 40 some. Chickens flying at my face lol and peacocks 9 ducks and 2 geese so fun spun fun

 

[Alaskan]

I love all of the great pictures!

My kids catch flies for our chicks, they say the Dominiques are the quickest, and most interested in fly eating!

 

[rocketdog]

I have 2. They were supposed to be pullets, but one day I heard a very garbled, muted crow, and realized it was coming from my rooster! The other one also has a very large comb, but I still think she's a hen. Both are beautiful, and are becoming quite tame.

 

[jtn42248]

Turns out that one of the hens I thought was a Barred Rock is in fact a Dominique. I suspect she is the "free rare breed" chick from the hatchery. Question: when she runs across the field she seems to skip along like she is really happy. Is this a characteristic of the breed, the skipping when running. When she walks it is just like all the other hens.

 

[Sylvester017]

You just can not go wrong with DOMs, also Buff Orpintons are said to be some of the sweatest chickens, but i have to recomend the DOMs.

The Orps can be sweet if in a flock of LF but still can be pushy. Doms will be too busy foraging to care too much about flock politics. I mean there will always be chicken pecking orders but the Doms are the busiest little bees I've ever seen. Even the chicks are constantly foraging.

 

[Sylvester017]

Im sorry guys the one i thought was a Dominique turned out to be barred rock hen and I have a roo also but on the other hand i went to get some chicks about 2 hours from my house and I went to get 2 silkies 2 polish 3 naked necks but they said that a Dominique unexpectedly hatched and they didn't want to leave it almpnoe so they gave it to me for FREE lol bc i drove so far so she face it its a hen and she pis a trouble maker as we were driving on the highway she flew out of the box and was going crazy in the car lol but she's almost 3 months now and she is still jumpy and h8s being held but it's ok i have over 40 chickens now and i hsve almost all of them trained to come to me and so I have 40 some. Chickens flying at my face lol and peacocks 9 ducks and 2 geese so fun spun fun

Our Dom chick jumped all over the place inside the carrier on the ride home. I was afraid she would hurt herself so I put my fingers through the carrier wires and she settled down next to my fingers talking back and forth with me as we drove. Doms love to talk.

 

[Sylvester017]

I have 2. They were supposed to be pullets, but one day I heard a very garbled, muted crow, and realized it was coming from my rooster! The other one also has a very large comb, but I still think she's a hen. Both are beautiful, and are becoming quite tame.

As day old chicks it's usually accurate to determine sexes. The pullets will usually have a tight clear white dot on top of their head where the cockerels will have a blurrier scattered white patch. The females will usually have dark legs and toes while the cockerels do not have this characteristic.

 

[Sylvester017]

Hello!

some how I've had dominiques for months, and subscribed to this thread for longer but never posted anything.
Here are two pictures of two of mine (of six), they were hatched in early or mid April. Ill try to get more pictures soon.

I was amazed to see how good of foragers they were, at only a couple weeks old they were pecking at everything they could in their pen, and now they go for about everything. I even see the occasional one run after a fly. SO happy I got this breed!

Doms are just the best all-around backyard chicken - active foragers, easy on the feed, brood their own, conversationalists and good pets, curious, outgoing, unafraid even as chicks. Even as chicks they seek human company - really amazing when other chicks cower in the brooder. Love their camouflage pattern and s-o-f-t soft soft feathers.

 

[The Yakima Kid]

Our Dominiques have been very good at clearing away caterpillars climbing the trunks or living among the roots of our fruit trees; they also harvest the June drop and other fallen fruit. We had a couple of patches of weeds - but the Dominiques have been great helpers in clearing them out. The other day one appeared to be chasing a hummingbird under the belief that this must be the world's largest *bug.*