Dominique

Dominique's are one of my all time favorite breeds. They are calm, docile birds, and great layers. I have one hen that is around 7 years old and still lays an egg almost everyday. Domini ques are thrifty birds, and are more lice/mite resistant than other breeds. They are also pretty good mothers, and the roosters are good meat birds. I recommend this breed for your flock!

I have 4 dominiques and they are wonderful hens! They are very friendly, curious and brave, and like to follow me around the farm when I'm working. They are wonderful layers through summer and winter months, and get along great with the rest of my chickens.
An all-around great bird for beginners as they are extremely hardy, easy keepers.
My doms have survived 3 separate coyote attacks by hiding until the coast is clear. Clever birds!

These weren't birds I intended to try for myself, but my husband surprised me with a few and I have been really happy with them. They're like bargain Barred Rocks- I have both and the Dominiques take less feed and lay better.

They're spunky, bold and tough, and because of that I wouldn't recommend mixing them with birds like bantams or Polish. In with other full size, confident breeds they do well in a mixed flock.

I love Raven my Domique, she is very curious.

They may be on the small side, and they are a bit mean to the other chickens, but I have to give this breed a five out of five. I never really liked the barred coloration from pictures, but, when I put in my chick order, they only had seven breeds to choose from, so I got two of each. I was super excited to get any chicks at all, so I wasn't picky at that point. The Doms ended up being the sweetest chicks of the bunch. They were happy to sit on your lap all day if they could. When they got older, they would jump on my shoulder when I sat outside (they still try to, but cute baby chicks on your shoulder is one thing, full grown chickens is quite another).

Full grown, they are the smallest of the flock, but that doesn't stop them from bossing the other chickens around. They are always the first to come running up when I bring them treats. Lacey, the one pictured, even jumped the fence one day when I was in the front yard working on the car and came over to see what I was doing. She laid her first couple of eggs on the porch, (I like to think because it was easier for me to get them there, lol) and will happily walk right in the door if it's open (which it is when the weather is nice). The pic is fairly representational of their attitude. They are very "in-your-face" chickens, they want to know at all times what you are doing. The other Dom is a bit meaner to the rest of the flock (and the dog), so she may have to go, but I will never be able to part with Lacey, she has truly endeared herself to me.

They are on the small side (not a downside for me), and their eggs are small, but they are great layers. Their rose comb and tall tails give them a sharp look. And, I actually really like the barring in person, it can be quite striking in the sunlight.

My Dominiques really shine in the bug catching arena, making a daily thorough patrol around the property eating everything. They love to forage, but can tolerate being in the small coop too. Hens lay an egg every day (almost, they have taken a day off a few times, especially in the heat). They are sweet and curious and funny, unlike some other more boring chickens - their faces are always looking around for adventure. Even my animal-non-lover husband has taken a liking to them, especially our stately rooster. He is vigilant and tender towards his girls. I purchased him as a young rooster and my pullets were much younger (about 10 weeks old) and he took care of them like a loving father and now he treats them like royal wives. The only con to our doms is the size of their eggs - the largest are only medium size. This makes the chicks tiny! Speaking of chicks, my dom chicks are quick to get moving after hatching, and are alert, getting up and looking out the window to watch me within minutes of popping out. Lovely chickens!

We love our little Dominique chick. Of all of our other breeds to include Wyandottes, Welsummer, and Speckled Sussex, our Dominique is just the cutest, funniest, most personable chicken. Very friendly and loves to be petted with the softest feathers. Very animated too.

They're a wonderful breed! I have a half dozen of them that are a few months old. Every day they show their great foraging skills. I didn't handle them much when they were young so they were always really flighty but now when I am in the pen they'll come up and investigate my feet. Often almost tripping me when I walk away. I can't wait to see how well they do in winter, especially with egg laying.

I have 8 hens that are allowed to free-range all day. LucyAnn, my only Dominique, is my problem-child. She jumps over my fence and stands at my backdoor baulking loudly whenever she's hungry, bored and/or cranky. Her baulking starts at 6am but doesn't stop until after sunset. My neighbors have complained about her noise. Half a dozen times a day, I'm chasing her out of the dog run, out of my garden, and out from under the porch deck.

Even though her eggs are smaller, she is a reliable layer. Her feathers are soft and she is friendly with children and adults.

I had posted this under a Dom comment but had to add this as a review:

I contacted the American Dominique Club fellow listed on its website about the nature of Dominiques. There are many beautiful breeds to choose from and the Dom wasn't my first choice because of the mundane feathering. However I was interested in the Dom because it is a lighter weight LF about 4.5+ lbs average w/ gentle temperament and decent productivity (about 4 eggs/wk) which is what I was looking for to mix w/ a gentle flock of under 5-lb birds. Plus it has a nice camouflage for free-ranging. Huge eggs, color of eggs, or table meat was not as important as temperament w/ somewhat decent productivity. The Dom is a lightweight LF so realistically I would not want her to lay XL eggs to exhaust herself like the lightweight utility Leghorns. I was also told the Doms dress out nicely but at this point I'm only interested in temperament and some eggs. Not sure we could ever eat our birds - we never even ate the mean ones but re-homed them to egg sellers - LOL.

I thought it neat to be able to get a three-hundred-year-old Colonial heritage breed. Dom was the foundation bird used to create the later utility Barred Rocks infused w/ Malay and/or other breeds to make the BRs bigger. I've had BRs before but they were too large for my under 5-lb bird flock and the larger BRs are not always nice to smaller flockmates from our experience. I also wanted a breed with a smaller comb. I didn't like dealing with single or floppy combs in winter. We've recommended the Doms and Buckeyes to snow country folks who wanted smart free-ranging small-combed birds and one family has been very happy w/ their Dom pullets and roo, and their two Buckeye pullets - especially during this year's harsh winter storms. They've adapted to cold quite readily.

The American Dominique Club breeder said that Dom chicks are an outgoing, curious, friendly, soft-chirping talkative baby and those traits continue into adulthood. They will fit the need as a pet as well as utility bird. Plus the broodiness has not been bred out of them if we wanted to raise our own flock. I took his confirmation to heart and purchased a Dom chick who was not just friendly and outgoing but downright curious about everything on our clothes, our glasses, our hair, our fingers, our computer, the mouse, etc. She was incredibly softer than other chicks to touch. She was a constant forager and made our big hens look lazy. She even made other chicks look lazy! Most chicks will come running to look for treats but bore easily and run off but not the Dom pullet chick. After checking everything out, she'd nestle in our clothes, or hand, or arm, or lap or wherever close to us. She imprinted w/ us always chirping to us to make sure we were closeby as she went exploring. Unfortunately she suffered a traumatic seizure at 19 days old right before our eyes and was gone instantly. It happens w/ chicks in all breeds as well as juveniles - we had lost an Ameraucana pullet just 2 weeks before yet her sister was fine. You never know what happened w/ one chick when all the others are fine. But we definitely will get more than one Dom again next Spring thanks to the few weeks we had w/ her! I miss how v-e-r-y soft and how personable she was compared to the other chick breeds we had.

Dominiques are a pretty good breed! They are fairly good layers and have a lot of unique history. Dominiques were one of the first chicken breeds brought to America and still remain one of the oldest breeds. They are also generally tame. The only down point is that a lot of people get them confused with Barred Rocks; not noticing their rose comb difference. Dominiques aren't my most favorite breed because the Barred pattern isn't really my style of bird. But, that's just my opinion, if you do like their pattern than this is your breed.

They can take any weather and produce eggs every other day. If allowed to free range they will get most of their feed on their own.

Our Dominiques here at the Cirque des Poulets are referred to as the Unite Clown (Clown Unit) because of their antics, their cuckoo coloring, and the rose combs that look like little Musketeer hats, with the spike serving as the plume.

If you walk in with a feed scoop, especially one with treats, they will leap up and try to eat right out of it.

If you try to catch them, they flee as if the devil were chasing them. If you sit down, you may find the entire flock standing behind you, or even standing on you.

They are incredibly curious. Whenever we are working in the yard, run, or coop, they come over to investigate. I've found that if I'm on my knees cleaning out a waterer, I'm likely to have biddies on my back, shoulders, and even on top of my head!

If I open the back slider and shake the treat jar, they erupt like pheasants from the ground and fly towards the wonderful sound.

They are very busy birds, always active on important hen business.

When you're out with them, they like to talk to you; but other than that they are quiet, and their voices are soft and pleasant.

They are surprisingly heavily feathered - more so than one would expect just by looking because they have an enormous amount of down.

We thought we had cockerels instead of pullets at one point; their peck order fighting is very gamey - but despite the dramatic leaping into the air with hackles out like fighting cocks, no chickens seemed to be injured in the course of the battles.

The only drawback is that they aren't the best layers, and the eggs run small.

I may have got some bad ones out of the batch, but compared to my other breeds these things don't like humans (all the chickens regardless of the breed got the same amount of attention while chicks). But are kind to the other chickens for the most part. I'd recommend this to anyone looking for an addition to their flock. Of course, they still don't lay the biggest eggs or are the nicest chicken but they are a good breed of chicken worth looking into, and getting at least one. You may or may not like these curious breed of chickens.

I love them! They are not a breed to sit in your lap to be petted but will follow you around like a puppy! They seem to take any new routine in stride and dont get too stressed about it. They are not pushy or aggressive at all with other chickens and may be low in pecking order because of this. They are excellent foragers and dont venture too far from there little area. They have handled our 100 degree plus heat pretty well. I will always have this breed.

I only have 1 Dominque currently. However, she is my favorite. She will tolerate being carried around, sit on my knee and generally put up with stupid human stuff! She is very quiet and docile with the other birds, although she doesn't let the dogs get too close - she will peck them right on the nose! Consistent daily layer although egg size could be said to be on the small side. When I add to the flock next year, I will certainly be adding more Doms & RIRs'.

I have 6 ten week old chicks and they are wonderful. They get along with all of the girls in the coops and don't cause any fuss. They are the first ones to meet me at the gate in the morning for play time. They love being held and if I do not pick them up they will fly right onto my shoulder or arm. They eat out of my hand. I would highly recommend them.

I have a 3 of these in my flock and they are definitely the most friendly. One of them will often jump up and peck at the feed scoop as I walk into the run. Two of my three are rather old so I don't think they lay much, but the younger one is a very dependable layer. These are great hens for the beginner and are a must for any flock.

I Love Dominiques! Besides being our oldest native American breed, they are specifically suited for North America. Last summer we had temperatures to 110 F for a week, and the entire summer was the warmest on record for our area. In the winter it frequently get to below 0 F. They continue to lay about 1 egg every other day. The cockerels are fantastic eating. We process ours at about 26 weeks, and they average about 5 lbs. dressed. The pullets start laying at between 18-22 weeks. Slower developing than some other breeds, this Heritage chicken breed has time to develope flavor that you don't get in store bought chicken. Very friendly, and easy to manage. In November-December 2012, our 12 hens and 1 rooster plus 5 EEs only went through 50 lbs of feed in 6 weeks. AND they still lay eggs! Some roosters can be ornery, but cull those and keep the one with good manners. The best dual purpose breed out there.
From an old publication: Ten Reasons By Dr. H. H. Lehman From 1914 "Dominique Doings" History repeats itself. Old things become new. The good and noble cannot be suppressed. All this is true of the American Dominique. They are coming, and coming to the front rapidly again, as a leading utility fowl. Why not? They are second to none for real merit. Following are ten cardinal reasons why they deserve a front place: 1.They are an exceedingly hardy fowl. 2.They are easy to raise. 3.They breed true to color; very few culls. 4.Mature young; pullets begin to lay at the age of five and six months. 5.They are splendid year around layers and especially a good winter layer. 6.They endure cold weather remarkably well because of their small combs and busy habits. 7.They are fine meat fowls, having nice yellow skin, and are remarkably well adapted for broilers. 8.They are active and very free from disease; seldom become over-fat. 9.They compare with the smaller breeds as layers, yet are much more profitable for market fowls 10.The Dominiques are the greatest utility fowls and money makers in poultrydom. If other breeds have disappointed you, try the American Dominique. Fields , Mark A. (2012-08-16). The American Dominique: A Treatise For The Fancier (Kindle Locations 4405-4422). Mark A. Fields. Kindle Edition.

Egg size is only downside - lay up to a large egg, a few extra large but they are not supposed to lay huge eggs as they are a smaller bird. Very feed efficient ounce per ounce get way more eggs product from them, and more meat product especially if they can free range. Love the breed, have a ton breed more each year I'm addicted. Very cold tolerant and lay lots of eggs in the winter when other breeds (even the other cold tolerant ones it seems) are slowing way down. I have tried other breeds known for their foraging abilities but the Dominiques make the other breeds look a bit lazy, they will be out in the orchard sunup to sundown and don't touch the food in the feeder if they have a choice. Beautiful birds you won't appreciate their beauty until you see a small flock of them on green grass an early summer morning.