Are they Barred Rocks or Dominiques?

[DementedHam]

Hi. Finally a cool chicken website! (I'm a new member).

For a while now I have been very confused. I have Four chickens: an araucana, a white leghorn and 2 others that I'm unsure if they are Barred Rocks or Dominiques. I've been to many search engines looking for pics and descriptions but both breeds look the same! Any idea.....?

 

[CarriBrown]

The color of their legs should give it away. Also, it's my understanding that there are slight differences in the barring pattern. Do you have any pictures of your birds that you can post?

 

[theOEGBman]

Barred Rocks have single combs and Doms have Rose Combs.

 

[barg]

Not to confuse you further but, cookoo marans also look very similar

And I agree about the pics, they would definatly help.
Also, its my understanding that the barring pattern is really only evident in "show quality birds"
and in that case the barred rocks have more well defined, unbroken lines in their pattern, or so I read on a dominique website.

 

[Redneckchick]

Biggest difference is the comb feature. BArred rocks have just that..Barred or spiney combs....Dominiques have a rose shaped comb....Just my observation. I have both breeds.

 

[speckledhen]

Barred Rocks have single combs and yellow legs, sometimes with a black wash down the front, especially on the hens.
Dominiques have a rose comb, yellow legs and a more swaybacked look to their bodies usually.
Cuckoo Marans have pinky-white legs, indistinct (cuckoo) barring and a single comb.
This side-by-side explanation of the difference between Doms and BRs may help some:
http://www.dominiquechicken.com/Dominiques_and_Barred_Rocks.html

I'd go by the leg and comb myself over the barring since hatcheries have muddied the waters in that regard. I myself have a Barred Rock hen that looks exactly like a Cuckoo Marans hen due to her barring being so indistinct. The only way I know what she is is because her legs are yellow.

 

[ozark hen]

|Oh, wow, speckeled hen!! I have six "dominiques" or so the hatchery told me when I picked them up but I see a diff in the combs of them and have been backtracking threads here and found this thread! I finally see I have one dominique cockrel and one barred rock cockrel and four barred rock pullets! Thanks so much for that link. Seeing them side by side made all the difference in the world to me! I kept telling my DH that the one cockrel looked like someone flattened his comb and it has a little spike on the back of it. Thank you, thank you!!!

 

[speckledhen]

Glad I could help clear it up some-I think that website really makes it plain with the side-by-side comparison. Barred Rocks, Cuckoo Marans and Doms are all very nice breeds.

 

[ozark hen]

ok, I will try this again..
barred rock roo

dominique roo

thank you speckled hen as I didn't have a clue that I had two different breeds since the hatchery told me they were all doms.

 

[speckledhen]

Well, they goofed, didn't they? Glad you know what's what now, though.