Chicken Breed Focus - Dominique

[TheOddOneOut]

Is that normal for a barred rock to have shared characteristics of Dominique

Post pics of your birds.
Dominiques should have a large rose comb, yellow skin, and a barred pattern.
If your birds are missing any of these, they are not Dominiques.

 

[TheOddOneOut]

I have two Dominiques.
Both females. One has more faults than the other, like a poor body shape and a nonspiked comb, but the one girl is almost perfect. I'll post pics in a bit.

 

[CrazyCochin]

The Dominique also known as Dominicker or Pilgrim Fowl, originated in the USA during the colonial period. It is considered America's oldest breed of chicken, likely descending from chickens brought to New England from southern England during colonial times. By the 19th century, they were very popular and were raised in many parts of the country. Dominiques are a dual purpose breed, being valued for their table bird qualities as well as for their brown eggs. In earlier times, their feathers were much sought after as stuffing for pillows and mattresses.

After the Plymouth Rock breed was developed from the Dominiques in the 1870s, the Dominiques' popularity declined, and by the 1950 they were so rare, they were considered nearly extinct. During the 1970s, Dominiques were listed in "Critical" status with fewer than 500 breeding birds in North America. However, due to a revival of interest in them and other rare breeds, the Dominiques have made a comeback and are now listed on the "Watch" list, indicating lesser danger of extinction.

Details:

Breed Purpose Dual Purpose
Comb Rose
Broodiness Average
Climate Tolerance All Climates
Egg Productivity Medium
Egg Size Medium
Egg Color Brown
Breed Temperament Friendly, Easily handled, Calm, Bears confinement well, Quiet, Docile
Breed Colors/Varieties Correct Dominique barring is not quite black on not quite white, and the bars are staggered, rather than the parallel and sharply contrasting black and white barring of the Barred Rock.
Breed Size Large Fowl


Pic by @LaurenM23


Pic by @Osprey


Pic by @Chris09


Pic by @WallTenters


Pic by @WallTenters

BYC Breed Reviews:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/products/dominique

BYC Breed Discussions:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/301766/dominique-thread/0_30
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/568590/dominiques/0_30
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1019004/investing-more-in-american-dominiques/0_30

Do you own Dominiques? Are you a Dominique breeder? If so, please reply to this thread with the your thoughts and experiences, including:

· What made you decide to get this breed?
· Do you own them for fun? Breeding? Some other purpose?
· What are your favorite characteristics about this breed?
· Post some pics of your birds; male/female, chicks, eggs, etc!

We have a bunch of other awesome breed-focus threads for you to enjoy. You can see all of them here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/chicken-breed-focus-project.975504/

Here is a picture of one of our dominiques!

 

[CrazyCochin]

I have two Dominiques.
Both females. One has more faults than the other, like a poor body shape and a nonspiked comb, but the one girl is almost perfect. I'll post pics in a bit.

We only have two as well.

 

[TheOddOneOut]

Here is a picture of one of our dominiques!View attachment 2421759

She closely resembles my lovely but devilish Pepper. That's the look I always get when I hand a treat to another chicken.

 

[TheOddOneOut]

Better quality girl, Pepper:

And a chick pic, of course:

Slightly lesser quality, Salt:

Chick pic

 

[Liz Birdlover]

Better quality girl, Pepper: View attachment 2424081
View attachment 2424082View attachment 2424088
And a chick pic, of course:View attachment 2424091
Slightly lesser quality, Salt:View attachment 2424087View attachment 2424089View attachment 2424090
Chick picView attachment 2424093

Soooo cute!!!

 

[TheOddOneOut]

Soooo cute!!!

Yup! AND demanding, grumpy, and naughty.

 

[Liz Birdlover]

Yup! AND demanding, grumpy, and naughty.

I have a pair of their distant cousins, 2 ornery Barred Rocks, that grumpy, demanding, naughty gene is a strong one! Lol

 

[TheFrogLady]

Cool, I found the Dominique thread!

Here's my girl, the only Dominique in a mixed flock of 4 hens. She's fast becoming my favorite. She's not cuddly at all, but she's a great conversationalist. She runs right up to me whenever I come outside and starts telling me all about her day. When I talk back to her, she cocks her head and listens attentively.

She's technically named Violet, but we end up just calling her "Dominicker." My husband was the one who simply had to have a "Dominicker hen" if we were going to get chickens. He's a big Waylon Jennings fan:

"Way down in Virginia, among the tall growing sugar cane/lived a simple man, and a Dominicker hen, and a rose of a different name. . . . "