Dominique vs Barred Rock, which is better?

[Chick_In_The_Burbs]

Ok, we currently have 3 EE ladies and DH said we could get (up to) three more pullets. One point of contention that has come up is that he likes the Dominiques and I prefer Barred Rocks. We both agree that we want one with the barred pattern but we only want to get one barred bird, the other two are going to be an Australorp and a Speckled Sussex.

Please help us break the deadlock!

Prime criteria are cold hardiness, egg laying awesomeness, and personality(friendly/easily handled is a must, quirky/funny is a bonus).

 

[NottinghamChicks]

Hmmmm, I like the Dominques better. They are a Heritage breed but are pretty readily available. You personal info does not state where you are from which makes answering questions difficult in some instances. The reason I bring this up is because if I could tell your location was northern New England, Maine for instance, I would recommend The Dom. because they are less likely to get frostbite. They are both however cold hearty.

Good Luck

 

[gavinandallison]

We have 5 Barred Rocks!! One roo and 4 hens, the hens are very friendly indeed and have just started to lay at 6 months....

 

[PepsNick]

They're not much different. Dominiques have rose combs and are more slender than BRs, though BRs seem to be more popular. They both look and lay the same, and typically have the same temperament. Now, I'll go with BR just because mine's a sweetheart.

 

[janinepeters]

I would go with dominique if you are in a cold winter climate. And if you are in a cold climate, you might want to rethink speckled sussex and australorp. Frostbite is quite painful. EEs are tough, hardy birds, one of my favorites for our New England winters. Another good choice is brahma. Wyandottes are pretty good, but have large wattles that can suffer frostbite occasionally.

 

[Chick_In_The_Burbs]

I'm in Colorado, so it can get quite cold but normally doesn't stay below zero for more than a day or two at a time. It can also get rather warm in the summer; 80-90s are not uncommon. We just have weird weather all around; there can be snow one day and 70 degree clear skies the next.

Hummm... I'm starting to lean towards Doms.

janinepeters- I thought Sussex and Australorps were consitered to be cold hardy breeds. It's part of why we picked them... I take it you have experience the other way?

And we have been looking at Brahma's, we just chose the other two over them as they were all listed as cold hardy, the Australorp has the better reputation for egg laying ability and I just loved the speckles. But if they wouldn't do well up here we'll have to reconcider...

 

[janinepeters]

It's interesting - birds with large, roundish bodies, like rocks and sussex are considered cold hardy, because they have low surface area to volume ratio, and therefore retain heat better than skinny breeds. So, it is often stated in books that even heavy breeds with single combs are good for cold climates, but that thinking came about before people considered the possibility that frostbite is painful for a bird.

Some people still insist frostbite does not hurt them. However, it is associated with reduced fertility, so it must be stressful. I would think it is quite painful, too. My thinking is from the perspective of a retired physician. I know that frostbite is exquisitely painful for people, and I see no reason to assume it is not painful for any other animal. They might not express their pain the way people do, but that does not mean they do not feel it.

That said, females have smaller combs than males, so single comb females don't often suffer from frostbite, though sometimes they do. Single comb males have much larger combs and often suffer from it. What are you going to do if you end up with a male? So many people write into this forum about their roosters with frostbite....Poor suffering creatures...

 

[mgw]

I prefer the bard rock, they are the only ones I have had. I have one now she is a great layer, also my fav. She has gotten some minor frost bite with our cold temps we've been having it's not serious though.

 

[JustAChickenLittle&More]

Barred Rocks all the way. Kindest roo I ever owned was a barred rock as well. Well and then there was also a silkie, and welllll....then there was also a polish....then....

 

[Chick_In_The_Burbs]

Quote:
If I end up with a roo I'd have to rehome or cull. I'd lean toward rehoming but Colorado Springs does not allow roos. Period. One doodle-doo and my neighbors will be at my door (never mind the dogs that howl, all night....) My immediate neighbor has been very cool with it though and I don't think the others on the street have even noticed.

I must admit though, I thought the sites talking about cold hardiness considered combs/frostbite. Interesting to find out they were strictly talking about survivability.

I'll start looking around for smaller/rose combed birds... List revision in process.