I am sticking to my guns on chicken breeds. I know of a lovely black-and-white hen called Sydney and a gorgeous rooster called Ned.Barred Rock vs Dominique
I have started my research and have come across the following comparison.
Barred Rock Dominique Comb Barred Rocks possess a single comb. Dominiques possess a rose comb. Color Barred Rocks exhibit sharply contrasting parallel black and white bars. The Barred Rock roosters are slightly lighter in color than the hens, as the males carry two chromosomes for the barring and the females have only one. Dominique barring is not as sharp as that of a Barred Rock. The bars are somewhat staggered and not parallel like that of the Barred Rock. A male is much lighter in color than the female. Plumage The width of the dark and light bars is almost same. They are placed in parallel rows. Both males and females have straight uniform bars. According to the breed standards of the Barred Rock, acceptable plumage variations are white, blue Colombian, silver penciled and black. A slight ‘v’ pattern is seen in the barring of the feathers. Staggered barring in their plumage results in what is described as ‘mottled appearance.’ The light bars are silvery white, while the dark bars are not black, but dove gray. Moreover, the light bars on a Dominique male are twice as wide as that of a female. So, a male is much lighter in color than the female. The Dominique does not have any other acceptable variations in plumage. Tail The tail is quite short. The tail is long and flowing. The tail of the cock is carried at 45 degrees from the horizontal. Weight The Barred Plymouth Rock is heavier than the Dominique. The standard weights are: cock – 7.5-9.5 lb (3.4-4.3 kg), hen – 6.6-7.5 lb (3-3.4 kg), cockerel – 8 lb (3.6 kg), and pullet – 5-6 lb (2.3-2.7 kg). The standard weights are: Cock: 7 lb (3.17 kg), Hen: 5 lb (2.27 kg), Cockerel: 6 lb (2.72 kg), Pullet: 4 lb (1.81 kg) Appearance It has a relatively deeper body and lower tail carriage. They carry their heads high up on well-arched necks. The males have an almost “u” shaped back outline. The females have sloping back outlines- sloping from head to tail. The carriage of the Dominique is more upright than that of the Barred Rock. Egg Production The Barred Rock produces more eggs (about 4 per week) than the Dominique. The light brown eggs are larger than the eggs laid by Dominiques. The Dominique has a medium production rate (about 3 per week). The eggs are light brown. They may be large or medium-sized. Meat Barred Rocks are heavier than the Dominiques, they may have a few ounces more meat than the Dominiques. The Dominique is also a good producer of meat and eggs.
Unsurprisingly, they share a heritage.
The Dominique is America’s oldest chicken breed. The Barred Rock (a type of Plymouth Rock) was developed from the Dominiques.
The Dominique is the oldest American dual-purpose breed. Reliable data of its origin is not available. The Dominique chicken was very common in American farmyards during the 1820s and 1830s.
The Barred Rock is the barred variety of the popular Plymouth Rock which was developed in the early 1800s by crossing single-combed Dominiques and Black Javas. Barred Rocks were likely developed using crosses of Dominiques, Black Javas, Cochins, and perhaps Malays and Dorkings. The Barred Rock has been around a long time as well becoming an official breed in the United States in 1865. For reference sake, that is the year the American Civil War ended.
I find this very interesting. Dominiques appear to be very feisty chickens. While they have a reputation for having a calm personality, supposedly, there have been incidences where Dominiques have killed small cats, minks, and snakes.
Dominques were nearly extinct. By 1970 there were only 4 known flocks still in existence. Since then they have recovered somewhat but are still on the "watch" list.
See, this breed thing is easy. Sydney and Ned. That is all I need to know really!
