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The Dominique is a very versatile breed,
being valued on the small farm or homestead for both eggs
and meat. They are excellent foragers if allowed to free range,
and their cuckoo barring gives them an advantage against predators,
as it is excellent camouflage.
Dominique hens lay a medium to
large sized brown egg. If allowed to set their own eggs, they
will often go broody and make excellent mothers.
History
Dominique Chickens
have endured a long and rich history. First developed by the
Colonists, they were not recognized as a specific breed until
the early 1800's.
They steadily lost
popularity as Asiatic breeds became the norm on American farms,
and were almost extinct by the early 1900's. The National
American Dominique Club was founded to help boost their popularity,
but folded in the 1930's.
After facing another
near extinction by the 1970's, Dominiques began to again regain
popularity and more people sought to add these wonderful birds
to their farms and breeding programs. In the past few years
however, their popularity has again waned, and many folks
have moved on to other breeds.
The Dominique
Club of America was founded in 1973 to help promote the
breed and serve as a source of information and breeding stock
for members working on their own strain. For more information
on the DCA, visit
their website here.
Dominique vs. Barred
Rock
The most noticeable
difference between the two breeds is the comb. The Dominique
sports a rose comb, which has an upturned spike, while the
Barred Rock has a single comb.
Another major difference is
the coloring and barring. 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.
The Dominique cock has a longer,
flowing tail and U-shaped back than that of the Barred Rock
cock, and the Dominique hen is more refined, with a longer
neck and back which slopes downward to the tail. The overall
carriage of the Dominique is more upright than the Barred
Rock.
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A.O. Schilling prints from the
Standard of Perfection
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Standard
The Standard of Perfection
lists the standard weight of a Dominique cock is 7 lbs, while
the standard weight of a hen is 5-5.5 lbs.
Both sexes should have a medium
sized head, neck carried well up, with a short, stout beak.
A rose comb should be compact, firm and straight on the head,
free from hollows, and ending in an upward curving spike.
The neck should be of medium length, gracefully arched, and
the back should be of medium length and breadth, rising with
a concave sweep to the tail. The tail of the cock should be
carried at 40 degrees from the horizontal. Full, round and
prominent breast, moderately long thighs, with shanks fine
in bone and medium length toes. Shanks and toes should be
yellow in color and free from feathers and stubs.
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Bantam
Dominique pullet
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Bantam
Dominique cockerel
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The Large Fowl Dominique falls
under the "American" class, while the Bantam variety is in
the "Rose Comb Clean Leg" class.
 Dominique
chicks are sex linked, which makes it much easier for breeders
to sex their chicks as soon as they hatch. A cockerel chick
has a light and scattered spot of yellow on the top of the
head, while the head spot of a pullet chicks is more compact
and solid. Also, the shanks & feet of a pullet chick is darker
and much more shadowed than that of a cockerel chick.
Status
Currently, the American
Livestock Breeds Conservancy lists the Dominique as being
on "watch" status. They have enjoyed a resurgence of popularity
and their numbers are slowly climbing. Dominiques have the
honor of being one of the breeds listed on the Slow
Food USA Ark of Taste.
We breed
and show Dominiques in both Standard and Bantam. We added
some good lines to our large fowl flock and are excited to
see how our new Bantam chicks grow out. We bought our original
bantams from Cackle Hatchery, which comes from Mark A. Fields
"Unbeatable Beauty" line.
We hope
to help keep this wonderful breed alive and work to keep them
in the public eye.
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~
SHOW WINS ~
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*
Frank - 2006 Dominique Cock *
Silver Spur Poultry & Pigeon Show
May 19, 2006
Champion American * Best of Breed
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*
Amelia - 2003 Dominique Hen *
Silver Spur Poultry & Pigeon Show
May 20, 2006
Champion American * Best of Breed
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