Dominique

Chicken Breed Info: Breed Purpose: Dual Purpose Comb: Rose Broodiness: Average Climate Tolerance: All Climates	General Egg Info: Egg Productivity: High 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 Details:
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.
The Large Fowl Dominique falls under the American class, while the Bantam variety is in the Comb Clean Leg (RCCL) 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.