History
of: The American Dominique
This
breeds history travels back to possibly the 1700's or before,
the ancestry is not quite clear even though extensive research
has been done by breeders in America we still can not be certain
as to which Asiatic or European breeds were part of the Dominique's
make up.
The
Dominique is a medium size bird with a rosecomb and has an
irregular black and white barring colour pattern. They are
recognised as the oldest pure-bred poultry in America.
There
are quite a few breeds mentioned in writings about the possible
ancestry with a couple being ancient breeds from Great Britain
including the Dorking and the Scots Grey with the Scots Grey
having the closest likeness in some aspects; of all European
breeds so as regards where the American Dominique came from
all we can say at the moment is we are not sure, what we are
sure of is, the Dominique has been around a long time and
is one of those few survivors in the Animal Kingdom that has
staked it's case for greatness.
The
American Dominique in America has both the large fowl and
Bantam varieties in Great Britain we only know of the large
fowl it is a dual purpose hardy breed good on the egg production
scales laying a brown egg and also if you are that way inclined
good for the table with the cocks running at about 7lbs and
the hens about 5lbs the Dominique is also a good sitter (Clocker
- Broody) and has been known to defend it's chicks with gusto.
Dominique
are hardy birds that do well on free range but they also adapt
well to indoor systems (NOT BATTERY) they hatch well and have
a calm nature so are easy to handle and show.
Show
standards for the Dominique are roughly the same on both sides
of the Atlantic and you are advised to check out the The Dominique
club of America or the Poultry club of Great Britain for any
info about the show side of the breed.
There
are only a handful of Dominique's here in Great Britain with
our small flock possibly the largest, we are now breeding
and will keep you informed about any stock that may be available
in the future.
keep
a check on this web site for further details
