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Raising Dominique Chicken (How To Care)

Raising chickens can be rewarding, educational, and just downright fun. It can help provide you with farm fresh eggs and meat, and even provide you with companionship. It all depends on what breed of chicken you decide to raise. The Dominique chicken breed, for example, is one of the more popular breeds, which means they are easy to obtain. Let’s take a look at what makes this breed so loved by both backyard chicken keepers and farmers. 

Dominique Chicken free range roaming

Caring for Dominique chickens involves a balanced diet, a secure coop, and regular health checks. They need outdoor space for foraging and are cold-hardy but require shelter from extreme weather. Social interaction is important for their well-being.

The Dominique chicken is often confused with the Barred Rock chicken due to its similar appearance. Both breeds have thin white and black bars on their feathers. The main difference between the two is their combs. The Dominique chicken has a rose comb, which is a comb that is cushioned and flat, while the Barred Rock chicken has a single comb standing upright.

Dominique chickens are also known by other monikers, such as Pilgrim Fowl, Dominic, Old Grey, Blue-Spotted Hen, and Dominicker. While they do have an overall friendly attitude, the roosters of this breed can get a bit aggressive during mating season.

They lay medium-sized eggs, which are just a little smaller than the traditional large-sized eggs you see in the stores. They also produce an abundance of eggs, with some hens laying 270 eggs or more in a single year. 

Another benefit of the Dominique chicken is that it has relatively few problems, which means you won’t be battling diseases as with other chicken breeds, nor do you have to worry as much about the cold temperatures. 

If you’re looking for a good laying breed that has few problems and won’t try to attack you when you’re near them, then the Dominique chicken may just be the perfect bird for your backyard flock. 

How Big Does Dominique Chicken Grow?

Female thinking

Each chicken breed has its own characteristics, which means that not all breeds in your flock will grow to the same size. Some will be bigger than others. Knowing the average size for each breed you are raising will help you provide the right size coop and run for their needs. 

The Dominique chicken is typically under 15 inches tall, and is considered a medium sized bird. The bantam versions of this breed, however, are much smaller, typically reaching heights of under a foot. However, the age and genetics of the chicken can affect its overall height.

What Is The Average Weight Of A Dominique Chicken?

The Dominique chicken breed is listed as a medium bird, and it has an average weight that is common for other breeds listed in this class size. 

The Dominique rooster weighs about 7 pounds, while the hens can weigh about 5 pounds. The bantams of this breed are much smaller, weighing only 28 ounces for the rooster and 26 ounces for the hens. These weights are simply an average and your birds may weigh a little more or a little less.

When Will A Dominique Chicken Start Laying Eggs?

Brown chicken eggs in basket

The time frame of when a chicken starts to lay eggs varies from one breed to the next. However, this is important information for people raising chickens to know, especially if their sole purpose for having chickens is for eggs. 

Dominique hens will start laying around 21 to 24 weeks old. This breed is considered to be a good laying breed, producing an average of over 200 eggs a year. Keep in mind, however, that the overall health of the bird can alter when a hen starts laying eggs.

Will Dominique Chicken Lay White Or Brown Eggs?

Brown eggs are usually the type of age most often produced from backyard flocks. But they are far from the only ones. Depending on the breed, a chicken can lay eggs in various colors of white, brown, blue, green, yellow, and even pink. But what color eggs do Dominique chickens lay? 

Dominique chickens lay light to medium brown eggs. They are a wonderful breed to have if you want an abundance of eggs for you and your family. The downside is that the Dominique hens can be a bit broody, but they are also known to be great mothers to their chicks.

Their broodiness may not be a problem for you if you plan on hatching the eggs. It can quickly cause issues, however, if you want the eggs for consumption and not hatching. Trying to break a chicken of broodiness is a tedious task that requires determination on your part.

Do You Need A Same Breed Rooster To Get Dominique Chicken To Lay Eggs?

Chickens are interesting creatures that lay eggs without a rooster present. This is true for all breeds of chickens, even the Dominique chicken. But does having a rooster help increase egg production?

Dominique chickens don’t require the same breed of rooster in order to start laying eggs. In fact, a rooster isn’t required at all unless you want to protect the flock and fertilize the eggs and having one around won’t even increase egg production.

If you do decide to get a rooster, any breed will suffice. The only thing is that the chicks produced from the rooster and hen will be a mixed breed unless both the rooster and the hen are from the same breed. 

What Is The Lifespan Of A Dominique Chicken?

Male thinking

Chickens don’t last forever, and knowing how long you have with your Dominique chickens can help better prepare you for the unpleasant time when you have to say goodbye to your bird. 

Dominique chickens can live up to 8 years on average, with many living well past this time frame. While you cannot stop the sands of time from falling, you can help prolong their lives by ensuring they are as healthy as possible.

This means providing high quality food, fresh water daily, regularly examining your flock for potential problems, and vaccinating the birds as recommended. If you don’t think you can provide these basic necessities, then raising chickens may not be right for you. 

This article was first published on September 6, 2022 by Pentagon-Pets.

Are Dominique Chicken Friendly?

The friendliness of a chicken may not seem important at the moment. However, when you start to realize that you will be sharing your yard with this creature, you will quickly see why you need to know how friendly a Dominique chicken really is.

Dominique chickens are well known for their friendliness, which makes them a good choice for backyard coops. You can feel safe knowing these birds are not aggressive and won’t typically chase you or your children out of the backyard. Some people even use them as companion chickens.

While they are quite calm and friendly with people, they can potentially become aggressive with other chickens. Furthermore, the rooster of this breed gets a bit aggressive during mating season, so keep that in mind when deciding rather or not to get a Dominique rooster. 

How Many Eggs Can A Dominique Chicken Lay A Day?

Brown chicken eggs

Each breed of chicken lays a different amount of eggs per day. Some will lay less than 3 a week, while others can lay 5 eggs a week. But just how many eggs can a Dominique chicken lay? 

The Dominique chicken lays, on average, 4 eggs a week. Some can even lay more than that. This means you could easily get over 200 eggs a year. Some chicken raisers have stated that their Dominique hen has even produced more than 230 eggs in a single year.

If you want to increase your egg production, you can create artificial daylight by adding a low wattage bulb to their coop. This extends the amount of hours your hens are exposed to light, which can help increase the amount of eggs they produce. However, experts recommend limiting the amount of daylight hours to 16 and nothing over that as it can cause serious health problems for your flock.

When Will A Dominique Chicken Stop Laying Eggs?

As with any other breed, a Dominique hen will not lay indefinitely. But knowing when to expect the chicken to stop laying eggs can help you better prepare for the inevitable. 

The first two years of a Dominique chicken’s life is when it lays the best. As the years pass, their egg production starts to suffer and they won’t lay as many eggs as they once did. However, they can continue to lay well into their senior years.

Just keep in mind that this breed’s egg production will continue to decline with each passing year. A good general rule of thumb is to expect a 10% reduction in eggs per year. Remember that this is just merely an estimated figure and several things can affect how many eggs a hen can lay, as well as how long they lay for. Typically, healthy hens that are getting the proper nutrients will lay more eggs for longer than unhealthy ones. 

At What Age Is A Dominique Chicken The Most Delicious?

Cooking chicken on open grill

The Dominique chicken is a dual bird, which means it can be used for its meat, as well as for its eggs. If you do decide to raise this bird for its meat, you will want to know when is the best time to butcher the bird to ensure you get the tastiest chicken possible.  

Dominique chickens can be butchered at any age, but the older they get the tougher their meat will be. Try to butcher them before they get a year old in order to obtain the most delicious meat. If you want until they are older, you will need to cook them longer, slower, and with more moisture.

Best Housing Setup For A Dominique Chicken

Even if you already have a coop, you will need to find out what the best housing setup for a Dominique chicken is. That is because not all chicken breeds share the same requirements, and trying to keep one that needs an abundance of room in a confined space won’t be good for that bird. 

The Dominique chicken will need at least 3 square feet per chicken inside the coop, and their nesting boxes should measure 12×12 inches. They will also need ample space to forge, so give them an abundance of roaming space or allow them to free range on your property.

The most important thing to remember is that the Dominique chicken breed needs room to roam. These foraging birds will not be happy if they are kept locked up all day in a small coop. They need room to stretch their legs and wings, and scratch the dirt. 

Typical Health Problems Of A Dominique Chicken

Beloved by both experienced chicken raisers and those new to the club, the Dominique chicken is one of the few breeds that are not susceptible to many health problems. 

Dominiques are considered a fairly healthy chicken breed with few problems. Like other chicken breeds, however, they can quickly develop parasites, lice, and mite problems. Regularly inspecting your flock will help you spot any potential issues before they get too serious.

Typical Problems Raising Dominique Chicken

If you’re looking for a bird that is low maintenance, the Dominique chicken may be the right one for you. These birds are hardy and well loved, and are not overly needy. In fact, they are considered to be rather self-sufficient if you provide them with room to forage. 

One of the great things about raising Dominique chickens is that they don’t typically experience many problems. They are cold hardy birds, and their rose comb isn’t susceptible to frostbite. They also don’t have many health problems to worry about.

What Type Of Food Is Best For Dominique Chicken?

Dominique Chicken free range roaming

The type of food you choose to feed your chickens is extremely important to the overall health and wellness of the bird. That is why it is vital to learn what type of food is best for Dominique chickens before purchasing these birds. 

Dominique chickens love to forage, and like to scratch and forage for as much of their own food as possible. Commercial chicken feed that is of high quality is also recommended to help supplement their dietary needs when they don’t eat enough when foraging.

Pentagon Pet is the owner of this article that was first published on September 6, 2022.

Don’t forget that you can feed your flock healthy table scraps, such as fruits and vegetables, and even cooked rice and cooked beans. Just make sure to never give your chickens uncooked rice, uncooked beans, chocolate, citrus fruits, avocados, garlic, onions and raw potatoes. Also, avoid giving them any foods that are spoiled, moldy, or rancid, and keep foods that are high in fat and salt away from them as well. 

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This article and its contents are owned by Pentagon Pets and was first published on September 6, 2022.

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