🟦 I’m a city girl who knew nothing about chickens except how to eat them. This was fascinating and very knowledgeable. I’m a history buff and now when I go to historic farm cites I’m going to ask about their chickens.
I used to be skeptical about the popularity of Dominiques in the Civil War era because I rarely saw them mentioned in the old agricultural journals I read. Eventually I noticed that the descriptions of the "common dunghill fowl" matched the Dominique exactly. They appear to have been almost universal and were much favored over other breeds because of their hardiness. Javas, Dorkings, Brahmas, and Shanghais were frequently discussed in the papers, but people kept going back to the Dominiques.
I have 5 Dominique hens. They are 1.5 years old and going through they're first winter molt. They love to follow me around, and check out what we are doing on the property. They free range during the day and sleep in the run at night. They are not flighty, but very curious. They love to come and sit on us and hang out. Their coloring does help hide them in the field, sometimes I don't see them. I do like them better than my French Cuckoo Maran hens, who are more flighty, more likely to spook. Nice video, good information.
I am a first time chicken owner and selected Dominiques for all of their wonderful qualities described here, and learning about their rich history has been such a bonus! I was wondering if you were planning on doing a video on another animal that had an important role in the Civil War, and is critically endangered today---as well as being the oldest breed in America of their species, like the Dominique. The Cheval Canadian, or The Canadian Horse has some historical similarities to the dominique, in addition to their own integral role in our history. I'd love to see them highlighted, as their number's dwindle their history is becoming less and less known.
Dominiques were developed in the US. They are considered the first American developed chicken breed. So they would not be documented in Europe before the Pilgrims. Barred breeds used to create the Dominique would have been present but what became the Dominique would not have been recognized by someone in Europe in the 1600s
@@chrishastings2665it’s Felicia from the video responding. So with older chicken breeds like the Dominique there just isn’t enough documentation to definitively say this is exactly how they started. One potential origin story is they originated from Scotch Grey chickens that were brought over and then crossed with other chickens to form the Dominique. There’s a brief bit about that in the description, but for the sake of time we didn’t dive as deep into that in this specific video.
Historical Notes: Two items deserve mention about the origin of the Dominique that did not make it on camera. The word dominique in early history could be used to mean any cuckoo or barred chicken. As time went on, Dominique was used as a breed name for barred chickens with specific characteristics. A possible origin story is a breed in Britain, the Scots Gray, perhaps came over with some of the pilgrims and with refinement and selective breeding these chickens evolved to became America’s first developed chicken breed, the Dominique.
@CivilWarDigitalDigest yup! I commented before watching and learned a lot! I raised Barred Rocks and even showed them at our local county fair 4 years in a row! I have over 10 ribbons of various achievements. My birds were usually some of the only ones in the "utility" category so I almost always got blue ribbons, and my other girls usually got the greens 😄 thanks so much for sharing this I learned so much!
🟦 I’m a city girl who knew nothing about chickens except how to eat them. This was fascinating and very knowledgeable. I’m a history buff and now when I go to historic farm cites I’m going to ask about their chickens.
I used to be skeptical about the popularity of Dominiques in the Civil War era because I rarely saw them mentioned in the old agricultural journals I read. Eventually I noticed that the descriptions of the "common dunghill fowl" matched the Dominique exactly. They appear to have been almost universal and were much favored over other breeds because of their hardiness. Javas, Dorkings, Brahmas, and Shanghais were frequently discussed in the papers, but people kept going back to the Dominiques.
I have 5 Dominique hens. They are 1.5 years old and going through they're first winter molt. They love to follow me around, and check out what we are doing on the property. They free range during the day and sleep in the run at night. They are not flighty, but very curious. They love to come and sit on us and hang out. Their coloring does help hide them in the field, sometimes I don't see them. I do like them better than my French Cuckoo Maran hens, who are more flighty, more likely to spook. Nice video, good information.
Glad you enjoyed!
I am a first time chicken owner and selected Dominiques for all of their wonderful qualities described here, and learning about their rich history has been such a bonus!
I was wondering if you were planning on doing a video on another animal that had an important role in the Civil War, and is critically endangered today---as well as being the oldest breed in America of their species, like the Dominique. The Cheval Canadian, or The Canadian Horse has some historical similarities to the dominique, in addition to their own integral role in our history. I'd love to see them highlighted, as their number's dwindle their history is becoming less and less known.
I have a bunch of Dominiques. They are the best chicken!
It’s good to hear more are around!
As a chicken owner, this is right up my alley.
Enjoy!
@CivilWarDigitalDigest this will definitely be my next breed.
Great video. I do enjoy the occasional break and non standard topics like these.
This was absolutely amazing guys!!
Glad you enjoy!
@@CivilWarDigitalDigest ALWAYS!!
More civil war farm videos PLEASE
Actually, one is already filmed and several more are in the works.
@CivilWarDigitalDigest excited thank you sir
Shortly, you will find expanded versions of the chicken breed episodes over at HistoryFix.
This video is a treasure! Thank you for this great information.
Glad you enjoy! An expanded version will land on the streaming platform HistoryFix soon.
Really cool! I admire their courage and lease on life. I don't eat them though, I'm vegetarian. Thanks for the history.
Are they documented in Europe before the Pilgrims? That might be a rabbit hole to go down.
Dominiques were developed in the US. They are considered the first American developed chicken breed. So they would not be documented in Europe before the Pilgrims.
Barred breeds used to create the Dominique would have been present but what became the Dominique would not have been recognized by someone in Europe in the 1600s
@@HistoryAcres did I miss hear in the beginning they weren't sure of the origins.
@@chrishastings2665it’s Felicia from the video responding. So with older chicken breeds like the Dominique there just isn’t enough documentation to definitively say this is exactly how they started. One potential origin story is they originated from Scotch Grey chickens that were brought over and then crossed with other chickens to form the Dominique. There’s a brief bit about that in the description, but for the sake of time we didn’t dive as deep into that in this specific video.
Historical Notes:
Two items deserve mention about the origin of the Dominique that did not make it on camera.
The word dominique in early history could be used to mean any cuckoo or barred chicken. As time went on, Dominique was used as a breed name for barred chickens with specific characteristics.
A possible origin story is a breed in Britain, the Scots Gray, perhaps came over with some of the pilgrims and with refinement and selective breeding these chickens evolved to became America’s first developed chicken breed, the Dominique.
@@HistoryAcresso fascinating!
Is this the same as Barred rock Heritage hen
No a barred rock is it’s own breed. The Dominique was used to develop the barred rock.
Looks like a plymouth barred rock
It is the direct descendent of the Dominique, so often confused.
@CivilWarDigitalDigest yup! I commented before watching and learned a lot! I raised Barred Rocks and even showed them at our local county fair 4 years in a row! I have over 10 ribbons of various achievements. My birds were usually some of the only ones in the "utility" category so I almost always got blue ribbons, and my other girls usually got the greens 😄 thanks so much for sharing this I learned so much!
awesome
Domanecker
A colonization benefit that gets overlooked... more eating!