Dominique Chicken

While the Dominique chicken breed looks similar to the Plymouth Rock breed—both have black and white barring over the entire body—the former is a moderate sized bird with a distinguishing rose comb (the comb is flat and flower-like). The Dominique’s heavy plumage protects the bird in cold weather and is used commercially as material for pillows and featherbeds.

Developed from introduced breeds from early New England settlements, the Dominique chicken was widely distributed across the eastern US by mid-19th century. The Dominique chicken is hardy, does well on the open range as well as in confinement, and is generally a calm bird. As a dual purpose bird, the hens lay light to dark brown eggs.