Dominique
Dual purpose · United States · 🌱 Beginner friendly
America's oldest chicken breed scratched around colonial homesteads long before the Barred Rock it's so often mistaken for. Look for the rose comb and softer, staggered barring — and expect a thrifty, level-headed hen that takes care of herself on pasture.
Eggs per year
180–260
Egg color
Brown
Egg size
Medium
Hen weight
4.5–5.5 lbs
Temperament
Calm and steady
Broodiness
Sometimes broody
Did you know?
Dominiques kept pioneer families in eggs, meat, and featherbed stuffing, and the breed has survived at least two brushes with extinction since.
Is the Dominique right for your flock?
Expect roughly 180–260 brown eggs a year from a healthy hen in her prime — production dips during molt and the short days of winter, and eases off as she ages. Planning space? A Dominique hen runs 4.5–5.5 lbs, so size the coop with our coop size calculator and estimate the feed bill with the feed cost calculator.
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Keeping Dominiques?
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