Caumont

A rare French dual-purpose breed from the town of Caumont-l'Éventé in Normandy, developed in the early 20th century from local Norman farm chickens. The Caumont is a medium-large bird with striking black plumage that shows beetle-green iridescence in sunlight — a classic feature of breeds with Langshan ancestry. It has a single comb, clean legs, and an upright, confident bearing. Caumonts were bred to be versatile farm chickens producing brown eggs and quality meat, and they thrived on small Norman farms before World War II. After the war, breed numbers collapsed as rural Normandy depopulated and traditional poultry keeping declined. Recognition by SCAF and the EE Europastandard has helped preserve the breed, though it remains critically rare with only a handful of dedicated breeders keeping the line alive.