Why We Decided to Raise Bresse Chickens — and Ultimately Stop
All you need to know about raising the ancient heritage Bresse chicken: I’ll tell you everything you need to know about raising this French dual-purpose breed, which is mainly raised for meat and has a reputation for being the best-tasting chicken meat in the world.
I’ll tell you how to best replicate the special diet fed to these chickens, which is part of the reason why they have this reputation and why it’s also the most expensive chicken meat at the restaurant or butcher shop.
Save This Page
I'll email you a link to this post!
I’ll also share why we ultimately stopped our Bresse breeding program, but it’s probably not what you think.
In France, the 500-year-old Bresse is renowned for its superior flesh, which can marble (similarly to beef) due to the bird’s unique metabolism.
The Bresse excels as a dual-purpose meat bird and egg layer, making it a perfect breed for the homestead or small flock backyard chicken keeper.
The story of the poulet de Bresse, with its steel blue feet and bright white plumage, begins in 1591 when the bird was first mentioned in the town registers of Bourg-en-Bresse.
Having stopped off at Bresse following an accident with his carriage, Henry IV tasted the bird’s meat and demanded its inclusion on his courtly menu.
And so a culinary legend was born.
Bresse Chicken Quick Facts
- Primary use: Meat, a specialty commercial heritage breed in France. Technically speaking, the Bresse is a dual-purpose (meat and egg-laying) chicken.
- Size (Roosters): 6-7 lbs
- Size (Hens): 5-6 lbs
- Color: White with a bright red comb and wattles and steel blue-grey feet
- Egg production (Annual): 200-250 depending on the genetic lines.
- Start Laying: Some Bresse hens start around 18 weeks, others around 20-21 weeks.
- Egg size: Medium – Large
- Egg color: Creamy white
- Origin: France
There is an air of mystery and secrecy surrounding the French Bresse chicken breed. This rare heritage breed has been raised in its homeland of France for over 500 years.
Although I’ll be using the term “Bresse” here, know that this is a protected term that cannot be used outside of France to market the meat.
The Bresse is also a protected breed. They are nearly impossible to obtain, and numerous forgeries and bad genetics are found in North America.
You can call them Canadian Bresse, American Bresse, North American Bresse, or my favorite – Canadian Gauloise.
Poulet de Bresse may only be produced from the white variety (Bresse de Bény) and must be raised within a strict, legally defined area of the historic region and former province of Bresse, which is in eastern France. This legally defined area is only about 100 km by 40 km.
Related: 18 Best Egg-Laying Chickens: Which Breed Is Right For You?
Top Reasons To Choose The Bresse For Your Flock
- A true dual-purpose breed that excels in both egg & meat production
- Reportedly the best-tasting chicken meat in the world
- The meat can be a unique offering on the marketplace for homesteaders and farmers looking to offer something special
- Great at foraging and on pasture-based systems
- A healthy and hardy heritage breed with few health problems
- Cold-hardy
The Cons of The Breed & Why We Stopped
In my personal experience of breeding, raising, hatching, and rearing numerous breeds of chickens on the homestead, including Orpingtons, Cinnamon Queens, Azure Blues, Blue Eggers, Green Eggers, Ameraucanas, Cornish Rocks, and Red Rangers — the Bresse rooster is the single most aggressive and psychotic creature I have ever encountered in any form.
The reason we ultimately stopped the breeding program is unusual.
You see, I managed to hatch over 90% roosters — large, robust, and beautiful birds bursting with masculine French energy in proud chicken form.
Related: Can You Eat A Rooster? (Yes & You Should!)
The few hens that hatched, on the other hand, were less than ideal and would not be good breeding females.
The nearly two dozen roosters grew quickly and excelled at foraging. In those early homestead days, our chickens were free-ranged on the entire property.
As the Bresse males grew to a certain point, they became violent, aggressive, and unpredictable. And not just one or two — but the entire flock.
My own property was no longer safe for me—never mind my toddler—and I had to carry a long stick and keep an eye out in all directions. The roosters were constantly looking for a chance to attack from all sides. They would stalk me as I walked outside, following at a distance and darting in for a strike at every opportunity.
They also became unruly and would refuse to return to the coop at night, opting to roost in trees instead with a few females they snatched and guarded fiercely.
Related: Taking Care of Chickens: a Simple Beginner’s Guide
This is just a funny story and memory today, but at the time, it actually became quite stressful.
We hurried to finish up the second coop, which became a rooster bachelor pad where the males were kept contained.
They crowed all day from about 4 a.m. onwards, and I’m so glad my neighbors were as understanding of the situation as they were. They probably found it hilarious. We do.
I have never been so relieved the day those birds were slaughtered and put in the freezer. This is also the story of how I discovered that authentic French coq au vin made with a real rooster was one of the best dishes ever invented.
Related: Authentic Coq Au Vin With A Rooster (The authentic French recipe)
And that is why we stopped our Bresse breeding program before it even truly started. We might try again, but we will absolutely separate the roosters very early on.
Modern Production in France
I love a culture obsessed with food and the quality of ingredients; it’s what drew me to this breed in the first place. France is astounding in this regard compared to North America, and the reputation that France has for its food is well-deserved. In my brief visit to the country, even the average gas station and corner store offerings were well beyond what is typical or expected anywhere else I’ve been.
Around 1.2 million poulet de Bresse chickens are produced each year in France which is only roughly 0.1% of the total annual production of chicken meat in the country, and about 10% are exported to other markets in Europe.
The chickens are raised under very strict controls and there are only about 200 breeders; each must have a minimum of 0.5 ha of pasture in the area of production, and allow a minimum of 10 m2 per bird. Each bird must pass inspection by the Centre de Sélection de la Volaille de Bresse, which is the only breeding centre for the Bresse chicken.
The Unique & Secretive French Feeding Techniques
The birds are kept free-range on pasture for at least the first four months. From about 35 days, they are fed cereals and dairy products; the diet is intentionally kept low in protein to force the Bresse to forage for insects and wild plants.
Afterward, they are “finished” in an épinette, a cage in a darkened, fattening shed, where they are intensively fed on maize and milk.
Pullets (immature hens that have not started laying yet) are fattened this way for two weeks and then slaughtered at a minimum age of four months. Older and larger hens are fattened for four weeks and slaughtered at five months when they weigh at least 1.8 kg.
Capons (castrated roosters) are also fattened for four weeks and are then slaughtered at eight months or even more, at a minimum weight of 3 kg.
Poulet de Bresse commands very premium prices, the highest in Europe. In 2002, producers of poulet de Bresse received an average of €4.00 per kg (whole chicken, ready to cook); comparable prices received by producers of organic and standard chickens were €2.70 and €1.60, respectively.
Retail prices are much higher; a price of £19.50 per kg was reported from London in 2011.
How We Fed Our American Bresse
We started off with the usual fermented chicken feed we give to all of our birds, a whole grain mash free from corn and soy.
The birds were allowed to free range and forage as soon as possible. As the chickens grew and we separated out the (mean and scary) roosters, we switched the birds to a diet of organic corn soaked in raw milk with some water added to dilute the milk.
They were still pastured with a large outdoor run on green grass but no longer allowed to roam around the entire property at will.
One interesting discovery in all this is that feeding milk to meat birds is an ancient practice that was believed to produce the highest-quality meat. Today, you will be hard-pressed to find a chicken breeder or veterinarian who would recommend this practice, citing that chickens cannot digest or tolerate dairy in any quantity.
But is that even true, have you wondered if chickens can eat cheese and dairy, or what the science has to say? You might be surprised.
Where To Find Bresse Chicks & Hatching Eggs
If you want to raise Bresse for yourself, you will have to find chicks or fertile eggs to hatch yourself.
I highly recommend you source smaller high-quality hatcheries and avoid commercial ones. You can also seek out smaller breeders and hobbyists that are passionate about the breed.
I obtained Bresse hatching eggs from two places in Canada.
Grade Eh Farms, the first farm to legally import true Bresse into the country. It’s a great hatchery full of rare dual-purpose breeds.
The second hatchery was run by a woman in the Western part of the country but she seems to have disappeared off of the internet. It’s a shame because I got my beautiful English Orpingtons from her and was hoping for more colors next year.
American Bresse Hatcheries:
Greenfire Farms is a hatchery full of beautiful chickens with breeds so rare you’ll be dreaming up ways to smuggle them across the border.
Raising Chicks
Raising chickens is easy and can be cheap. I suggest you look at some of my other resources on the topic.
- Taking Care of Chickens: a Simple Beginner’s Guide
- How to Incubate & Hatch Chicken Eggs
- Fermenting Chicken Feed For Healthier Hens, Better Eggs, & Cost Savings
Is The North American Bresse As Good As The French?
I suspect not. But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have potential.
Why?
There is a limited genetic pool of Bresse in America and Canada, and I doubt anyone maintains a flock with pure genetics. Since importing amazing Bresse stock from France or Europe is difficult, if not impossible, breeding these chickens here is challenging.
Does The Taste Live Up To The Hype?
I can honestly say that the Bresse chickens we raised for meat were of exceptional quality.
What’s difficult to ascertain is whether this is due to the meat itself or the fact that they weren’t the standard grocery store Cornis X mutants slaughtered at 6 weeks. Our heritage meat birds are carefully tended and given the best food possible while being raised outside in the sunshine with plenty of room to roam and forage.
