Bresse Gauloise
The Bresse,
or more correctly La Gauloise, the French chicken, from the
bresse region has become a coveted breed around the world
and especially in the United Kingdom. Although not as you
might expect for it’s value as a meat bird.
As a breeder I see a lot of requests
for birds and eggs as people think they are the perfect dual
purpose bird. Somehow the mistaken belief that a meat bird
can easily be kept in a backyard flock has come about. It is
quick growing - the Point Of Lay for this bird is around 16
weeks and it has a reputation as a good, if decidedly
seasonal, layer especially with our short winter days.
A la bresse gauloise day old chick
above. This is a newly hatched le bresse
Gauloise chick, although there is a hint of them, the
characteristic blue legs have yet to develop.
A bit about the bird :
The Bresse Gauloise is a French breed
of domestic chicken. The poultry of the Bresse region have
long enjoyed a high reputation. Poulet de Bresse may be
produced only from white chickens (the Bresse de Bény
variety) of the Bresse breed, raised within a legally
defined area of the historic region and former province of
Bresse, in eastern France. It also ned to be kept in a
certain way and prepared for slaughter by reducing it’s
daylight hours.
The sale of bresse is strictly
controlled and you can get into quite a lot of trouble if
you think you can breed and sell them for meat.
History
The first documentation of the
chickens of Bresse reportedly dates from 12 November 1591,
when the citizens of Bourg presented two dozen birds to
Joachim de Rye, Marquis de Treffort. In the early nineteenth
century, the lawyer, politician, epicure and gastronome Jean
Anthelme Brillat-Savarin (1755–1826), who was born at Belley
in the Ain, is supposed to have described the Bresse chicken
as "the queen of poultry, the poultry of kings".
Like the La Flèche, which was raised
and fattened in a similar fashion, the Bresse chicken had
high standing in the market. Nevertheless, by about 1900 the
breed had virtually disappeared and Its recovery was due to
fancy breeders, who selectively bred a sufficient number of
white chickens for the breed to become stable.
A new breed standard was drawn up in
1904. The Bresse name, used for both chicken products and
for the dinde de Bresse, the turkey of the area, received
legal protection on 22 December 1936.
It originates in the historic region
and former province of Bresse, in the regions of
Rhône-Alpes, Bourgogne and Franche-Comté, in eastern France.
Because of legal restrictions on the use of the name, only
white chickens raised within that area may be called
"Bresse". Outside the region they are given the name
"Gauloise".
The bird grows fast, see the
comparison between a light Sussex chicks and a bresse chick
above. They are both the same age. My overriding memory of
the first time I held a bresse was how heavy the bird felt
for its size, and how much it disliked being held.
The birds are kept free range for at
least four months. From about 35 days they are fed cereals
and dairy products; the diet is intentionally kept low in
protein so that the birds will forage for insects. They are
then "finished" in an épinette, a cage in a darkened
fattening shed, where they are intensively fed on maize and
milk. Poulets or pullets are fattened for two weeks, and
slaughtered at a minimum age of four months and a minimum
weight of 1.2 kg; poulardes or large hens are fattened for
four weeks and slaughtered at five months, when they weigh
at least 1.8 kg; chapons or capons are also fattened for
four weeks, and are slaughtered at eight months or more, at
a minimum weight of 3 kg.
The birds are marketed with the head
and characteristic slate-blue legs, traditionally a sign of
authenticity. The left leg carries a metal leg-ring with the
name of the producer.
There is, however, a few reasons you
may not want to keep this particular breed:
I have found them to be tetchy,
flighty and easy to spook and when they are chicks they are
real bullies.
They have a surprisingly large
appetite – the phenomenal growth has to come from somewhere
and they have a heavy frame to maintain when fully grown.
They are expensive to keep as backyard birds.
This bird has to be free ranged. With
cover. Especially as the birds are not that cold hardy they
need shelter from the bad weather and windy conditions.
Poor egg and shell quality. Mine have
always been quite good layers but very seasonal, they knock
off in October and don’t start until March, and I never
found the eggs that nice to eat and the break easily. The
bird produce one a day during the laying season and easily
reach 200 to 240 eggs in the year.
The eggs also seem to be devoid of a
bloom so incubation is a challenge. Bresse eggs also need to
be incubated separately as they need to be incubated dry or
they will not lose enough moisture to hatch. Washing the
eggs is a no-no and only perfectly clean and fresh specimens
should be incubated.
Here in the United Kingdom they have
been crossed with leghorns to improve the egg and laying so
don’t buy upright tall birds as they are unlikely to be pure
bred.
Four colours
are recognised for the Bresse Gauloise, three of them linked
to areas within Bresse, the Bresse de Bourg is "grey"
(silver-pencilled); the Bresse de Bény is white, the Bresse
de Louhans is black; a blue variety has recently been
created. White Bresse de Bény chickens and capons raised in
the area of Bresse have appellation d'origine contrôlée
status and are marketed as poulet de Bresse. It is
regarded as a premium product and command higher prices than
other chickens, the best birds are sent to the president
yearly.
Above is a young bresse grower. Notice the really blue legs.
The Bresse Gauloise available in 4
varieties:
The blue variety - Similar colouring
to the Andalusian.
The White variety - This is the
common variety that is available in the United Kingdom at
the moment although we also had the black for a few years.
Serious faults: strong yellowish tints in the plumage.
The grey (white black pencil) - We
know this pattern as the silver pencilled, red leakage or
block colours are defects.
The black Gauloise - Black plumage
with green reflections, or iridescent beetle sheen. Serious
defects: presence of red feathers, white or coloured. The
black variety, “the Bresse of Louhans”, was the lightest of
the three, but in the same time was the best layer, and
their eggs were the biggest.
As far as their temperament is
concerned, the Bresse were true farm chickens that preferred
sleeping in trees overnight. According to their ancestry,
the Bresse were active foragers, going far from their house
in search for food. Next to their fame as meat-producers,
they were also known for their big white eggs.
Before being prepared for the dinner
plate the bird is confined with long nights to stop egg
laying.
The history of the Bresse wasn’t
always so shiny. Around the year 1900, the breed was almost
extinct because of the many crossings. Luckily, there were
some people who remained true to the pure breed. In 1904 a
new Standard was issued and a rehabilitation of the Bresse
was begun. The “Bresse” brand name has been legally
protected since the 22nd of December, 1936, and only the
birds that measure up to the standard can be called
“Bresse”.
Not to be mistaken for the Gauloise
Doree (gold salmon), another ancient and very rare French
poultry breed.
The white is also available with a
pale crest.
The le bresse Gauloise breed
standard:
ROOSTER: 2.7kg
Body. -Well
proportioned, elongated, with a large full chest. Short neck
amply garnished with fine, long feathers. Comb –
straight, medium in size smooth. Red face. Eyes. - Grand,
Expressive, iris as dark as possible. The brown eye iris,
represents the desired type for all varieties. Thighs. –
Strong and Proportional. Plumage. –Tight and smooth to the
body. Abdomen. -Well Developed. Wings. –Small and Tight to
the body. Tail. - Well developed sickles. Must form an acute
angle with the back line. The leg colour is probably the
most well-known of the characteristics of the bresse. Legs -
Colour blue steel.
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HEN: 2.2kg
Much the same except for the usual
differences and slightly lighter weight and smaller size.
Origin. -Region of Bresse. It should
however be noted that this designation (Bresse) only applies
and cannot be implicitly used only within a geographical
area, the Bresse area, defined and protected by law.
Hatching eggs. -Minimum: 60 grams -
white shell.
Type and purpose of breeding is to
provide a medium sized chicken, elongated, elegant, lively
and particularly thin frame.