loading
reading
writing
saving
searching
Started Bresse Chicks - $15 (Stevensville)
QR Code Link to This Post
Our Bresse chickens are easy-going and well adapted to our climate. They are good layers of jumbo white to light brown eggs. Bresse hens begin laying at 18-20 weeks of age, giving you a head start compared to most heritage breeds.
Of all the "dual purpose" chickens we have tried, these are by far the best! Unlike most heritage breeds, Bresse chickens are still widely used commercially in France. Roosters will dress out around 4lbs at 16-18 weeks of age, compared to other dual purpose breeds that typically dress out at 2-3lbs in 5-6 months. Bresse are pure white, meaning no dark colored pin feathers on your meat.
Bresse hens are good layers of off white to light brown eggs and can start laying as early as 4 1/2 months of age. This breed is an excellent choice for homesteaders wanting to be more self sufficient and avoid the need to purchase hybrid broilers from a hatchery.
We started our flock with unrelated birds from multiple breeders, ensuring your chicks will be more genetically diverse and not inbred.
How to Finish a Bresse Rooster for Meat:
In France, Bresse chickens are free ranged from 1-3 months of age, where they are encouraged to forage for part of their diet. For the last few weeks, the roosters are confined to smaller quarters and fed a diet of corn soaked in milk, creating the famous marbled Bresse meat.
We do it a little differently on our farm. Our Bresse roosters are moved to chicken tractors at 5 weeks of age. They are moved to fresh grass daily and get an 18% non-GMO poultry grower feed soaked in water. For the last 3 weeks we add in 25% organic corn and a little milk or whey when we have it. While the meat isn't marbled like a French Bresse, our roosters quickly reach a nice butcher size on this diet.
How to Cook a Bresse Chicken:
Bresse chickens produce wonderful meat when properly cooked.
French recipes call for slow cooking in stock and wine. We prefer a slow roast as described below!
Unless you have fed corn/milk to achieve a highly marbled meat, we recommend adding a little fat at cooking time to help tenderize the bird. A little butter or oil works great! Season as desired and cover with a lid or foil while roasting to keep the meat from drying out. Cook until the legs are not stiff and have a good "wiggle" to them. This will be beyond the standard 165 degrees for poultry. We typically give Bresse about an hour longer in the oven, compared to a hybrid chicken of the same size. Again, you really need to keep the meat covered in order to keep the meat from drying out with a longer cooking time.