Bresse Chickens

City farm · Jan 25, 2015

Euarto Gullible said:
I have a question maybe some people can help me out with. My Bresse are dumber than dirt. To train them to go into the coop, I may as well be trying to teach them calculus. With my other breeds, they usually learn in 2-3 days when put outside. With my Bresse, it can take them up to THREE WEEKS. When I shepherd them to the coop in the evening, they are unresponsive. Most chickens realize that when you push them with your foot that they are being prompted to move in the opposite direction. My Bresse don't get it. They stand there and are like, "Why are you moving me with your foot?" They don't flock together, so little cohorts of them or individual get stranded outside at dark. They're like, "Help me, help me, I can't figure out how to walk around this 6 foot stretch of fence with a huge opening to get back into the coop...just like I've done or been prompted to do 2 weeks in a row." Is this a sign that my line is inbred, or are Bresse really this dumb?
I have never kept other meat birds before, so I have nothing to compare to, other than my dual purpose breeds, which are geniuses in comparison.

Hoe old are they? show them a trail of mealworms from where they are into their chicken coop. You gotta outsmart them.

cutipatooti · Jan 31, 2015

I have 5 blue bresse roosters and want to keep 2 for breeding. I'm having a really hard time choosing which ones to keep as none are perfect.. I have one with a nice comb and good overall appearance, but he is darker then I like and his legs are very dark, but his earlobe is nice. Then I have a lighter one that has the lighter color I like and blue legs but his comb is smaller ( not quite even points) and he has gold in his wings, also earlobe are kind of mixed. I have another one similar to this one except his wings have more of a cream then gold and I see some lighter color streaking in his hackles, his earlobes look better. One of my earlier picks I now noticed has a lot of color fading out of his hackles and has dark legs but a nice earlobe. The fifth one I know I'm not going to use. I also have the black bresse with red in the wings. He had a great comb and earlobes but dark legs. I will post pics. Not sure if I should be looking for best color, earlobes or legs. What do you think.

cutipatooti · Jan 31, 2015

Roo 1. This is the roo with bright gold on the wings. He has a smaller comb with uneven points and his earlobe is undecided. But I like his color and is legs.

Roo 2. This is the roo with lighter gold/ cream in the wings. His earlobe is better but his legs are a little darker. His comb is small but more even. He has what looks like a few streaks in his hackles.

Roo 3. This was my top choice until I saw his hackles lighten up. He has one point on his comb that was bent but it was still a nice comb before frostbite. He does have very dark legs.