Bresse Chickens

[chant]

Regarding broodyness: Of my 3 Bresse hens it is hit and miss.
I collected and saved up 14 of their eggs for the incubator. The day I started the incubator one of the 3 serendipitously decided to go broody! So I left her with 2 eggs under her out in GP until about the week before the eggs were to hatch and then sequestered her. They do not like to be moved as I learned from another Bresse hen - moving her with her eggs isn't good enough. If I don't contain them with the eggs they easily go un-broody. She fought it but settled down after about 3 days.
She's now the proudest mother of 5 and even excepted the incubator chicks. They don't always go broody but when they do they're great moms providing they don't have a lot of interference.

 

[speedy2020]

Is it true that this breed deposit their fat throughout their muscle structure like a prime rib, instead of between their muscles and skin like all other chickens? There is an ads on Craigslist mention it, but I haven't butch mine yet.

 

[Anthony3232]

To achieve this they need to be contained rather than free ranging. They are given a diet with dairy, cottage cheese or more commonly corn soaked in milk for 3 to 4 weeks prior to slaughter. Haven't actually done this yet but I am in the process of raising my own.

 

[chant]

What Anthony said, and it's my understanding that the male's are also caponized young, and supposedly the special feeding schedule is longer for the male's than it is for the females.
We haven't done any special feeding, but I do caponize my cockerels, and we haven't found the meat to be marbleized like a rib eye steak. The meat does have a firm, buttery texture very similar to the cream Legbars, but to me not quite as tasty; a little on the bland side comparatively speaking. Their skin is light, thin, delicate, and tasty. We're contemplating doing the French crate method to see if there's a difference or not, but we're still on the fence about it.

 

[speedy2020]

To achieve this they need to be contained rather than free ranging. They are given a diet with dairy, cottage cheese or more commonly corn soaked in milk for 3 to 4 weeks prior to slaughter. Haven't actually done this yet but I am in the process of raising my own.

To be fair for comparison, it should be raise the same way as normal chicken. I have few 16 weeks old Bresse roosters, but can't butch yet because I want to keep the best rooster.

 

[Ras35]

Hi, Ladies & Gentlemen,
I am from Kazakhstan, can I also join your Club?

 

[Ras35]

Still don't have this breed, but some days ago I was sent the eggs. Once I get them, going to hatch.
Russian sites are riddled with conflicting information about the breed, so I would like to get information from those who rabidly raise this poultry. Is there any special feeding? How long can I raise them inter se? These two questions so far.

 

[Ulladh]

You'll find better answers from those who have them longer. However on the feeding regime, my chicks grow slightly faster than normal ones so a high protein chick crumb will give them a boost for sure. Feeding towards the last 2 weeks of eating, that is how the french differentiate. They feed them a sort of porridge of wheat and milk, however the birds are caged to prevent them moving too much and this adds that fat to the already lean meat built during their free ranging

 

[chant]

Thanks.  I have eaten many breeds (Red dorking, Silver Grey Dorking, RIR, New Hampshire,  EE, Americana, Barred Rock, Black Copper Marans, Orpington various color, Ga Noi, Cream Legbar, Bielefelder, Delaware, Dark Cornish, La Fleche, CX, Cochin, Naked Neck, Buckeye, Dominique, Wyandotte, and many cross) over the years.  The best taste so far is clearly Silver Grey Dorking.  I found the rooster taste best at around 19-21 weeks old.   As they get older, the meat just too tough and the flavor change.   I purchased some American White Bresse hatching egg from Ebay in April and expect to have a chance to taste some roosters because only 1 pullet out of 6.

I definitely like to hear how your experience turn out compare to other breeds.

Speedy, we ate the Breese/Dorking cross and it was fantastic. Tender and very tasty.

 

[chant]

Thanks.  I have eaten many breeds (Red dorking, Silver Grey Dorking, RIR, New Hampshire,  EE, Americana, Barred Rock, Black Copper Marans, Orpington various color, Ga Noi, Cream Legbar, Bielefelder, Delaware, Dark Cornish, La Fleche, CX, Cochin, Naked Neck, Buckeye, Dominique, Wyandotte, and many cross) over the years.  The best taste so far is clearly Silver Grey Dorking.  I found the rooster taste best at around 19-21 weeks old.   As they get older, the meat just too tough and the flavor change.   I purchased some American White Bresse hatching egg from Ebay in April and expect to have a chance to taste some roosters because only 1 pullet out of 6.

I definitely like to hear how your experience turn out compare to other breeds.

Speedy, we ate the Breese/Dorking cross and it was fantastic. Tender and very tasty.