label rouge chickens

[greyfields]

The Red Bro broilers from JM Hatchery are the same birds you see on the Label Rouge website. They will be offering Silver soon and Black in the Fall as well. They may "look" like some heritage breeds, but they are far far from being 'purebred' like any breed you can get at a hatchery. They are still very much hybrid broilers which will grow amazingly well, have the correct body conformation and a great FCR.

 

[inurb]

Is it possible to obtain some blue foot chicks? I understand they are DOC in France but I have heard that a Canadian breeder crossed one and we now have them in North America now.

 

[Balac]

Evets in NC above reply says---

"My local Whole Foods sells "Label Rouge"-esque chickens from Joyce Foods,"
and
"A...local farm (around the corner - Coon Rock Farm) also sells "Label Rouge""

This is NOT POSSIBLE because the Label Rouge is a FRENCH certification scheme that was created by the French ministry of agriculture as long ago as 1960--at the start of the post-war era of mass food production--to support traditional, generally small-scale, methods of food production. The Label Rouge mark can be found on products as diverse as cooked and cured meats and cheese as well as meat and poultry, but in each case the mark guarantees a strictly controlled, sustainable method of production. In the case of poultry, this means that birds must be raised outdoors, in natural surroundings offering lots of grass and shade. The chickens, which must all be from traditional breeds adapted to living outdoors, are raised in small groups, and fed only with feed that is guaranteed 70-80% cereal-based, containing no animal by-products or antibiotics.

Quality control measures continue once the birds have left the farm for the abattoir, with stringent hygiene controls that go above and beyond the minimum safety standards applicable to the poultry sector as a whole. Independent certification bodies carry out regular checks on Label Rouge producers to ensure that the strict production criteria are being met at every level of production, from raising chicks and producing feed to slaughtering, preparing and packaging the finished product. Tests are also carried out on cooked birds, to ensure that they meet the high standards of taste, flavour and texture. More than 30,000 checks are carried out each year, ensuring complete traceability of each Label Rouge poultry product. A number on the label identifies the bird, its family history, the farm where it was raised, the type of feed on which it was fed and the place where it was slaughtered and when.

Anyone who advertises that they have or sell "Label Rouge" anything are bald faced lairs and should be reported to the Better Business Bureau; the State Consumer Protection Division and the French Government for suit.

 

[Balac]

Quote:
Inurb SASSO has some blue legged colored heavy build slow growers for sale----but These birds result from crossing a SASSO cock with a recessive SASSO hen: this characteristic, very specific to SASSO hens; and I am not sure if these are the birds you are looking for.

See:
http://www.sasso.fr/farmhouse-chickens.php?produit=light-chickens&lg=en

 

[POULET ROUGE]

I do have the breeder flock necessary to produce slow growing birds (81 days). The breeders are a Redbro hen crossed with a Redbro naked neck male. Up to today i am the only one in the US to have a breeder flock like this. I bring them twice a year from France to renew my flock. You can see the birds at our website joycefoods.com. We grow the birds for retail and food service distributors in Eastern US. We are not in the business of selling chicks but we have done it from time to time to local hobbyists.

 

[digitS']

This was fun

!

Steve

 

[zephyrcreek]

There was a recent article about alternatives to the CX. Two of the hatcheries listed have "colored" meat birds. I have since ordered from both. I received my first order from J&M hatchery last week. I also ordered from S&G Poultry in Alabama. S&G poultry has a couple of different breeds to choose from including a meatier quicker maturing Delaware.

Ellen

 

[ChicwannaB]

Polyface Farm in Virginia is raising some....you can find them on facebook
they are a BEAUTIFUL chicken

 

[Illia]

Polyface Farm in Virginia is raising some....you can find them on facebook
they are a BEAUTIFUL chicken

That's nice to know, because they used to do purely Cornish X Broilers.

 

[teep]

I purchased my first Label Rouge broilers from Tom Whiting at Whitings farms in Delta CO...he imported his from France. They grow fast, come out of the shell excited and ready to eat! Very hearty, happy birds. Breed well, little issue with health like the gross (sorry) Cornish X. If you have the room, you can keep a few hens and a cockerel out of your initial batch, then 'bate your own meat birds from there on out! Incredible taste. In my humble opinion, the best meat bird I have ever had.