My Bresse starter flock

[laura29532]

Your welcome, about 5-6 months old. I always wait until they have molted due to the sheath feathering in the skin. I like a bird with a smooth breast and no bumps from the new feathers coming in. They usually weigh about 5-6lbs. Beautiful meat. I experimented once taking a couple of my Bresse hens putting them with my white rock rooster, I got some pretty nice size meat only birds, but the taste was not as good as the Bresse meat alone. The chicks I hatched out went right to the freezer, only had a 75 % hatch rate as well. The hens were the better tasting of them.

and I did feed a three grain feed (corn, barley and oats) soaked in raw cow milk every night with their regular feed at about 3 months old. I tried some just with regular feed, they weren't as tasty. Definitely a difference in the meat. That was the end of my experiment. Took up too much time and space as I had kept them separated.

 

[Snoopchick]

Amazing! I live in the Bresse area of France where these birds are from. There are literally thousands of them here

 

[laura29532]

Amazing! I live in the Bresse area of France where these birds are from. There are literally thousands of them here

thats so cool. I've raised these birds for about 6 years now. They are so people friendly. My grand daughter of course loves the birds. she handles them from the time they are hatched. she graduates this year from high school and decided she going to school to be a vet.! she loves my birds. I've got Bresse imported 2017 and 2019 from a farm in Florida and one in Mississippi. they are awesome..

 

[chanceosunshine]

Your welcome, about 5-6 months old. I always wait until they have molted due to the sheath feathering in the skin. I like a bird with a smooth breast and no bumps from the new feathers coming in. They usually weigh about 5-6lbs. Beautiful meat. I experimented once taking a couple of my Bresse hens putting them with my white rock rooster, I got some pretty nice size meat only birds, but the taste was not as good as the Bresse meat alone. The chicks I hatched out went right to the freezer, only had a 75 % hatch rate as well. The hens were the better tasting of them.

Did you also feed the grain mixture to the Bresse/Rock mixes?

 

[laura29532]

Did you also feed the grain mixture to the Bresse/Rock mixes?

Yes I do, it gives the meat a different tase and look. I figure if the French can feed chickens and make them tasty why not any meat bird.

 

[Hide Away Pines]

I have been reading your thread on this topic. I am getting some American Bresse chicks in a few weeks. We are getting these from a reputable small breeder from Washington State. She has not mentioned the issues with the roosters that I am reading here. She has spent years refining her flock to breed out anything that was not true Bresse and not a trait she wanted (like aggression)...but only time will tell if we will have those same issues. We are starting with 10 chicks, hoping that from that we have a few good hens and one or two roosters for our breeding stock. The rest will be sent to freezer camp. I have read about the flavor of these birds, but am anxious to try one myself. Are you still glad you have these birds? or have you gone away from them totally?

 

[Hide Away Pines]

Because we also have dairy goats, we plan to do the milk soaked grains. We currently do that for our pigs and other chickens.