South Carolina

[tigercreek]

Tell
tell me about Breese plz

Sorry, you got the wrong guy...I am not familiar with that breed....

 

[angryhunter]

Hopkins here!

 

[IttyBiddyRedHen]

Way over here by Saluda for us.

 

[HerbGir1972]

Te

Hi y'all. This thread has really gone quiet the last couple of weeks. The Sweetwater Grange Poultry Show is coming up this weekend at Edgefield, SC. Good opportunity to mix it up with other chicken people. Who's going? I have the incubators going. Here are some pictures of the new chicks from the first hatch. These are Buckeyes, Bresse, Bantam Chocolate Orpington, and Silkies !

Tell us about the bresse plz

 

[Regin]

Te
Quote:




Edited ...



Tell us about the bresse plz

Bresse are a fairly new meat breed import to the united States. These are originating from Greenfire Farms.

Bresse chickens are reputed to be the best-tasting chickens in the world. About 500 years ago, they emerged as a distinct chicken breed in the former province of Bresse in eastern France. Small flocks of Poulet de Bresse that dotted the French countryside soon earned the reputation of having a unique and exquisite flavor.

Selectively bred for 500 years; half a millenium of breed selectioning! Bresse belong to a genetically distinct chicken breed that metabolize feed in a certain way, distribute certain types of muscle across their frames in a certain pattern and at certain rates, and produce meat with a unique and distinct flavor. Bresse are known to have unusually light bones and thin skin. These many physical differences flow from the singular genetics of Bresse.

Bresse that cannot be replicated by simply crossing other unrelated breeds of chickens to create a Bresse facsimile. In order for a chicken to taste like a Bresse chicken it must be an authentic Bresse chicken that can directly trace its genetic lineage to the flocks of eastern France.

Bresse comes in 4 varieties: white, black, blue, and gray. The white variety is the best known and mirrors the red, white, and blue pattern of the French national flag with its large red comb, bright white feathers, and steel-blue legs. My White Bresse produce a large-size cream-colored egg.

To be called a Bresse it must have been raised in France, so Greenfire Farms refers to their imports as American Bresse. We can approximate the traditional methods of raising Bresse in this country by providing them access to pasture and finishing them in the traditional manner.

The production methods for Bresse are as unique as the genetics of the birds themselves. Bresse are raised by small farmers in France according to an exacting protocol. When old enough to free range, the young birds are placed on pasture to forage. Male birds are caponized (castrated) to ensure their meat remains tender. Each bird is afforded at least ten square meters of pasture, and the size of a flock is limited to no more than five hundred birds. Pastures are allowed to lay fallow after two successive flocks of Bresse have foraged in the grass.

At night Bresse are housed in small wooden coops to keep them safe from predators. During this period when they actively free-range Bresse are given a low-protein whole-grain supplement to encourage them to find insects to boost their protein intake. At four months for hens and at eight months for capons, the birds are placed in wooden cages in a shaded barn where they are fed a diet of grains and milk. Fresh from building lean muscle in the fields, in the barn the birds gorge on the milk and grain concoction; fat infiltrates the muscle and marbles the meat. After a few weeks of fattening they are ready for slaughter.

After the Bresse are slaughtered the carcasses are usually plucked clean but the feathers are left undisturbed on the head and neck. The characteristic steel-blue legs are also almost always left intact. This provides consumers visual confirmation that they are buying authentic Bresse. The birds are also banded to identify their gender and labeled with the name of the farmer who raised them and the identity of the processing plant.

 

[Cknldy]

Yep, pretty much summed up the article in the magazine. And any chicken can be finished with cornmeal and milk- it's what poultry farmers did in the days of no comnercial feed. Caponizing is said to be done for the bird to put on weight better, the same as butcher hogs, etc. I don't think I could do it though-digging into the side of a conscious bird:-( Post some pics of your beauties!

 

[Regin]

Yep, pretty much summed up the article in the magazine. And any chicken can be finished with cornmeal and milk- it's what poultry farmers did in the days of no comnercial feed. Caponizing is said to be done for the bird to put on weight better, the same as butcher hogs, etc. I don't think I could do it though-digging into the side of a conscious bird:-( Post some pics of your beauties!

Any chicken CAN be finished with cornmeal and milk, and would probably be improved by it. However, it still won't taste like Bresse. Also corn is NOT the grain of choice for finishing them.

 

[Regin]

More pictures of White American Bresse at Angel Feathers Farm

 

[rc50]

Near Clinton here.... Laurens County

 

[hedylaymore]

Finally found the Great Pyrenees I was looking for! Everest is a rescue, approx. 8 years old but in good health, and he completely ignores the chickens, even if he is in the pen with them. Hawks, beware!! We'll take care of the old guy for the rest of his life. He's a great pet and is good with chickens. Can't beat that.