Been looking for a reliable dual-purpose breed to choose. Thanks so much for staying on topic and keeping your videos short and concise. I appreciate this very much, and have given up on some vloggers who prattle on about many unrelated topics, personal matters, focusing the camera on themselves (even when interviewing Joel S, etc.). Tack mycket!
Thanks for the info, Simeon. I haven't seen that breed win Wyoming, USA, where I live. I currently raise and breed Black's Jersey Giants, an American breed from the early 1900s, that is slow growing, but matures to approx 11 pounds for hens and 13 pounds for roosters. Good meat and pretty good egg producers, too. I always enjoy hearing about breeds and their capabilities. Thanks, again!
@@vidacrazy I feed regular feed. They eat a little more than standard size chickens. They're roughly the same size as Brahma chickens. I really like the breed, great layers, though not extremely broody, and excellent meat.
Interesting video. I never heard of that breed. It's a shame people only want hybrids anymore. We need to raise more heritage birds. Good luck and keep the knowledge coming.
I was raised on a farm in Arkansas here in The States. My mother raised chickens. I HAVE NEVER SEEN SUCH BEAUTIFUL ROOSTERS and Hens. You know when they are healthy by the color of their combs. Bright Red Comb means Healthy, pale pinkish means they are missing something in their diet. You are an awesome Homesteader.
Another excellent video production Simeon. While I don't have much interest in chickens other than to eat them, it occured to me as I watched this that your wife has done quite a good job of teaching you english. Your vocabulary , sentence structure, accents and pronunciation are better than many people I've encountered that were raised with english as their only language. You get another thumbs up simply for your skill in presenting entertaining and informative videos. Greetings from Canada.
It is extremely important that those who are maintaining heritage breed fowl cull keeping in mind the traits that are so important, such as weight, age of maturity, high egg yields etc. Keeping good records, weighing birds and culling poor performers and using for breeding stock, only the top performing birds (according to the records they keep). Enjoyed your video. :)
Swedish Homestead Yes I know that. However careful selection from knowledgeable poultry breeders (Non Hatchery)who have worked hard to keep the important qualities within their flock. I have kept heritage breed poultry for 20 yrs.
Private poultry keepers have done a very important job in preserving the heritage breeds the past few decades. Unfortunately most just multiply the breeds and lack the time and knowledge to select and breed for performance. We need more of those breeders like you. Think if just 5% of all resources that are put into hybrids would go into breeding heritage breeds professionally, what we could accomplish. There is an organization in Germany that started to select Italian chickens for performance again after several breeds had gone down in egg production about 40 eggs / year over the past decades. They were able to increase the egg production by their efforts very quickly. We need more of those initiatives.
Bresse gauloise is the full name of this breed. I am from Bulgaria, here I've seen 3 colours of this beautiful breed - white, black and blue. I have had the white and the blue version, but the blues weren't that good as the whites so right now I am having only the white. BUT, if you want to get the best dual purposed breed, you should try the White Plymouthrock - not the exhibition type, but the productive type! They are the mothers of the cornish crosses or also known as broilers! For me, the best chicken breed! If you can find real productive White Plymouthrocks - give them a try, I am sure that you are going to like them! Keep going and all the best from Bulgaria :)
Thank you. I will check into that. I have heard that the White Rocks are not very hardy though. Bresse gauloise is a brand name and not really the name of the breed. They are not allowed to be called that outside of the are in France that they are raised in. We call them Les Bleues.
All great choices but I love my silver laced Wyandottes ... I live in Iowa in US and it gets cold here like last night it was -12 f with a wind chill of -30 and some of my hens slept outta the coop for what ever reason... so like it others don't. Our chickens free range very well but I do supplement feeding this time of year . I provide no heat only fresh fluffy straw I a coop that's pretty wind proof .they produce xx large eggs and plenty of them even when it's this cold. They produce eggs at 14-16 weeks and are 4 pounds at 10-11 weeks. That's my magic number 4-5 lbs or our family. But they are the healthiest birds to date. I haven't tried the breese but I can't imagine I'd give up a week or two of eggs in trade for the beauty of our chickens ! They're just so pleasing to look at . Free range well and they're a big strong bird. The roosters are how ever aggressive with their ladies. But my son has managed to survive since he was 4 in with the roosters. Seen many fights with empty egg basket and my son has won over the roosters now ! My son goes in to collect eggs roosters run out lol. But that's my pick for my birds on our homestead. Keep up the fine work! And God blessings to you and yours! Steve
I have been trying the bresse. I am not as happy with them as you are. They have to much comb and wattle for where I am in Canada, to prone to frost bite. My favourite dual purpose is the dark cornish. The disadvantage for them is their slow growth. I have been playing with crosses between the bresse and dark cornish. So far I am happy with this and will be playing with it more in the future.
I haven't been able to find Bresse chickens anywhere in Canada. Where did you get yours? Also, are you sure it was actually the dark Cornish breed you've been raising & crossing. It's surprising that you had good luck with them as dual purpose birds since they're usually strictly meat birds. They're usually poor layers, at least that's what I've been told by people who've raised them. Please let me know where you got your Bresse chickens because I'd love to try them.
I got them from a guy on the bc coast. I will have to try and find the name. The dark cornish are not the greatest layer but the ones I have lay quite well, probably 220 eggs a year. They also lay well in the winter. They are very calm disposition as well. The latest ones I got came from Murray McMurray hatchery in the states.
Thank You, if you can find his name, I'd be very grateful. I've tried many breeds over the past 20+ breeds but I've settled on Barred Plymouth Rocks, originally from Frey's Hatchery. They're the right combination of good layers & calm disposition to suit me. Also, I've found that the young roosters, up to 6-7 months , are absolutely delicious. In fact, even the 3 year old hens are good to eat if they're cooked slowly for a few hours. But I'd still love to try raising some Bresse chickens because I've heard so many good things about them.
I've been slowly researching chicken breeds for a homestead I should have by no later than May 1st 2019. What you're saying makes a huge amount of sense. I live in UpState NY and the Winters can be brutal some years ... how would these chickens do in my area ... do they eat fodder well??? Assuming good diet, what is their average egg production over an 18 months production period???
I'm interested in the Bresse after hearing this, but that huge red comb gives me pause because here in northern Colorado winters we can get below zero temps. We have no buildings to winter chickens in. We are on track to build a Justin Rhodes Chickshaw. Any comment on this Simeon?
We get cold winters here too. -13 Farenheit is commen. I have them in a greenhouse tunnel. We haven't had any issues with this with other chicken breeds we have had before. We'll have to see. Check out my chicken floor heating video. That's how we are trying to keep the temp up.
You sold me on the Bresse. Hard to find here in US. Greenfire still sells at $29 per chick. Found a good source for hatching eggs. One other source for chicks told me they ramped for 3 times the production over 2016 and are sold out for 2017. DON'T COUNT YOUR CHICKENS... hope to get a small flock of 10 hens and 2/4 roos (from two lines) for next spring between chicks and hatching eggs. Thanks for great video and details!!
I might try these but I still like buff orpingtons because I like a tame, dual-purpose chicken, that goes broody often, can forage readily when released from the coop. I can breed back in the egg production rates that I want and it doesn't take long.
Very interesting! Here... I would compare what you have (kinda) to a White Rock-very hardy and old school dual purpose for here. Enjoying your vids! ~ Patara
I am raising Barbezieux in my program and I'm sold on them. My pullets are laying at 5 months. 100% fed on compost piles. Strongest breed I've ever raised. Grow fast.
Simeon I just ordered some American Bresse today from GreenFire Farms. They'll be here on the 24th. I was so excited I went out and cleaned the chicken coop and brooder and re-mulched them both, put the chickies waterer and feeder into the dishwasher to disinfect them, and got their first bag of chick starter crumble ready. I put some DE into the feed as suggested by Becky's Homestead and Appalachia's Homestead with Patara. I wonder how much of a market there will be for chicks here in my area? I'm in North Mississippi just south of Memphis Metro area. Thanks for posting on these Simeon!
As a hobby cook I can confirm their meat is exceptionally tender and tasty. Very expensive though. Here in The Netherlands the original ones go for around 25 Euro's per KG. I look forward to seeing how this project will develop for you Simeon. Allez les bleus! 😂
Very informative. Thank you... I didn't know the Brest Gauloise.... Very nice chicken.... Roosters are very handsome and proud birds and the hens sure like talking or should I say cackling... :)
Thanks Simeon. Another great video. All your animals look great. Cattle, Hogs, Chickens. We tried the Cornish Cross 4 times for meat, Sexlinks for eggs. We have been looking for something better. Will never eat cornish cross again. to many health issues. good luck with your homestead, your a great herdsman. You have a lot of chicken breeds, do you find that large size breeds are calmer than small size breeds? Bantam vs. Buff Orpingtons?
Generally bigger breeds are calmer. A very calm and nice breed are the Bielefelder chickens. They can get very tame. I don't have any experience with Orpington but I don't think they are among the best performing breeds.
Orpingtons are considered by many as a #1 all around breed. They lay about three brown eggs per week. they are hardy and can handle the cold. Good forager, gentle, broody. Good dual purpose bird. Great video!
so Simeon, in what language do your chickens speak in, and do they change when they are raised in another country....LOL...SORRY COULD NOT RESIST....i think its very smart to raise the best layers and meat producers, but there needs to be a separate flock that is a large variety of different colors, there so pretty, and i have found that they can make a very good pet, ive seen them be very warm to affection.
I love the colorful variety of chickens. I am going to cross breed two breeds this winter. It will be like Christmas morning to see what colors all the chicks will have...
I am hatching 24 Breese eggs right here in Excelsior Springs MO. I can't wait to see the chicks. I wonder how well I can introduce them to my True Rhode Island Reds who tend to be a little aggressive. One thing I have read about Breese is the fact they are very docile compared to many other dual purpose birds. Is this your experience?
Now this video is really of interest. I raise chickens for eggs and all have not been 100 successful in producing eggs. I am still watching and learning about the breed you are talking about..
The one thing my state New Hampshire is famous for is the New Hampshire chicken. Your Bresses are beautiful. The 2 breeds we want to get into next are the Bresses and Marans. Hope you visit to US is going great 👍🙏✌️
Interesting and informative, as per usual. You explain in such a way as a person never involved with poultry we understand the message you are trying to get across. Mike
you are a true champion of the farming world you have great foresight into the future long may you continue this,i am very impressed with your caring manner with the animals you keep full marks to you and your family, have a great christmas and a very productive and prosperous new year
Hi Simeon, You said you have 3 roosters in your flock. Do you have any tips on keeping multiple roosters? Are the Bresse roosters docile and good with other roosters, eg a Bielefelder?
My favorite breed so far. From the time they hatch they are placid and friendly. I don't care to eat my chickens but these beauties are terrific layers too.
I've got 7 that survived shipping. 1 of them have legs that turned the grey/blue colored. How long does it take for their legs to turn to that color. They are 2 week s old today
You should definitely get new blood after 3 generations but we do it more often. We are receiving an order from a new bloodline the beginning of December.
Likely little interest but I have covered my blue-footed SASSO Naked-Neck hens with American Bresse cock birds and thus far, the meat quality, egg production and egg weights have been thrilling!! Can hardly wait to cross the new pullets back to the original Bresse sires.
Thank you for this video, I'm looking at raising these in East Texas this spring, I had wondered how the numbers added up, kind of what intrigued me having a good dual purpose chicken. Just hope they can handle our heat here.
Sir Simeon, Enjoyed your most interesting intro. on the "Bresse Gauloise" chicken variety breed! When you do your future update video I would appreciate you including your thoughts on flightiness or temperament compared on a sliding scale beginning with leghorns to the most docile heavyweights, orpingtons, buffs etc?? Also egg color?? At 10:13 the eggs appear to be medium brown? Enjoy your videos! Phil S. Carolina
What do you think about Icelandics? I'm just curious. I've considered this breeed but I'm into a set up that is ULTRA low maintenance homestead set up. A set up where I can have any amount of birds I want and have almost zero maintenance and they will escape predators 90% of the time no matter what. No extra infrastructure to protect or anything and super low feed needs. Icelandics don't have good meat yields but they have great egg production and you can sell the babies for good price PLUS the roosters can be segregated and never fed the whole season before butcher. Good fine grain meat
Very Interesting! I hope you'll slip in some views of Sweden and maybe some cultural aspects of living on a Swedish farm. My great grandfather had a farm on Oland. Never met him but miss him just the same.
Thanks. Öland i beautiful. We are trying to sneak in cultural aspects every now and then. Check out this video for a great cultural experience: th-cam.com/video/1KhoLI9PQEU/w-d-xo.html
Shalom! Hello Alex and Simeon, I really enjoy watching and learning from you all. I live in Norco, California. My children and I are new family home farmers. I would really like to bring the Bresse Chicken onto our homestead. What types of material do you use on the floor of your chicken coop? Thank you and blessings to you and yours!
I raise and process hundreds of Cornish cross every year at my Cosmo Farm in NC but will give these a try. I found a breeder in SE US so will get some breeder stock to get my flock going. Thanks for introducing them to me.
Just curious but is Your chicken flock AL or AI clean? I can't remember which one it is haha. I'm in the US and would like to get some of these beauties whenever My Boyfriend and I finally get Ourselves a nice farm. From what I know of chickens and stuff have to be illness clean before They're allowed to be imported to the US
2021 we can now source both white and blue "Bresse" in Canada. I'm very small and free range so I'm going to go with the blue Bresse and see what happens on a small scale.
hey, i also live in sweden on the west coast by goteborg , i would love to get some bresse added to my flock, could you steer me in the right direction? were can i find befruktade ägg ?thanks
I love Rose comb Rhode Island Whites. They are a distinct breed not related to Rhode Island Reds. Excerpt from Livestock Conservancy livestockconservancy.org/index.php/heritage/internal/riwhite "The Rhode Island White originated in 1888 through the efforts of Mr. J. Alonzo Jocoy of Peacedale, Rhode Island US. He developed the breed by crossing White Wyandottes with Partridge Cochins and Rose Comb White Leghorns. The Rhode Island White is a moderately-sized, completely white bird with the males weighing 8 1/2 lbs. and females 6 1/2 lbs. " They typically lay 240-250 eggs per year. Here in NH, our winter temps are often close to 0. The rose comb is a great benefit to the birds as frost bite is less common.
Do you know if it would be possible to ship hatching eggs to the states? I am very interested in both the bresse and bielefelder. I am concerned with lack of genetic diversity since all the u.s. stock ultimately comes from one flock.
I think you need to be registered to be able to import them. Greenfirefarms I think is registered who has both these breeds. I would think that they keep fresh blood in the flock. But I agree, it is more risky with a breed that is not so common.
I am looking at raising chickens in my backyard while I am still living with my parents. I have gone back and re-watched all your chicken videos. Do you or your father know of any heritage chicken breeds that do well in the backyard?
Backyard you do want some broody hens if you want a steady egg production (20% decline/year and max. 1000 eggs per chickenlifetime), breed that lays fairly reliably throughout the year, tame, quiet (no roosters will help some) and different colors is nice to. Also easier to keep them apart when they are al a different pattern/color feathers. I picked wyandot small version. They do well confined to, but give them something to do (bucket of old leaves + some scratch grain works). Happy chickens you'll just hear some rustling from scratching among the leaves and some mumbling. When they get bored they squable and scream. Also whatever the stories, a chicken is an omnivore and needs a source of animal protein or they get sick. Dryed mealworms work, compostworms, al kinds of little insects snacking on the vegetables/hidden under wood/stones work (slugs/snails not so much and could give them worms i read). Get/make a waterer with a drinknipple (like Simeon did for the baby chicks), saves you a lot of messy water. Keep the run/hutch DRY, mites/worms need moisture to survive long enough to hop on again after hatching. and dry stuf doesn't smell (neigbours will thank you). Note deep bedding is nice, but rats will dig up under your floor, eat feed (like 75% of it), eggs and baby chicks. Overbuild on predator proof for your basic coop and run. Use hardwarecloth, chicken wire i can rip apart with my fingers, so can a raccoon/fox. Cover the top of the run with hardwarecloth and a tin/other solid roof over that(rats/pests climb well), big pavingstones 2 layers thick for bottom+ upright around it half way under and above the floor, gives you room for some bedding as well. Open the door when you can to let them play in the garden is fine, but the basic area that is alway accesible needs to be safe period. So you can be away all day and they have room to putter about some without getting eaten if something goes wrong because you got delayed and are home 3+ hours after dark and couldn't lock them up for the night.
Simeon, one trait you didn't touch on is how many seasons you keep your hens and what is the differential between the heritage breeds? I'm disabled and just want a few chickens for my garden and the eggs, just for my information do you know if the heritage breeds you discussed come in bantam size?
Great Video. Im from the Far east, how do i import the chicken from the USA farm? Are we allowed to shipped them by Air? whats the minimum and will it survived? Im really interested. Thank you
Hello, I have a small flock of 40 hens and 10 of them are Araucanans. the other day i noticed for the first time that one of the Arucannas has an overly long upper beak. its actually quite beautiful and makes her look more like a hawk or similar bird of prey than a chicken. However im concerned if having the longer beak might cause her problems.., so far i haven't seen anything stand out but any info or advice you can give me will be greatly appreciated. thanks.
Hello, nice job!!! Where have u get these bresse's? Im from finland and i dont find any bresses from here in sale. And im interested to grow these. But its quite hard without any info where to find this breed in finland.
Great information . Help me out with Tips raising American Bresse . I want to raise for meat . How many pounds of weight in 12 weeks. I am raising Rhode Island reds for eggs and Cornish Cross for meat . I am more interested in best meat chicken . thanks
Great video! Would the Bresse or Bielefelder be better for naturally hatching their own eggs? We were geared up to focus on one breed in which was going to be the Bielefelder in 2017. The auto-sexing and excellent temperament was a great trait that the Bielefelder had to offer. Thank you.
Hi there. In my experience neither of these two breeds have a very strong desire to do that. We have had one or two Bielefelder who had a tendency for it but none of the Bresse. We have a hatching machine. The Bielefelder are wonderful dual purpose chickens. The auto-sexing and calm temperament like you say are definitely a huge plus. They taste good and lay many eggs. Two downsides I noticed were that they start laying a little later than the other breeds and are not as excited to free range and look for their own feed as the other breeds. The bresse are amazing free rangers. I am going to hatch one batch of Bresse/Bielefelder mixture this winter to see how they perform. One recommendation is to get a breed that is more common though otherwise it will be hard to get some new blood into your flock.
Du burde sjekke ut Islandshøns, er veldig lik de kriteriene du nevner her. Islandshønsen har vært siden vikingtiden, har du mulighet for og sende egg fra Bresse som jeg kan ha i en eggmaskin?
Hello. Very nice and informative. Thanks a lot. I didn't know that the Brest Gauloise/Les Bleues are THAT good. Nice to know. Dit you have a Link to this "german studie" you talk?!? That would be great. Thanks and keep going! Nice Vlogs and nice Homestaed(work)!!! Greetings from Stralsund/Northeast Germany
Excellent video. Where did you get your Bresse genetics from? Your birds looks more stocky than mine and would make better meat birds. What carcass weights are you getting at 12 and 16 weeks? Now I need to watch a bunch of your other videos.
how do you approach breeding them to avoid inbreed? You buy hatching eggs - then you don't know which birds are related and how much. Do you have to buy a rooster somewhere else? I only have experience in breeding parrots so i can't imagine how to approach that!
Good to have the chicken expert right here! Well i might get chickens but i will look into it more first. ;) I really like the bigger chickens. I was thinking about brahma, i like all the color varieties. Of couse they are mainly bred for looks. On the other hand, i really like the dwarf varieties too, because i will unlikely keep them for the meat.
Couldn't hear what they are called in the US, over the loud chickens, lol. Could you please tell me so I don't have to struggle to hear it again? Thank You.
Thanks for the informative video about this breed. Just wondering if the feeder is very inconvenient for the roosters to eat with thier comb hitting the rod.
This is our third year of raising Bresse chickens. We currently have three dozen Bresse eggs in our Grumbach incubator. Our altitude is 5,700 feet... incubator is set at 99.5f and 48% humidity. Previous attempts at incubation have been disappointing. We found that our Narragansett turkeys required 5 generations before the eggs had adapted to this altitude and contained more pores in the shell to reduce the effect of lower atmospheric oxygen at high altitude. So we shall see.
Hi , could you tell me base on your experience as the best dual purpose variety type of chickens that is very , very quiet and don't make any noise and a very docile temperament and easy going ? I would like to get just half dozen to start but I don't want my neighbors to make a complaint about the noises is all . .... I was told the Black Australorp breed is a very quiet and have a docile temperament ? Can you guide me in the right direction ? Thank you .
It all depends on the chicken bloodline, not breed. If found the show quality Orpington or Light Sussex much more quiet. The best way is select and keep the quiet one from the group. Each of the chicken has his/her own personality. I have chicken that come to me like a dog and other ran away when enter the run. I've raise about 30 different breeds over the years, but this is the only I have right now. It is fantastic for both meat and egg.
Been looking for a reliable dual-purpose breed to choose. Thanks so much for staying on topic and keeping your videos short and concise. I appreciate this very much, and have given up on some vloggers who prattle on about many unrelated topics, personal matters, focusing the camera on themselves (even when interviewing Joel S, etc.). Tack mycket!
Thanks for the info, Simeon. I haven't seen that breed win Wyoming, USA, where I live. I currently raise and breed Black's Jersey Giants, an American breed from the early 1900s, that is slow growing, but matures to approx 11 pounds for hens and 13 pounds for roosters. Good meat and pretty good egg producers, too. I always enjoy hearing about breeds and their capabilities. Thanks, again!
Does your production # include molting time?
How do they do on feed? Do you feed them regular chicken feed?
@@vidacrazy I feed regular feed. They eat a little more than standard size chickens. They're roughly the same size as Brahma chickens. I really like the breed, great layers, though not extremely broody, and excellent meat.
Interesting video. I never heard of that breed. It's a shame people only want hybrids anymore. We need to raise more heritage birds. Good luck and keep the knowledge coming.
Thank you. I fell the same way.
Jonathan Moratelli n
I want a few dozen of yours. Can you sell in U.S.A ?
There's a Bresse breeder in Mississippi.
I was raised on a farm in Arkansas here in The States. My mother raised chickens. I HAVE NEVER SEEN SUCH BEAUTIFUL ROOSTERS and Hens. You know when they are healthy by the color of their combs. Bright Red Comb means Healthy, pale pinkish means they are missing something in their diet. You are an awesome Homesteader.
Another excellent video production Simeon. While I don't have much interest in chickens other than to eat them, it occured to me as I watched this that your wife has done quite a good job of teaching you english. Your vocabulary , sentence structure, accents and pronunciation are better than many people I've encountered that were raised with english as their only language.
You get another thumbs up simply for your skill in presenting entertaining and informative videos.
Greetings from Canada.
Haha. That great. Thank you.
mini (english) lesson: you include an "s" after "that" to abbreviate
that is great... proper english... slang or abbreviated-> thats Great :o)
Thank you for the introduction to the Bresse Galouise!
I would be interested in an updated video on this subject. Have you tried any other breeds since this? Is Bresse still your favorite?
I am watching this three years later.. Do you still feel this way? I just found our channel, such great work!
He later switched to hybrids: th-cam.com/video/V3yTKzaqHoc/w-d-xo.html
He likes bresse more. Only ordered hybrid just because they're available
It is extremely important that those who are maintaining heritage breed fowl cull keeping in mind the traits that are so important, such as weight, age of maturity, high egg yields etc. Keeping good records, weighing birds and culling poor performers and using for breeding stock, only the top performing birds (according to the records they keep). Enjoyed your video. :)
Yes. The problem is that many heritage breeds have gone down in performance because this was neglected.
Swedish Homestead Yes I know that. However careful selection from knowledgeable poultry breeders (Non Hatchery)who have worked hard to keep the important qualities within their flock. I have kept heritage breed poultry for 20 yrs.
Private poultry keepers have done a very important job in preserving the heritage breeds the past few decades. Unfortunately most just multiply the breeds and lack the time and knowledge to select and breed for performance. We need more of those breeders like you.
Think if just 5% of all resources that are put into hybrids would go into breeding heritage breeds professionally, what we could accomplish. There is an organization in Germany that started to select Italian chickens for performance again after several breeds had gone down in egg production about 40 eggs / year over the past decades. They were able to increase the egg production by their efforts very quickly. We need more of those initiatives.
Good looking ABC birds. I raise and breed them and yours look awesome! I’m picky on my breeding stock.
Bresse gauloise is the full name of this breed. I am from Bulgaria, here I've seen 3 colours of this beautiful breed - white, black and blue. I have had the white and the blue version, but the blues weren't that good as the whites so right now I am having only the white. BUT, if you want to get the best dual purposed breed, you should try the White Plymouthrock - not the exhibition type, but the productive type! They are the mothers of the cornish crosses or also known as broilers! For me, the best chicken breed! If you can find real productive White Plymouthrocks - give them a try, I am sure that you are going to like them! Keep going and all the best from Bulgaria :)
Thank you. I will check into that. I have heard that the White Rocks are not very hardy though.
Bresse gauloise is a brand name and not really the name of the breed. They are not allowed to be called that outside of the are in France that they are raised in. We call them Les Bleues.
Here in Bulgaria we call them just Bresse. We pronounce it - "Breze". I am not so big specialist of that breed but I am trying :)
Dimitrofv BG
Hi I am moving to Bulgaria near to polski tram besh do you know where I can purchase bresse chickens in Bulgaria many thanks will
Found you thanks to white house on the hill thanks for such a teaching moment with such beautiful breed I had never seen before !
Would love to see an update video on these.
All great choices but I love my silver laced Wyandottes ... I live in Iowa in US and it gets cold here like last night it was -12 f with a wind chill of -30 and some of my hens slept outta the coop for what ever reason... so like it others don't. Our chickens free range very well but I do supplement feeding this time of year . I provide no heat only fresh fluffy straw I a coop that's pretty wind proof .they produce xx large eggs and plenty of them even when it's this cold. They produce eggs at 14-16 weeks and are 4 pounds at 10-11 weeks. That's my magic number 4-5 lbs or our family. But they are the healthiest birds to date. I haven't tried the breese but I can't imagine I'd give up a week or two of eggs in trade for the beauty of our chickens ! They're just so pleasing to look at . Free range well and they're a big strong bird. The roosters are how ever aggressive with their ladies. But my son has managed to survive since he was 4 in with the roosters. Seen many fights with empty egg basket and my son has won over the roosters now ! My son goes in to collect eggs roosters run out lol. But that's my pick for my birds on our homestead.
Keep up the fine work! And God blessings to you and yours!
Steve
Thank you for the info.
God bless you too.
I have been trying the bresse. I am not as happy with them as you are. They have to much comb and wattle for where I am in Canada, to prone to frost bite. My favourite dual purpose is the dark cornish. The disadvantage for them is their slow growth. I have been playing with crosses between the bresse and dark cornish. So far I am happy with this and will be playing with it more in the future.
I haven't been able to find Bresse chickens anywhere in Canada. Where did you get yours? Also, are you sure it was actually the dark Cornish breed you've been raising & crossing. It's surprising that you had good luck with them as dual purpose birds since they're usually strictly meat birds. They're usually poor layers, at least that's what I've been told by people who've raised them. Please let me know where you got your Bresse chickens because I'd love to try them.
I got them from a guy on the bc coast. I will have to try and find the name. The dark cornish are not the greatest layer but the ones I have lay quite well, probably 220 eggs a year. They also lay well in the winter. They are very calm disposition as well. The latest ones I got came from Murray McMurray hatchery in the states.
Thank You, if you can find his name, I'd be very grateful. I've tried many breeds over the past 20+ breeds but I've settled on Barred Plymouth Rocks, originally from Frey's Hatchery. They're the right combination of good layers & calm disposition to suit me. Also, I've found that the young roosters, up to 6-7 months , are absolutely delicious. In fact, even the 3 year old hens are good to eat if they're cooked slowly for a few hours.
But I'd still love to try raising some Bresse chickens because I've heard so many good things about them.
Check out the site, alberta chickens etc. I have seen a few ads on there for Bresse.
Greenfire farms.com
I've been slowly researching chicken breeds for a homestead I should have by no later than May 1st 2019. What you're saying makes a huge amount of sense. I live in UpState NY and the Winters can be brutal some years ... how would these chickens do in my area ... do they eat fodder well??? Assuming good diet, what is their average egg production over an 18 months production period???
My cat really enjoyed watching your chickens .
Haha. That's funny. Did she attack the screen?
You are so awesome and I am learning so much from you. Thank you Simeon. Diane from USA
Thanks.
I'm interested in the Bresse after hearing this, but that huge red comb gives me pause because here in northern Colorado winters we can get below zero temps. We have no buildings to winter chickens in. We are on track to build a Justin Rhodes Chickshaw. Any comment on this Simeon?
We get cold winters here too. -13 Farenheit is commen. I have them in a greenhouse tunnel. We haven't had any issues with this with other chicken breeds we have had before. We'll have to see. Check out my chicken floor heating video. That's how we are trying to keep the temp up.
You sold me on the Bresse. Hard to find here in US. Greenfire still sells at $29 per chick. Found a good source for hatching eggs. One other source for chicks told me they ramped for 3 times the production over 2016 and are sold out for 2017.
DON'T COUNT YOUR CHICKENS... hope to get a small flock of 10 hens and 2/4 roos (from two lines) for next spring between chicks and hatching eggs. Thanks for great video and details!!
Do you still feel the same way about this breed?
I might try these but I still like buff orpingtons because I like a tame, dual-purpose chicken, that goes broody often, can forage readily when released from the coop. I can breed back in the egg production rates that I want and it doesn't take long.
Very interesting! Here... I would compare what you have (kinda) to a White Rock-very hardy and old school dual purpose for here. Enjoying your vids! ~ Patara
Thanks. Glad you like them.
I am raising Barbezieux in my program and I'm sold on them. My pullets are laying at 5 months. 100% fed on compost piles. Strongest breed I've ever raised. Grow fast.
Oh my goodness patara wrote on your channel :) You are my inspiration Patara. God bless you and your beautiful family and homestead.
Growing mushroom
Simeon I just ordered some American Bresse today from GreenFire Farms. They'll be here on the 24th. I was so excited I went out and cleaned the chicken coop and brooder and re-mulched them both, put the chickies waterer and feeder into the dishwasher to disinfect them, and got their first bag of chick starter crumble ready. I put some DE into the feed as suggested by Becky's Homestead and Appalachia's Homestead with Patara. I wonder how much of a market there will be for chicks here in my area? I'm in North Mississippi just south of Memphis Metro area. Thanks for posting on these Simeon!
As a hobby cook I can confirm their meat is exceptionally tender and tasty. Very expensive though. Here in The Netherlands the original ones go for around 25 Euro's per KG. I look forward to seeing how this project will develop for you Simeon. Allez les bleus! 😂
Thanks. Yes they are expensive.
Very informative. Thank you... I didn't know the Brest Gauloise.... Very nice chicken.... Roosters are very handsome and proud birds and the hens sure like talking or should I say cackling... :)
Does anyone have these in America? I’d love to give them a try
I am very much enjoying your videos.. i am fascinated by your Highland cattle and am now researching your Bresse chickens.. Thanks for the info!
Even my puppy likes watching your videos. She comes running to watch what animals ull have when she hears your opening theam song🤗😉
Thanks Simeon. Another great video. All your animals look great. Cattle, Hogs, Chickens.
We tried the Cornish Cross 4 times for meat, Sexlinks for eggs.
We have been looking for something better. Will never eat cornish cross again. to many health issues.
good luck with your homestead, your a great herdsman.
You have a lot of chicken breeds, do you find that large size breeds are calmer than small size breeds? Bantam vs. Buff Orpingtons?
Generally bigger breeds are calmer. A very calm and nice breed are the Bielefelder chickens. They can get very tame. I don't have any experience with Orpington but I don't think they are among the best performing breeds.
Orpingtons are really good egg producers but grow slower and are really a tame bird
Orpingtons are considered by many as a #1 all around breed. They lay about three brown eggs per week. they are hardy and can handle the cold. Good forager, gentle, broody. Good dual purpose bird. Great video!
Hahaha the noisy chickens are hilarious! Keep up the good work. We are loving your videos and inspiration. Thanks Man!
Those are some awesome looking chickens! Wow!
so Simeon, in what language do your chickens speak in, and do they change when they are raised in another country....LOL...SORRY COULD NOT RESIST....i think its very smart to raise the best layers and meat producers, but there needs to be a separate flock that is a large variety of different colors, there so pretty, and i have found that they can make a very good pet, ive seen them be very warm to affection.
I love the colorful variety of chickens. I am going to cross breed two breeds this winter. It will be like Christmas morning to see what colors all the chicks will have...
I am hatching 24 Breese eggs right here in Excelsior Springs MO. I can't wait to see the chicks. I wonder how well I can introduce them to my True Rhode Island Reds who tend to be a little aggressive. One thing I have read about Breese is the fact they are very docile compared to many other dual purpose birds. Is this your experience?
Thomas Shue where did you get your Bresse in the USA?
if egg color doesn't matter... Leghorns, my leghorns laid more eggs than all the hybrids I had, but they loved to escape.
I love different color eggs I have americana's they lay blue greenish eggs best layers better than a Rhode Island
They all taste same whatever color they have.
Really Escape? Is Laying most Eggs meant loosing Weight Baggages?
@edward keenan do you mean easter eggers or real amearucanas,
My leghorns are awesome
Are favorites are the Barred Rock and Black Australorp, so far. We will have to try to find this breed. thank you
Enjoy your videos immensely! thank you
Now this video is really of interest. I raise chickens for eggs and all have not been 100 successful in producing eggs. I am still watching and learning about the breed you are talking about..
Excellent presentation on this dual purpose breed. We will check on availability here in the Northeastern USA. Thanks.
The one thing my state New Hampshire is famous for is the New Hampshire chicken. Your Bresses are beautiful. The 2 breeds we want to get into next are the Bresses and Marans. Hope you visit to US is going great 👍🙏✌️
Interesting and informative, as per usual. You explain in such a way as a person never involved with poultry we understand the message you are trying to get across.
Mike
Where did you get the breeding eggs from this kind of chicken? We are in Sweden but I can only find them in the Netherlands
you are a true champion of the farming world you have great foresight into the future long may you continue this,i am very impressed with your caring manner with the animals you keep full marks to you and your family, have a great christmas and a very productive and prosperous new year
Thanks Tony. The same to you.
Hi Simeon,
You said you have 3 roosters in your flock. Do you have any tips on keeping multiple roosters? Are the Bresse roosters docile and good with other roosters, eg a Bielefelder?
My favorite breed so far. From the time they hatch they are placid and friendly. I don't care to eat my chickens but these beauties are terrific layers too.
They want to travel the world also. Good video loved your country when I visited.
Bless you and your wonderful right thinking!
I've got 7 that survived shipping. 1 of them have legs that turned the grey/blue colored. How long does it take for their legs to turn to that color. They are 2 week s old today
Can you tell me what breed is just right of center screen at 6:31 please? the Mottled brown hen. Very pretty!
Thanks for the info bro. That would be my first choice of chicken breeds someday. Keep making video love your farm
Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us. I didn't know much about breeds of chicken. Very informative and interesting.
Glad you liked it.
Congratulations. Job well done I love chicken tv or television. Please do more vlogs with your chicken s.
another great informative video but how is hens doing on inbreeding, after how many generations do you have to get "new" bloood in the flock
You should definitely get new blood after 3 generations but we do it more often. We are receiving an order from a new bloodline the beginning of December.
Likely little interest but I have covered my blue-footed SASSO Naked-Neck hens with American Bresse cock birds and thus far, the meat quality, egg production and egg weights have been thrilling!! Can hardly wait to cross the new pullets back to the original Bresse sires.
Thank you for this video, I'm looking at raising these in East Texas this spring, I had wondered how the numbers added up, kind of what intrigued me having a good dual purpose chicken. Just hope they can handle our heat here.
How warm does it get where you live?
90's-100's during the summer. Most chickens do ok, but it does get hot.
Yeah, well I think they should be fine with shade and cool-ish water. They come from France. It get much hotter there than here.
Sir Simeon, Enjoyed your most interesting intro. on the "Bresse Gauloise" chicken variety breed! When you do your future update video I would appreciate you including your thoughts on flightiness or temperament compared on a sliding scale beginning with leghorns to the most docile heavyweights, orpingtons, buffs etc?? Also egg color?? At 10:13 the eggs appear to be medium brown? Enjoy your videos! Phil S. Carolina
Thanks Phil. I will try to include that info in future videos. Thanks for the tip.
Can you Simeon actually provided link where we should buy a hatching eggs of Bresse?
What do you think about Icelandics? I'm just curious. I've considered this breeed but I'm into a set up that is ULTRA low maintenance homestead set up. A set up where I can have any amount of birds I want and have almost zero maintenance and they will escape predators 90% of the time no matter what. No extra infrastructure to protect or anything and super low feed needs. Icelandics don't have good meat yields but they have great egg production and you can sell the babies for good price PLUS the roosters can be segregated and never fed the whole season before butcher. Good fine grain meat
Very Interesting! I hope you'll slip in some views of Sweden and maybe some cultural aspects of living on a Swedish farm. My great grandfather had a farm on Oland. Never met him but miss him just the same.
Thanks. Öland i beautiful. We are trying to sneak in cultural aspects every now and then. Check out this video for a great cultural experience:
th-cam.com/video/1KhoLI9PQEU/w-d-xo.html
Shalom! Hello Alex and Simeon, I really enjoy watching and learning from you all. I live in Norco, California. My children and I are new family home farmers. I would really like to bring the Bresse Chicken onto our homestead. What types of material do you use on the floor of your chicken coop? Thank you and blessings to you and yours!
I raise and process hundreds of Cornish cross every year at my Cosmo Farm in NC but will give these a try. I found a breeder in SE US so will get some breeder stock to get my flock going. Thanks for introducing them to me.
They look like the Chantecler chickens from here in Canada. Love your videos
Just curious but is Your chicken flock AL or AI clean? I can't remember which one it is haha. I'm in the US and would like to get some of these beauties whenever My Boyfriend and I finally get Ourselves a nice farm. From what I know of chickens and stuff have to be illness clean before They're allowed to be imported to the US
2021 we can now source both white and blue "Bresse" in Canada. I'm very small and free range so I'm going to go with the blue Bresse and see what happens on a small scale.
hey, i also live in sweden on the west coast by goteborg , i would love to get some bresse added to my flock, could you steer me in the right direction? were can i find befruktade ägg ?thanks
any chance you'll be selling fertile eggs or chicks to folks in the state's? I'd be interested...
I love Rose comb Rhode Island Whites. They are a distinct breed not related to Rhode Island Reds. Excerpt from Livestock Conservancy livestockconservancy.org/index.php/heritage/internal/riwhite "The Rhode Island White originated in 1888 through the efforts of Mr. J. Alonzo Jocoy of Peacedale, Rhode Island US. He developed the breed by crossing White Wyandottes with Partridge Cochins and Rose Comb White Leghorns. The Rhode Island White is a moderately-sized, completely white bird with the males weighing 8 1/2 lbs. and females 6 1/2 lbs. " They typically lay 240-250 eggs per year. Here in NH, our winter temps are often close to 0. The rose comb is a great benefit to the birds as frost bite is less common.
Thanks. Very interesting.
Do you know if it would be possible to ship hatching eggs to the states? I am very interested in both the bresse and bielefelder. I am concerned with lack of genetic diversity since all the u.s. stock ultimately comes from one flock.
I think you need to be registered to be able to import them. Greenfirefarms I think is registered who has both these breeds. I would think that they keep fresh blood in the flock. But I agree, it is more risky with a breed that is not so common.
You can get them in eBay
I am looking at raising chickens in my backyard while I am still living with my parents. I have gone back and re-watched all your chicken videos. Do you or your father know of any heritage chicken breeds that do well in the backyard?
Backyard you do want some broody hens if you want a steady egg production (20% decline/year and max. 1000 eggs per chickenlifetime), breed that lays fairly reliably throughout the year, tame, quiet (no roosters will help some) and different colors is nice to. Also easier to keep them apart when they are al a different pattern/color feathers. I picked wyandot small version. They do well confined to, but give them something to do (bucket of old leaves + some scratch grain works). Happy chickens you'll just hear some rustling from scratching among the leaves and some mumbling. When they get bored they squable and scream. Also whatever the stories, a chicken is an omnivore and needs a source of animal protein or they get sick. Dryed mealworms work, compostworms, al kinds of little insects snacking on the vegetables/hidden under wood/stones work (slugs/snails not so much and could give them worms i read). Get/make a waterer with a drinknipple (like Simeon did for the baby chicks), saves you a lot of messy water. Keep the run/hutch DRY, mites/worms need moisture to survive long enough to hop on again after hatching. and dry stuf doesn't smell (neigbours will thank you).
Note deep bedding is nice, but rats will dig up under your floor, eat feed (like 75% of it), eggs and baby chicks. Overbuild on predator proof for your basic coop and run. Use hardwarecloth, chicken wire i can rip apart with my fingers, so can a raccoon/fox. Cover the top of the run with hardwarecloth and a tin/other solid roof over that(rats/pests climb well), big pavingstones 2 layers thick for bottom+ upright around it half way under and above the floor, gives you room for some bedding as well. Open the door when you can to let them play in the garden is fine, but the basic area that is alway accesible needs to be safe period. So you can be away all day and they have room to putter about some without getting eaten if something goes wrong because you got delayed and are home 3+ hours after dark and couldn't lock them up for the night.
Do any hatcheries ship outside the country? Can you add links to hatcheries that do?
We have 16 Bresse chickens here in Nova Scotia. They don't seem to like the deep snow. lol
I bet. Haven't found a chicken who likes the snow yet....
Very informative video Simeon, there really is a lot to it, I had no idea!
Glad you found it helpful.
Simeon, one trait you didn't touch on is how many seasons you keep your hens and what is the differential between the heritage breeds? I'm disabled and just want a few chickens for my garden and the eggs, just for my information do you know if the heritage breeds you discussed come in bantam size?
can you provide a link to that information you talked about where the students did the research in Germany?
Can they handle heat over 105 degrees for a long stretch of time. I know they can handle the cold but I don't don't get freezing here.
Those chickens sound happy and healthy
Great Video. Im from the Far east, how do i import the chicken from the USA farm? Are we allowed to shipped them by Air? whats the minimum and will it survived? Im really interested. Thank you
Hello,
I have a small flock of 40 hens and 10 of them are Araucanans. the other day i noticed for the first time that one of the Arucannas has an overly long upper beak. its actually quite beautiful and makes her look more like a hawk or similar bird of prey than a chicken.
However im concerned if having the longer beak might cause her problems.., so far i haven't seen anything stand out but any info or advice you can give me will be greatly appreciated.
thanks.
how are the bresse chickens regarding broodiness and raising chicks?
Do you eat the fertilized egg or they are just for reproduction?
Hello, nice job!!! Where have u get these bresse's? Im from finland and i dont find any bresses from here in sale. And im interested to grow these. But its quite hard without any info where to find this breed in finland.
Great information . Help me out with Tips raising American Bresse . I want to raise for meat . How many pounds of weight in 12 weeks.
I am raising Rhode Island reds for eggs and Cornish Cross for meat . I am more interested in best meat chicken .
thanks
How do you keep the roosters from fighting?
What are your thoughts on the "Swedish Flower Hen"?
Great video! Would the Bresse or Bielefelder be better for naturally hatching their own eggs? We were geared up to focus on one breed in which was going to be the Bielefelder in 2017. The auto-sexing and excellent temperament was a great trait that the Bielefelder had to offer. Thank you.
Hi there. In my experience neither of these two breeds have a very strong desire to do that. We have had one or two Bielefelder who had a tendency for it but none of the Bresse. We have a hatching machine.
The Bielefelder are wonderful dual purpose chickens. The auto-sexing and calm temperament like you say are definitely a huge plus. They taste good and lay many eggs. Two downsides I noticed were that they start laying a little later than the other breeds and are not as excited to free range and look for their own feed as the other breeds. The bresse are amazing free rangers.
I am going to hatch one batch of Bresse/Bielefelder mixture this winter to see how they perform.
One recommendation is to get a breed that is more common though otherwise it will be hard to get some new blood into your flock.
I was thinking the 2 would be a great mix as well....look forward in seeing the results! Thank you for your feedback.
Du burde sjekke ut Islandshøns, er veldig lik de kriteriene du nevner her. Islandshønsen har vært siden vikingtiden, har du mulighet for og sende egg fra Bresse som jeg kan ha i en eggmaskin?
What criteria do you have to sort birds for meat, egg production, or breeding stock?
Hello.
Very nice and informative. Thanks a lot. I didn't know that the Brest Gauloise/Les Bleues are THAT good. Nice to know.
Dit you have a Link to this "german studie" you talk?!? That would be great.
Thanks and keep going! Nice Vlogs and nice Homestaed(work)!!!
Greetings from Stralsund/Northeast Germany
Hele.
Did you tray Faverolles chicken?
Dankeschön für die schönen Bilder und Videos 👋😃
How do the roosters do in the cold with the large combs? 🐓Thanks.
Excellent video. Where did you get your Bresse genetics from? Your birds looks more stocky than mine and would make better meat birds. What carcass weights are you getting at 12 and 16 weeks? Now I need to watch a bunch of your other videos.
how do you approach breeding them to avoid inbreed? You buy hatching eggs - then you don't know which birds are related and how much. Do you have to buy a rooster somewhere else? I only have experience in breeding parrots so i can't imagine how to approach that!
Good to have the chicken expert right here! Well i might get chickens but i will look into it more first. ;) I really like the bigger chickens. I was thinking about brahma, i like all the color varieties. Of couse they are mainly bred for looks. On the other hand, i really like the dwarf varieties too, because i will unlikely keep them for the meat.
I have never had Brahma. Bielefelder have a great dwarf breed. There eggs are almost as big as the big breed.
Ohh wow! Haha.
They are beautiful birds. Wonder if they are cold hardy?
do you have problems with mites on the chickens? or milben in german ;)
What is a broiler? It is one you slaughter for its meat and it don't lay eggs?
Couldn't hear what they are called in the US, over the loud chickens, lol. Could you please tell me so I don't have to struggle to hear it again? Thank You.
Thanks for the informative video about this breed. Just wondering if the feeder is very inconvenient for the roosters to eat with thier comb hitting the rod.
This is our third year of raising Bresse chickens. We currently have three dozen Bresse eggs in our Grumbach incubator. Our altitude is 5,700 feet... incubator is set at 99.5f and 48% humidity. Previous attempts at incubation have been disappointing. We found that our Narragansett turkeys required 5 generations before the eggs had adapted to this altitude and contained more pores in the shell to reduce the effect of lower atmospheric oxygen at high altitude. So we shall see.
Add another young rooster (5-8 months) might help. I found some roosters will not mate the hen.
Hi , could you tell me base on your experience as the best dual purpose variety type of chickens that is very , very quiet and don't make any noise and a very docile temperament and easy going ? I would like to get just half dozen to start but I don't want my neighbors to make a complaint about the noises is all . .... I was told the Black Australorp breed is a very quiet and have a docile temperament ? Can you guide me in the right direction ? Thank you .
It all depends on the chicken bloodline, not breed. If found the show quality Orpington or Light Sussex much more quiet. The best way is select and keep the quiet one from the group. Each of the chicken has his/her own personality. I have chicken that come to me like a dog and other ran away when enter the run. I've raise about 30 different breeds over the years, but this is the only I have right now. It is fantastic for both meat and egg.
Please can you tell me What is the chicken breed that has strong immunity