Faverolles Chicken

Faverolles is a chicken breed developed around the village of Faverolles in northern France in the nineteenth century, bred as a dual purpose fowl for meat and eggs by crossing several breeds including Houdan, Brahma, Cochin and Dorking stock. It is distinguished by five toes on each foot rather than the usual four, a small beard and muffs of feathers around the face, and feathered legs, combined with a body type suited to producing meat quickly for the Paris poultry market it was originally developed to supply. The most common color variety is salmon, with a buff and brown patterned hen and a more richly colored rooster, though other color varieties are also recognized. Faverolles declined commercially as more specialized meat breeds took over French poultry production in the twentieth century, and it is kept today mainly by backyard and heritage flock keepers for its gentle temperament and distinctive appearance.