Bresse Gauloise

Bresse Gauloise, also written Gauloise de Bresse, is the breed name often used for the traditional French Bresse fowl rather than the protected food product called Poulet de Bresse. It is a large, clean-legged chicken with a single comb, white earlobes, and blue or slate legs. The white variety is the best known, but black, blue, and grey forms are also described in European standards. It is a practical dual-purpose bird: hens lay well for a heritage breed, and cockerels can make high-quality table chickens when grown beyond broiler age.

For keepers, Bresse Gauloise is most rewarding when managed as an active farmyard chicken rather than a confined ornamental breed. Access to pasture encourages the ranging behavior for which the breed is known, while good protein during growth supports frame and breast development. Breeders normally select for sound legs, correct body type, and reliable fertility as much as color. Buyers should be aware that naming rules differ by country; the bird may be genuine breed stock without qualifying as French protected Bresse poultry.