The Current State Of Bresse in America

The following are only my personal opinions but they are based on having raised Bresse for almost as long as they have been in America and also keeping myself as informed as possible. The reason I keep as informed as possible is because I am committed as a breeder to deliver the very finest Bresse that can be had. A sad reality is that when anything becomes popular there is always a crowd looking to cash in on that popularity. This leads to overstated hype as individuals are only seeking to sell for a profit without being fully committed to the excellence of the product they are selling. In this case Bresse chickens, which are living creatures that require a lot of skill to maintain to a consistent standard. Bresse are not just chickens but they are a brand. More than just a generic off the shelf product, Bresse have a 500 year history backing up their unique place in chickendom. Specifically that place is as a heritage breed that excels in its growth rate second only to the frankencrosses out there. In addition the pullets start laying between 16 - 18 weeks of age. Depending on the line these hens lay over 250 eggs per year at an average of 73 grams each which are jumbo eggs. To be classified as a breeder one must have the knowledge and willingness to do the work to keep the flock performing up to the potential of the brand and the expectations of the buyers.

The Potential of Bresse

What most people do not know but is really important to know is that in France there are two distinct classifications of Bresse. There are show quality Bresse raised by breeders to a standard of perfection or SOP (which you can find a link to on the links page) and there are commercial Bresse raised by larger farms to provide for the market. The commercial line have NO standard at all other than the blue feet, red comb and white skin, and that's it.If you view any of the videos of the French farms you will be seeing the commercial Bresse. This is actually very much the same practice as here in America. You can purchase less than standard quality breeds from any catalog or store. Or you can hunt down a breeder who breeds to the standard of perfection. The difference is you can pay $5.00 per chick for a catalog bird or you can pay $30.00 per chick for a bird bred to the standard. (just ballpark numbers for example) I would venture out to say that most people in America are only wanting pretty chickens that lay pretty colored eggs and would never spend more than they have to. People who are either raising or looking into raising Bresse are a different classification than most Americans. They see the futility of paying corporations every year to buy chickens that were created for one purpose, to grow incredibly fast. And yes, that they do, hands down. BUT even if you wanted to you can't breed your own because they die of heart attacks before reaching maturity. So the people raising Bresse are choosing them because the see the value added by OWNING a heritage breed that they could continue breeding forever - pass them down to your grand kids as an inheritance! LOL! My assumption is that you have experience at raising the typical American dual purpose heritage breeds as well as the Cornish crosses and these breeds don't quite meet your needs or expectations. So here we are with a breed called Bresse that comes with a reputation as a superior, truly dual purpose heritage breed. Only you can determine your needs but expectations are created by what we have heard or in other words the hype we have heard. This is where I want to put in my two cents for what it's worth. There currently exists two lines of thought as to what Bresse are supposed to be. So here we go....

Camp Number One

There is a good group of very experienced and dedicated individuals that are diligently working at getting Bresse recognized in the American Poultry Association and have a proposed Standard of Perfection based on the French SOP. This is great because it defines exactly what a Bresse chicken is supposed to be and it protects the future of this breed. This also protects the buyer of this breed from those who are haphazard and cross Bresse with other breeds and still think it's ok to sell them as pure Bresse in order to take advantage of the Bresse brand and get the Bresse prices. Breeding to a standard is good for the Bresse breed and good for the buyer . There is a difference between a diamond and glass even though they can fashion glass to look like a diamond. It takes an educated consumer to not get duped and that is just the way it is. Everybody should at least be working towards the standard, and we should be very grateful for those who put in the enormous efforts and labor at improving Bresse. Why do I say improving? OK, this is reality and not hype. If you take the time to view any of the videos of the French farms in France you will see the commercial lines of Bresse are not kept to a standard of perfection. Every issue that is brought up, feather leakage or non-white feathers, light colored eyes and beaks, brassiness or a yellow tinge to the white plumage, combs that are all over the chart in size, eggs that are not white, red earlobes instead of white, on and on. All these "issues" are very visible if you carefully examine the French clips. So what's my point? The point is that Greenfire farms is the first and only importer bringing Bresse to the USA. Greenfire farms imported the commercial Bresse, some say the latest import of 2017 were closer to the standard but closer is not close enough to the SOP. The fact is that the Bresse we have here in America is the commercial line that do exhibit every one of the above "issues." So camp number one is faced with the monumental task of "improving" Bresse by being super hyper particular as to the stock they breed. I can not tell you how long "commercial" lines have existed but we have the task of reversing all those years of not breeding to the standard. As far as I am aware there is no flock in America that meets the SOP. There is a breeder of Black Bresse that is as close to perfect as they come. That same breeder along with others have done the genetic work of re-creating a pure dominant white Bresse but they are not yet at the quantities where they are comfortable to sell their stock. This goal of improving Bresse requires a knowledge of genetics and great discipline in their keeping and breeding practises. I am grateful for the experts who are rising up to the challenge because the future of Bresse in America will be secure because of them. They are the ones who are the guardians of that meat to bone ratio. They are the guardians of that feed conversion ratio. They are the guardians of that rate of lay. They are the guardians of that genotype and phenotype that make Bresse what they are. I say - More power to them!

Camp Number Two

Homesteaders, survivalists, back yard hobbyists, and everybody else. They just want to have their own supply of meat and eggs that they can control, period. They don't want to be experts - they just want to eat and have food for their families. This is a perfectly valid position, no argument. For these people Bresse are a great option BECAUSE commercial Bresse are already as perfect as they need to be - as is. Commercial line Bresse will fill your freezer - as is. Commercial line Bresse will fill your pantry with eggs - as is. Why as is? Because you don't eat feathers, earlobes, eyes or beaks. We don't eat the "issues" that the camp number one are concerned about, and apparently the commercial line breeders in France that provide for the market, they don't appear concerned either. Now I do not want to be misunderstood because as mentioned Bresse need to be Bresse and not Bresse crosses. Nor all over the charts in size, temperament, and egg laying ability. Bresse posses a unique combination of genetics that make them the brand that they are. Not paying attention to the genetics changes the brand. So what this boils down to is a reality check for expectations, and a truth in advertising check for would be sellers.

Conclusions and Suggestions

Again these are only my opinions and observations so take them for what they are worth. As mentioned there needs to be a reality check for expectations - meaning the buyer needs to know what they are buying and who they are buying from. Any White Bresse you are buying are ALL commercial Bresse and will have issues like black or yellow coloration etc. If you expect perfection then you have three options: 1) Go to France and buy Bresse bred to the standard of perfection, 2) Do all the genetic work and breeding work to create the perfect Bresse yourself, or 3) PAY THE PRICE to the individuals who are doing all the hard work, if you can find them.
As a buyer, if your expectations are only for meat and eggs that's great Because Bresse are ready to go, IF you trust the seller you are buying from. The buyer needs to ask questions about the breeders breeding program and what goals the breeder is working towards. Don't buy from an individual who is only looking to bank on Bresse's already good reputation to make their sales for them. Integrity matters. You as a buyer deserve to know what you are buying. This is where the Facebook groups whose links I have listed, plays a vital role. They are a community of people with experiences and advice that is a treasure of knowledge. Ask the questions either about the Bresse or the breeders and you will be informed. They are great.

As a seller there needs to be the responsibility to be realistic about what you are selling. This is truth in advertising. Bresse are great but the individuals who have made decisions about which Bresse continue into a breeding program take ownership of the offspring resulting in those decisions. From day one those offspring are your specific line of Bresse. My name is Frank Scarola, I raise and sell Scarola Line Bresse for over ten years now. My Bresse are commercial Bresse but my breeding goals have been towards body conformation and the continued production of jumbo eggs. Truth be told, my emphasis has been heavier towards those big eggs. As a result my line of Bresse produce an average of 73 gram eggs but the eggs are often over 80+ grams. That is an extra jumbo egg! My goal for the future is to hone in on developing all the specifics according to the SOP. So my point is if you are going to sell then you must sell based on YOUR personal merits and work that you put into this breed and not on the reputation of the brand or work others have done. Or another option is advertise that you started with X line Bresse (giving credit to the previous breeder) and I am now taking them in this or that direction. This is truth in advertising - this is integrity.

My final thought in acknowledgement. Both camps need to acknowledge all of us are currently working on a work in progress. For camp number one this means every time we critique by pointing out the "issues" it gives the impression that those Bresse are inferior. This is a false and damaging even if completely unintentional. Why would I make this statement? This is a reality check - All Bresse were created to fill the freezer and fill the pantry - BOTH the perfect ones AND the not so perfect ones are doing exactly what they were created to do. And this is the phenomenon of Bresse. This is what makes them excellent regardless of the "issues." In my humble opinion all Bresse are a beautiful thing. A gift to the overachievers who love challenges and hard work. And they are a gift to the family that just need food on the table and a basket full of eggs. As a Christian I just thank my God for my Bresse. This is not to deny that Bresse are a work in progress but rather an acknowledgment of their unique status as a truly excellent dual purpose heritage breed, regardless. So it is not a matter of better or worse, it is matter of where on the timeline towards the SOP our Bresse are. As a buyer you may want stock that is more advanced or you may not even care because they will feed you either way. It's all good.... and the current state of Bresse in America is promising.