Gascon Poultry

Many people agree that the Gascon chicken is a 'little treasure.' It is robust, a good laying hen, good at hatching eggs and an excellent mother. It also produces good-sized eggs and good-quality meat. All this could have to do with the fact that it is one of the few French breeds which could be found in the farmyard ; most other breeds have been more or less bred and raised by amateur poultry-keepers.

It could well be that this breed will again find a place in the rural economy of our region.

Landaise Poultry

The Landaise chicken has magnificent plumage, like many European breeds, but the difference is that it has yellow earflaps and greenish-yellow legs. These colours may seem minor details, but they perhaps reveal a long history, because it is only North African breeds that have such colouring. It is possible, therefore, that this chicken was introduced by the Moors, as we know that they settled for quite a long time in the 'Landes' region, a country so poor that nobody bothered to take it back from them.

This breed - which had nearly disappeared and had been cross-bred with the 'Leghorn' chicken in an attempt to restore its characteristics - arrived at the 'Ferme Conservtoire' with significant problems associated with inbreeding. The method of rearing them out in the open, with a maximum number of males (as many as 30 cocks to 80 hens), enabled us to make these birds less delicate. Now it is much more of a good laying hen with very pretty plumage.