Faverolles

Faverolles

Faverolles are good layers and are gentle and affectionate. In Australia, there are keepers of two distinct varieties: The ermine (white with black) and the salmon coloured. Faverolles are classified as a heavy breed and have a beard, muffs, feathered feet, light leg feathering and five toes per foot, rather than the usual four. Faverolles are well adapted either to confinement or free-range.

When battery cages began to be used at the very beginning of the twentieth-century, Faverolles tolerated the close confinement better than the Houdan breed. Although primarily kept today as an ornamental and exhibition breed, it remains an excellent layer, as well as a fine meat chicken. Hens are good winter layers of medium-sized, light brown to pinkish eggs. Some cocks are the quietest of all breeds, and Faverolles are also known for their extreme docility. As a result, they tend to get bullied in a mixed flock for being so gentle and friendly. They thrive in groups with other Faverolles, or perhaps, with other docile breeds such as the Sussex. Because of their gentleness, Faverolles have become a popular breed of chicken to keep as a pet, especially for children. They are also enjoying increasing popularity with people who keep small home flocks and favour dual-purpose breeds that are well suited to both egg production and use as meat.