Origin and general aspect
France, originated in the regions Rhone-Alpes, Franche-Comte and Brgundy, in Bresse. Bresse is the name of a local area, protected by the Law (Appelation d’Origine Prote’ge’e: AOP). Outside this area, the fowl is named Gauloise. Approved on 19th October 1904 and revised in 1913.
Medium size fowl, long body, elegant, alert, fine boned, thin, white skinned. The goal is to improve the type of the egg layer and flesh qualities.
General Characteristics: male
Body: well built, long, slightly upright.
Neck: short, neck hackle full of long thin feathers.
Back: broad, quite long, slightly inclined downward to the tail.
Shoulders: broad.
Wings: carried upright, close to the body.
Saddle: well developed.
Tail: full, well developed main tail, carried at about 45(degrees).
Breast: broad, full, prominent.
Abdomen: well developed.
Head: moderately short and fine.
Face: red, smooth.
Comb: red, single, straight, medium size, fine texture, triangular serration, blade far from the neck.
Wattles: red, medium size, smooth, fine texture.
Ear-lobes: white, medium size, almond shape.
*Eyes: brown iris, as dark as possible, large.
Beak: color depends on the variety, moderately long and stout.
Thighs: well adjusted to the size and visible.
Legs: slate blue, fine, medium length, free from feathers.
Toes: four.
Plumage: close fitting.
General Characteristics: Female
Similar to those of the male, allowing for the natural sexual differences.
Tail: not carried too high, slightly spread.
Comb: single, straight at the beginning and falling gracefully over either side of the face.
Ear-lobes: round
Serious defects
Squirrel tail; body too narrow; male comb poorly developed, falling over or twisted; female comb erect; light eyes; red in ear-lobes; white in the face.
Varieties
– White:
Beak: bluish white.
Ear-lobes: white, accepted with red margin for the male, bluish white for the female.
Serious defects: straw tinge.
– White with pale comb:
Comb, wattles and face: pinkish white.
Texture of comb and wattles: smooth and fine.
Famous for its flesh.
– Blue:
Beak: dark horn.
Plumage: dark blue, lacing permitted.
Serious defects: color too pale; neck hackle red; red or yellow in the plumage; wings black or pale.
– Black:
Beak: dark horn.
Plumage: black with green luster.
Legs: accepted darker, but not black.
Serious defects: feathers of any other color; purple tinge.
– Grey:
Beak: bluish white.
Male plumage:
neck hackle, saddle hackle and breast: white.
Back: white tipped with grey, hidden under the neck hackle.
Under color: grey.
Wings, when closed, the best fowl have two black cross lines.
Tail sickle, coverts: black with white laced with black.
Main tail: black.
Ear-lobes: white, red margin accepted.
Abdomen: white or slightly grey.
Female plumage:
Head, neck hackle and breast: white.
Back, upper part of the wings and tail: steaked with black, the plumage appearing lighter.
Barring is present but without forming V-shaped feathers or lacing.
Wing bay: white.
Abdomen: white or slightly grayish.
Ear-lobes: sometimes bluish.
Serious defects:
Male: neck hackle, saddle hackle and breast wrong color, marked or penciled; main tail and tail sickle with white.
Female: neck hackle, breast and head penciled; main tail black.
Weights
Male: 2.5 to 3 kg (5.5 to 6.5 lb)
Female: 2 to 2.5 kg (4.5 to 5.5 lb)
Egg Weight
60 g.
Egg Color
white.
Rings
Male: 18 mm
Female: 16 mm
The above info was copied from the Bresse-Gauloise et Gauloise website at:
http://bresse-gauloise-club-de-france.e-monsite.com/en/pages/standard-bresse-gauloise.html
*Originally the eye description read “Eyes: slate blue, the darker the better, large.” Unfortunately the English was translated incorrectly. The original text read “Yeux: iris bruns, le plus foncé possible, grands.” which translates correctly to “Eyes: brown iris, as dark as possible, large.” This issue was mentioned and corrected in the “Bresse-Gauloise et Gauloise de France” group. Light colored eyes would be considered for use in the trade or meat lines, while the dark eyes are considered for the exhibition lines.