Alsacienne
 | |
| Conservation status | |
|---|---|
| Other names | French: Poule d'Alsace |
| Country of origin | France |
| Distribution | |
| Use | dual-purpose, eggs and meat |
| Traits | |
| Weight | |
| Egg colour | white |
| Comb type | rose comb, ends in a spike |
| Classification | |
| APA | not listed[5] |
| EE | yes[6] |
| PCGB | not listed[7] |
| |
The Alsacienne[a] or Poule d'Alsace[b] is a breed of domestic chicken from Alsace, in eastern France.[2] It was selectively bred in the 1890s, at a time when Alsace was part of the German Empire.[8] Unlike most other French breeds, it has not been cross-bred with imported Oriental stock.[3]: 18
History
The Alsacienne is an ancient breed, perhaps as long-established as the Bresse Gauloise, which it closely resembles. The present type was formed in the late nineteenth century by selective breeding for a dual-purpose bird; Alsace was at this time a part of the German Empire. The Alsacienne may be related to the German Rheinländer breed,[2] but is differentiated from it by the shape of the comb. A breed standard was drawn up by the Société Alsacienne pour l'Élevage de la Volaille in the early 1890s, and a second standard followed in 1895. The birds were first poultry show|shown]] in Strasbourg in 1897.[9]
In the twentieth century the breed came close to disappearance, and is still regarded as being at risk.[8] A bantam was created in Alsace by Herscher, Hirschner and Trog; it was on the "endangered" list of the FAO in 2007.[1]
Characteristics
Four colours are recognised for the Alsacienne – for both large fowl and bantams – by the Fédération Française des Volailles: black, blue-laced, golden salmon and white.[10] The comb is rose-shaped, topped with a spike; it is bright red, as are the wattles. The ear-lobes are white.[3]: 18 Body weights for large fowl are some 2–2.5 kg for hens and 2–3 kg for cocks,[3]: 18 and for bantams 800 g and 950 g respectively.[4] The corresponding ring sizes are 16 mmand 18 mm for large fowl, and 12 mm and 14 mm for bantams.[4]
Use
The Alsacienne is a good layer of large white eggs, which weigh at least 60 g.[3]: 18
In a tasting of the meat of thirty traditional French chicken breeds by a jury of chefs including Pierre Troisgros, the Alsacienne was placed second, after the poulet de Bresse.[8]
Notes
References
- ^ a b Barbara Rischkowsky, Dafydd Pilling (editors) (2007). List of breeds documented in the Global Databank for Animal Genetic Resources, annex to: The State of the World's Animal Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. Rome: Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. ISBN 9789251057629. Archived 23 June 2020.
- ^ a b c Breed data sheet: Poule d'Alsace / France (Chicken). Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed August 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f Alain Fournier (2005). L'élevage des poules. Paris: Artémis. ISBN 9782844163509.
- ^ a b c d Diamètres bagues poules (in French). Paris: Fédération Française des Volailles. Accessed 2 November 2024.
- ^ APA Recognized Breeds and Varieties: As of January 1, 2012. American Poultry Association. Archived 4 November 2017.
- ^ Liste des races et variétés homologuée dans les pays EE (28.04.2013). Entente Européenne d’Aviculture et de Cuniculture. Archived 16 June 2013.
- ^ Breed Classification. Poultry Club of Great Britain. Archived 12 June 2018.
- ^ a b c Races de volailles françaises (in French). ProNaturA France (Fédération Française des Associations pour une Protection non Anthropomorphiste de la Nature et des Animaux). Accessed October 2014.
- ^ Historique (in French). Niederbronn-Les-Bains: Poule et Oie d'Alsace Club de France. Archived 16 August 2025.
- ^ Liste des races et variétés de volailles reconnues en France – janvier 2024 (in French). Paris: Fédération Française des Volailles. Archived 14 July 2024.