Coffee With The Chicken Ladies Breed Spotlight: Houdans

Houdan Heritage Chickens | Foundation Breeds

As is the case with many of our favorite Heritage breeds, Houdans were “improved,” (usually to increase size and/or significant physical features,) during the 1800s, notably in the village of Houdan in Normandy, France. Like the Faverolles, they were bred and raised as a dual purpose bird for the London and Paris markets. However, there are written records here and there that suggest that this breed is far older. Most poultry historians credit Dorkings and either Crevecouer or Polish as their foundation breeds. The 5th toe would almost certainly be a gift from the Dorking, itself a very old breed, and we know that the Crevecouer is a historic breed as well. We have no real way of knowing what those first strains of Houdans looked like, so it’s hard to guess how much they were altered over the centuries.

Houdan Heritage Chickens | History

Houdans were first imported into England – where they were sometimes known as the Normandy Fowl – in the 1850s. Many British chicken keepers of the era believed the Houdan was one of the best French chickens available. They remained popular in the UK until the early 20th century, both as practical farm birds and as show chickens.

Houdans showed up in the US in the 1860s. The black and white mottled Houdans were accepted into the Continental Class in the first printing of the American Poultry Association Standard of Perfection in 1874. An American breeder began developing a white strain of Houdan by crossing mottled Houdans and White Polish, and that color variety was accepted by the APA in 1914. Like so many other Heritage breeds, Houdans in Europe and North America were replaced by industrial layers and fell out of favor after the first and second world wars, eventually becoming endangered.