 Uses: Exhibition. Utility: eggs.
Eggs: ??? Tinted Origin: France
Weight: Cock: 4.08 - 4.98Kg Hen: 3.4 - 4.3Kg
Bantam Cock: 1.13 - 1.36Kg Hen: 907 - 1133g
Colours: Black, Laced Blue, Buff, Cuckoo, Ermine, Salmon, White (Standardised UK).
Useful to Know: The name Faverolles comes from a village name, much like the Marans. This means there is always an 's' on the end of the spelling, even if we are talking about a single Faverolles.
Photo: Salmon Favorolles. Photo courtesy of Rupert Stephenson.
The Faverolles Chicken takes its name from a Village found to the West of Paris in France. This village is very close to the town of Houdan from which another breed also takes its name. The make up of the Faverolles starts with farm yard flocks around Faverolles. Most of these were Houdan and Dorking crosses of some description. Imported chickens from Asia are thought to have been kept by the wealthy in the surrounding areas. It is thought that the odd cock bird from these Asian fowl would have been mixed with the farm yard flocks which is how the Faverolles got its large size and feathered feet. The farmers started sending birds to the markets of Paris since they had a rapid growth rate and were a good size. To identify them, the dealers started giving them the name Faverolles, long before there was any conformity in type or  plumage colour, they were still cross breeds, but soon became very popular for their meat and slowly started outselling the pure bred Houdan.
The Faverolles reached the UK in the 1890's and by 1900, the British Faverolles club was formed and a new breed standard was written. In the UK, poultry breeding was mainly for show, the British wanted to see uniform looking birds and the Faverolles still had a lot of variability. The English fanciers were prepared to pay more for birds that were closer to the standard so slowly, the farmers became more selective in their breeding to satisfy market demands in England.
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