Houdan Chicken

     The Houdan is a rare breed of Chickens, that originated in the town of Houdan in France. It’s characterized by having a crest, a butterfly V-shaped comb, a beard, and small rounded wattles. The Houdan has also white earlobes, mottled-black legs, and like the Faverolles and the Dorking, it has a fifth toe.

     Houdans are calm and placid chickens that are fairly good layers of large white eggs (150 – 180 per year). The hens tend to go broody too, but they aren’t good sitters as they may break the eggs due to gathering a large clutch. The Houdan is also reputed for producing meat of high qualities, which rendered it to be a perfect dual-purpose chicken.

     Houdans are attractive and handsome chickens indeed, and they are mostly bred for ornamental purposes, especially the black-mottled white variety. They are bred also in the black and the white color-varieties, but in a very limited numbers. The Houdan is also related to the French Crèvecœur and perhaps it was derived from it long time ago. A bantam version is also available for this fabulous breed.