There are so many heritage chickens in the world that we rarely encounter. If you think about it, many of our common, easy-to-find chicken breeds are incredibly new. They’re varieties of chickens our ancestors wouldn’t have known, especially our modern meat breeds.
The chickens our forefathers ate were smaller and generally older than the roasters we eat today. Most chickens were bred as dual-purpose egg and meat breeds that could thrive on forage and kitchen scraps.
One of the prettiest of these heritage breeds is the Gournay chicken from Northern France. If you’re unfamiliar with this fantastic bird, it’s time you got to know it.
Gournay Basics
Gournays hail from Normandy, France. They’ve been strutting around proudly on Norman farms since the Middle Ages. A good, consistent layer, these birds also have the reputation of producing some of the world’s best-tasting, most delicately flavored chicken meat.
Unfortunately, Gournays are rare and almost impossible to find outside of Europe. There are around 15,000 known Gournay chickens in France,. Hopefully, we in the States will have more access to this fantastic breed soon.
As it is, you’ll need to check out specialty breeders in North America to get your hands on this bird. But it’s worth the effort.
These beauties look like a snowstorm on a winter’s night. White speckles scattered across a black base color make Gournay roosters and hens stand out from the crowd. They’re smallish birds; hens weigh around five pounds, while roosters usually weigh about six pounds.
Gournay chickens date back to the Vikings, who settled all over Normandy in the 8th century. The Vikings loved flash and beauty but also valued hardy, self-reliant animals that didn’t need to be coddled. This breed is an ideal Viking chicken – proud, hardy, and beautiful.
Unfortunately, this ancient breed was neglected in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Many chicken raisers were lured away from traditional breeds by exciting new imports and production-style breeds.
The Gournay almost went extinct after World War II, but a few passionate enthusiasts have restored the breed to sustainable numbers.
Today, while you’ll rarely see a Gournay chicken outside of France, you can find these beautiful birds in healthy numbers in their homeland.
Temperament
What kind of personality would you expect a Viking chicken to have? Would you expect the Gournay to be a fighter? Well, fortunately, these aren’t difficult birds to love. These sweet-tempered, low-drama birds do well in small coops with other birds, love people, and are easy to handle.
Even the roosters are sweet boys who watch over their hens carefully but know how to tell the difference between a friend and an enemy.
Coloration
Gournays are black and white birds with bright red combs, clean legs, and thick beaks. They tend to have small heads, long, graceful necks, and small, rounded bodies. Both the beak and the legs of these birds are white or pinkish with black splotches.
Roosters have long, graceful black and white tails and tall, usually single combs. The hens have smaller combs that tend to lean backward.
While the amount of white varies from bird to bird, there is always a noticeable sprinkling of white among the black background on the body and tail of both males and females.
Auto-Sexing Chicks?
It’s always helpful to know at hatching what you’ve got. But auto-sexing wasn’t a priority for the Vikings; they had other things to focus on. This is not an auto-sexing breed.
It’s hard to tell the sexes apart until they start feathering out. Then, you may notice the males’ combs growing faster and larger than the females’. You might also see the tell-tale pointed tail feathers of the rooster coming in.
Egg Production
Gournays are a heritage breed, not a production breed. Your hens will average about three extra large white eggs each week. But they tend to lay longer than production birds, who usually exhaust their laying around age two or three.
They will often continue to lay well into their fifth year, obviously believing that slow and steady is better than too much too soon.
Consistent layers that could last more than a few years were much more valuable to our ancestors because they sought a sustainable food source. Their birds would lay for about five years and then grace the stewpot with their delicately flavored meat.
What About Meat?
Meat is one of the shining qualities of the Gournay chicken. Though they’re small birds, the meat is famous for its flavor. Like in egg production, the Vikings valued quality over quantity.
Gournay chickens produce a well-developed, but not monstrously huge, breast. The flavor of the meat maintains its quality throughout the bird’s life, too. Of course, an older bird will be less tender than a younger one.
Foraging
While Gournays can live well in small spaces and thrive in coops, they also love to forage. Foraging birds can significantly reduce your feed bill because they will get most of their diet from forage.
Gournays are alert, predator-wary birds who don’t wander too far from home. They love foraging, but if you have a suburban coop and have to keep your birds confined to a run, the Gournay can also thrive better than many other breeds in that environment.
Health and Wellness
Like so many heritage breeds, Gournays are exceptionally healthy birds. This is partially because people in the middle ages didn’t have time to coddle sickly or unproductive birds. They raised birds that could withstand challenging conditions and continue to produce without too much oversight.
The roosters have larger combs, so if your coop is in a frigid climate, you’ll want to ensure it’s cozy enough to protect them from frostbite. Larger combed birds are at risk of frost-bit combs in cold weather, so take precautions with your pretty Gournay boys.
Of course, all chickens will suffer if they don’t have the right conditions. Remember to keep your coop clean, make sure your chickens have access to fresh, clean water, and watch for common coop pests and diseases like mites, infections, avian flu, and sour croup.
Also, keep your birds safe from predators by building a secure coop with solid doors and no holes for predators to sneak through. An invading raccoon can wipe out a healthy flock in one night.
Gournay Pros and Cons
Gournay Chickens are gorgeous birds with a rich history and a delightful personality. These birds will add visual and historical interest to any flock and be sweet birds that are ideal for raising with other chickens, children, and older family members.
Because of their long history, Gournay chickens would make a great addition to a historian’s flock – or in the flock of someone looking to reclaim truely traditional foods and ways of living.
Positives
Gournays are good, solid, consistent layers that take a short break in the winter and resume laying early in the spring. While they’re not daily production birds, their extra-large, bright yolked eggs are delicious.
They are sweet, easy-going birds who get along well with flock mates and family. Unlike many modern production birds, Gournays were bred to live close to people and are easy to tame.
Gournays are also a gourmet’s ideal bird. Their small, rounded, plump body provides some of the best chicken meat in the world – with a truly stunning flavor. Gournay meat is usually described as delicate and tender. Definitely a perfect addition to a farm-to-table meal.
They’re also fascinating historically. These birds have graced the tables of medieval lords and strutted through the barnyards of feudal knights. They’re a work of art as well as a living creature. If your life is all about aesthetics, Gournays are a perfect pick.
Cons
No bird is perfect; though Gournays are practically ideal, they’re not for everyone.
If you’re looking for an egg a day from each of your birds, don’t get a Gournay. They’re never going to be production layers. But if you have a small flock of Gournays, you’ll certainly get enough eggs to provide for your family.
Because of the roosters’ large combs, they can struggle with frostbite in the winter. If you live where temperatures dip below 0°F in the winter, insulate your coop well.
Unfortunately, the biggest drawback to getting Gournay chickens in the States is the lack of availability. These birds are not common here. You’ll have to hunt around for specialty breeders.
If you manage to get a few Gournays in your flock, you will never regret it! You could even sell them and make some cash.