Olivier Joly - Eleveurs de volailles de Bresse

As the son of farmers, I returned to La Grange Renaud, my childhood farm, in 2017. I chose to create a farm that respects the Bresse chicken tradition, and focuses on ecological practices.

On my farm, the chicks arrive on their first day, direct from the Béchanne hatchery 6km away. After 5 weeks in the warmth, they have access to the fresh air to scratch the ground, eat grass, insects, worms and small stones, in order to build their skeleton and muscle. Each bird has 10 to 20m2 to glean its meal and exercise during the day. When night falls, the chickens return to their hut, where they spend the night to limit the predators' appetite. I supplement their feed with corn and wheat from Bresse, as well as whey from the village cheese dairy (which makes the meat softer). The cereals are guaranteed GMO-free, and I don't use antibiotics.

In Bresse, chickens take their time to grow and mature: it takes at least 120 days to produce a bird. This is the secret of the inimitable taste and texture of Bresse chicken, the "queen of poultry" as Brillat-Savarin called it.

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