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PGI — Île-de-France
Served at the table of the Russian tsars and the English Court, celebrated by gastronomes, this five-toed hen with its flamboyant crest reigned over markets throughout France.
Free-range poultry from Île-de-France, PGI (IGP) since 1996.
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Tradition has it that the Houdan hen dates back to the 14th century, but its earliest documented trace goes back to 1833: the sub-prefect Armand Cassan then identified Gambais, in Seine-et-Oise (now in the Yvelines), as the primary breeding centre for this fowl. It originates from the Houdan area, straddling the modern departments of Eure-et-Loir and Yvelines, which gave it its name. This singular hen, instantly recognisable by its voluminous crest, its oak-leaf double comb, and its five toes per foot—an exceedingly rare trait in the poultry world, shared with the neighbouring Faverolles breed—established itself from the outset as an exceptional bird, as much for its striking appearance as for the quality of its flesh.
Over the centuries, the Houdan established a strong presence on regional markets, supplying the capital as soon as the road network made it possible. Served at the table of the Russian tsars and at the Court of England, it enjoyed its heyday from the 18th century onwards. Its husbandry techniques—separating hatching from rearing, finishing with a liquid mash of barley flour and milk—already heralded modern poultry farming.
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The Houdan enjoyed its golden age in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The market in Houdan, alongside those of Dreux and Nogent-le-Roi, were then amongst the most important in France for poultry, dispatching birds to Paris—where they supplied the finest tables—and abroad. An 1870 publication noted that between them, these three markets sold six million fattened chickens a year, at twice the price of a Bresse fowl.
What fascinated gastronomes of the era was the flesh of the Houdan, which sometimes earned it the nickname of the "game-flavoured hen". A good layer for an ancient breed—yielding around 150 to 160 eggs per year—it produced a fine chicken at four and a half months, a remarkable feat for the 19th century.
The Great War shattered this fragile equilibrium. The decline truly set in after the conflict, when high-yielding hybrid breeds emerged, imposing a more profitable model of poultry farming. The Houdan, which requires a long free-range rearing period to develop its characteristic flesh, was gradually abandoned by commercial breeders; a century later, it had almost vanished from France's poultry heritage.
It barely survived in a handful of farmyards, kept alive by enthusiasts of heritage breeds. In 1979, the Houdan-Faverolles Club de France was reconstituted by Daniel Cordier, who also founded the Société Avicole, Cunicole et Colombicole des Yvelines (SACCY), relaunching a French national championship for the breed.
Its Label Rouge recognition, achieved in 1990, has now been abandoned; only the PGI (IGP) (Protected Geographical Indication, consolidated specifications of 21 June 1996) remains in force. The Syndicat Interprofessionnel Avicole de Houdan, established in 1991, had been at the heart of this revival; today, the PGI is managed by the Syndicat des Volailles Rouennaises (SYVOR), the defence and management organisation recognised by the INAO across the 316 communes within the designated area.
The Houdan is one of the few French breeds immediately recognisable live: a dense, voluminous crest, an oak-leaf double comb, five toes, and a distinctive beard. It exists in several colour varieties:
the best-known plumage—a black ground speckled with white markings. This is the traditional plumage of the Houdan.
a less common variant, with the same anatomical features (crest, five toes, double comb).
an ashen plumage, rarer still.
Appearance
Dark flesh, supported by a fine bone structure.
Aroma
Evocative of game birds—the flesh is sometimes nicknamed the "game-flavoured hen".
Taste
Flesh with a pronounced flavour, sometimes nicknamed the "game-flavoured hen".
Texture
Dense flesh, which prefers the moist environment of a cocotte to the dryness of the roasting spit.
Traditional rearing of the Houdan is long—lasting up to eight months with certain contemporary artisan breeders—and takes place outdoors, on a grain-based diet supplemented by pasture. This extensive period allows the muscle to develop slowly, locking in the flavours.
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The Houdan accommodates and indeed demands long, moist cooking: professionals reserve it for the cocotte rather than the spit, as its dense flesh tends to dry out in the oven. Fricasseed with Île-de-France cream, or prepared as that forgotten classic, poule au pot à la mode du pays de Houdan, cooked for two hours with vegetables and a bouquet garni until the flesh falls away in fragrant shreds—the Houdan poularde is particularly prized for special occasions.
Île-de-France chef Laurent Trochain, who devoted a book of fifty recipes to this fowl (2015, éditions Menu Fretin), systematically poaches it to preserve its tenderness—including prior to roasting—or cooks its suprêmes at a low temperature, at 62°C for one hour.
Since: 1996
Area covered: 316 communes (Yvelines 78, Eure-et-Loir 28, Eure 27)
Key requirements: Houdan breed · identification and traceability from rearing to marketing
Houdan poultry also obtained the Label Rouge in 1990, but this label has since been abandoned: it no longer features on professional lists of French poultry under Label Rouge.
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Established for four centuries in the hamlet of La Fortelle, in Longnes, Ferme Lecoq previously accommodated cows, pigs, sheep, and horses before devoting itself, for the past two generations, to rearing farm poultry: chickens, guinea fowl, rabbits, ducks, and laying hens, raised on the ground and free to roam in their meadow. The cereals — wheat, maize, barley, and field beans — grown on the farm's 35 hectares are traditionally used to feed the animals. For the festive season, the farm also rears capons, turkeys, poulardes, and geese; it has recently branched out into organic apple juice, and is working with an enthusiast to revive the poule de Mantes. The Confrérie Gastronomique de la Poule et du Pâté de Houdan lists it among the breeders from whom the poule de Houdan can be obtained.
Slaughtered on site and fed with cereals from the farm, the estate's poultry is sold ready-to-cook under the covered market in Mantes-la-Jolie, at the open-air market in Meulan, and at the farm shop; several starred or gastronomic restaurants in the region regularly feature them on their menus.
| Address | Hameau de 1, Rue des Vignettes, 78980 Longnes, France |
| +33 1 30 42 55 68 | |
| ferme.lecoq@laposte.net | |
| fermelecoq.blogspot.com | |
| Facebook page | |
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Part of the production is certified organic, since 2017. |
SCEA
Ferme du Loup Blanc was built in 1974 by Maxime Almeida's grandfather, who reared pheasants and partridges there destined for release for hunting. Maxime Almeida took over the family farm in early 2019 and converted it to organic poultry farming across 6.5 hectares of free-range land, now certified organic by Ecocert.
The livestock is raised without cages or antibiotics — relying instead on phytotherapy and homeopathy — and supplies several Yvelines AMAPs. In addition to chickens, the farm rears poulardes, capons, guinea fowl, and laying hen breeds (poules marrantes, cou nu); slaughter takes place in Houdan and processing in a workshop in Rambouillet. The farm also produces processed products — poultry sausages, terrines, and rillettes — sold direct.
| Address | 1 Le Loup Blanc, 78910 Civry-la-Forêt, France |
| +33 6 03 58 66 51 | |
| lafermeduloupblanc@orange.fr | |
| lafermeduloupblanc.com | |
| Facebook page | |
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All production is certified organic, since 2018. |
