Coucou de Rennes
Gallus gallus domesticus
✨ Fun Fact
The Coucou de Rennes is one of France's native auto-sexing breeds — a trait so commercially valuable that it was independently developed in several French regions in the early 1900s. Male chicks hatch with a paler, more uniform down while females carry a darker eye stripe, allowing Breton farmers to cull surplus cockerels at day one without specialist sexing skills.
A French auto-sexing dual-purpose breed from Rennes in Brittany, developed in the early 20th century as a practical cuckoo-barred farmyard bird with the commercially valuable trait of auto-sexing — male and female chicks can be told apart by down colour at hatch. The Coucou de Rennes combines the cuckoo plumage pattern (grey-black barring throughout) with good egg production and respectable table weight. Recognised by the Société Centrale Avicole de France (SCAF) and the EE Europastandard, it is maintained today by French conservation breeders in Brittany.
🏷️ Breed
Coucou de Rennes
💭 Temperament
Calm, active, friendly, good forager, cold-hardy
📏 Size
Large (2.7-3.6 kg)
⏳ Lifespan
5-8 years
🎨 Colors
Cuckoo — regular blue-grey and white barring on every feather
🌍 Origin
France — Rennes, Brittany; developed early 20th century; SCAF recognised
🏠 Habitat
Free-range or enclosed run; adapted to the wet Atlantic climate of Brittany
🍽️ Diet
Layer pellets; good free-range forager on Breton pasture
🎯 Purpose
Dual Purpose
🥚 Egg Colour
Tinted
👑 Comb Type
Single
🏅 EE Class
Large Fowl