Herve
Gallus gallus domesticus
✨ Fait Amusant
The Herve region produces Belgium's only PDO-protected cheese — a pungent washed-rind raw-milk cheese aged in humid cellars. The Herve chicken lived alongside the dairy cows that produced the milk for this cheese, forming part of an integrated small-farm ecosystem that produced two of Belgium's most distinctive foods.
A Belgian dual-purpose breed from the Pays de Herve region of Liège province, an area of rolling dairy pastures and hedgerows east of the city. The Hervehoen is a medium-large bird developed from local Walloon farmyard stock, valued for brown eggs and good table qualities. Named after the region famous for its pungent Herve cheese, this chicken shares the same terroir as one of Belgium's most distinctive food products. The breed was once the standard farm chicken of the Pays de Herve, but fell into steep decline after World War II as small mixed farms consolidated into larger dairy operations that no longer kept chickens. Belgian conservation breeders have worked to preserve the remaining population. Recognised by the EE Europastandard and BDRG.
🏷️ Race
Herve (Hervehoen)
💭 Tempérament
Calm, hardy, active, good forager, steady
📏 Taille
Large (2.7-3.6 kg)
⏳ Espérance de vie
5-8 years
🎨 Couleurs
Cuckoo, black, white, blue — several colour varieties
🌍 Origine
Belgium — Pays de Herve, Liège province; traditional regional breed
🏠 Habitat
Free-range or enclosed run; adapts well to hedgerow and pasture systems
🍽️ Alimentation
Layer pellets; good forager on dairy pasture and hedgerow margins
🎯 Usage
Dual Purpose
🥚 Couleur des œufs
Brown
👑 Type de crête
Single
🏅 Classe EE
Large Fowl