Faverolles chicken: size, eggs and care guide

The Faverolles is a standard-size breed laying about 150 to 200 light brown to tinted eggs a year, with hens around 6.5 lb and roosters around 8 lb. It has five toes on each foot rather than four, a trait it shares only with the Silkie, Dorking, Houdan and a handful of others. It is also one of very few breeds selected specifically for winter laying.

How big is a Faverolles?

A mature Faverolles hen weighs about 6.5 lb and a rooster about 8 lb, with a typical standing height of 15 to 17 inches. That puts it in the standard class, which is what drives its feed requirement of roughly 0.25 lb per bird per day before waste, free-ranging or seasonal adjustments.

Faverolles egg production

Eggs are not this breed's main strength. A Faverolles lays around 150 to 200 medium light brown to tinted eggs a year, about 2.9 to 3.8 a week, so it is usually kept for other qualities and the eggs treated as a bonus. Output drops further during the moult and the darkest weeks of winter. To turn that into a monthly total and a dollar value at your local egg price, run it through the egg production calculator.

Temperament and noise

Exceptionally gentle, to the point of being a problem. Faverolles are so unassertive that they are routinely bullied in mixed flocks and will stand back and let other breeds eat first. They do best with other calm breeds or in a flock of their own. Noise level is rated quiet, which matters if you keep chickens close to neighbours.

Origin and history

Created in the village of Faverolles in northern France in the 1860s to supply the Paris market, which wanted a bird that would lay through winter and still produce pale, tender meat. The salmon variety is the one almost everyone keeps today.

Cold and heat tolerance

Cold tolerance is excellent and heat tolerance fair. The upright single comb is the part most at risk in hard freezes, so ventilation that removes moisture without creating a draft matters.

Does the Faverolles go broody?

Sometimes. A broody hen stops laying and sits, which is a nuisance if you want eggs and a gift if you want chicks hatched naturally without an incubator.

Care specifics for this breed

Beard, muffs, feathered legs and five toes all mean more places for mites and mud. Keep the run drained, check the beard for caked feed, and inspect foot feathering regularly. The extra toe is normal for this breed and needs no intervention.

Feed cost for a flock of Faverolles

Feed cost sits in the normal range for a standard laying breed: about 0.25 lb per bird per day, so six Faverolles birds come to roughly $21.19 a month at $22 per 50 lb bag. Free-ranging typically trims around 15% off that and winter adds about 10%. The feed cost calculator gives the exact figure for your flock size and local feed price, including bags needed and how long each lasts.

Is the Faverolles right for you?

It suits cold climates, gentle single-breed flocks, and families who want a genuinely docile unusual bird. It is a weaker choice for mixed flocks with assertive breeds, hot humid summers, or muddy uncovered runs. If you are still deciding, compare it against the other options in our guide to the best egg-laying breeds for beginners, or work out how many birds you need with the flock size calculator.