Blue Foot Chicken

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Blue Foot Chicken

Conservation status

uncommon

Other names

California Blue Foot (California Poulet Bleu )

Country of origin

Canada

Classification

Traits
Weight	Male	6 to 7 lbs at 18 weeks^[1]
Skin Color	blue legs but not blue skin^[1]
Comb Type	single^[1]

Chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus)

Blue Foot Chicken is a Canadian breed of chicken bred to resemble the French chicken Poulet de Bresse, also known as "Bresse Blue".^[2]

The breed is attributed to Canadian breeder Peter Thiessen of British Columbia^[2] and was later marketed in the United States by California farm manager Bob Shipley. The Blue Foot Chicken was originally conceived as an alternative to the French Bresse Bleu, availability of which is tightly regulated by French law, with export expressly forbidden. It was bred by Thiessen over a period of 15 years starting in the 1980s.^[2] The breed was almost lost in 2004 when avian flu fears in Canada led to the Canadian government ordering the destruction of vast numbers of fowl, including all the chickens at Thiessen's farm. However, one week before this decision was made, several breeders had been relocated to California, allowing the breed to survive and flourish in the US.^[3]

Blue Foot Chicken is characterized by a red comb, white feathers, and steel-blue feet, which give the breed its name. This trait is so admired that the feet are usually left on for presentation. Blue Foot are typically slaughtered much later than factory farm or free range chicken, being left to grow on their own rather than relying on force-feeding or power feed. Thus they require 12 to 14 weeks to reach market size, rather than the 42 days possible under factory farm conditions. After slaughter, the chickens may be air-chilled, rather than undergoing commercial water-chilling, leaving the meat dense and rich in flavor, as no water is absorbed into the meat during the chilling process.^[4].

In the wake of the Canadian cull, all remaining stocks are now in California, and the Blue Foot is being marketed there as the California Blue Foot or California Poulet Bleu, in spite of its Canadian origin.^[4]

It is usually served with the feet still attached and tied in an upward position.

Blue Foot Chicken is sold for raw consumption in Japan, under special license, as Toriwasa sashimi^{[citation needed]}. Raw consumption was mentioned on Iron Chef America (Season 5 Episode 1).