The Faverolles: Five Toes, a Beard and the Gentlest Temperament

The Faverolles is one of the most peculiar-looking birds in poultry: it has a thick beard and muffs framing its face, lightly feathered legs, and — where most chickens have four toes — five toes.

But what really sets the Faverolles apart is its temperament: it is perhaps the gentlest and most affectionate of all chicken breeds. It climbs into your lap, learns its name and follows children about. In this guide we cover the breed's origin, the genetic story behind those five toes, the particular care problem its beard creates, and its risk of being bullied in a mixed flock.

Origin: Created for the Paris Market

The Faverolles comes from the French village of Faverolles. Its creation in the late 1800s had an entirely concrete purpose: the Paris market needed a farm bird supplying both meat and eggs.

Houdan, Dorking, Brahma, Cochin and Crèvecœur were blended together. The result: a large-bodied, winter-hardy bird with fine meat and steady laying. Its meat is still prized in French cooking.

• Cock: 4.0 – 5.0 kg
• Hen: 3.0 – 4.0 kg
• Varieties: Salmon is the famous one; white, black, blue and buff also exist
• Distinguishing marks: beard and muffs, lightly feathered legs, five toes

Five Toes: A Rare Club

A normal chicken has four toes. Five toes (polydactyly) appear in only a handful of breeds and are one of the markers of pure stock:

Five-toed breeds	Origin
Faverolles	France
Silkie	Asia
Dorking	England
Houdan	France
Sultan	Ottoman Turkey

The Faverolles gets its fifth toe from the Dorking and Houdan in its make-up. If you're buying Faverolles chicks, count the toes — a four-toed bird isn't pure.

Output in Numbers

Trait	Value
Point of lay	5-6 months
Eggs per year	150-200
Egg weight	55-60 g
Egg colour	Cream / light pinkish brown
Daily feed intake	130-150 g (a large body)
Winter eggs	Yes, it lays through winter

Output is moderate, but it carries one advantage: as we explained in our Barnevelder guide, most breeds stop laying in winter — the Faverolles doesn't. Dense feathering and a big body hold its heat, so it can spend energy on eggs.

Temperament: The Risk of Being Too Nice

Among poultry keepers the Faverolles is known as "the friendliest breed". Calm, curious and affectionate, it likes being picked up and gets on famously with children — ideal for family and hobby keeping.

But that gentleness has a cost. The problem we set out in our Orpington guide applies here as well: in a mixed flock it gets bullied. Dominant breeds — the Wyandotte, the RIR, the Leghorn — keep it off the feeder and pull the feathers out of its beard.

The practical rule: keep Faverolles with calm breeds such as the Orpington, the Brahma, the Cochin or the Australorp. If trouble starts, extra feeders and drinkers are the first fix; the detail is in our guide to pecking and cannibalism.

Special Care: The Beard Hides Lice

This is a Faverolles-specific point that is often neglected. The dense beard and muffs around the face are a perfect hiding place for lice and mites. On an ordinary chicken the head is relatively exposed; on a Faverolles there is a thick cushion of feathers.

• Check the beard area regularly — part the feathers and look at the skin; lice and their eggs (nits) show up at the feather bases
• Don't skip external parasite treatment (every three months)
• The beard feathers get caked in drinking water and feed; a deep, narrow-mouthed drinker keeps them clean
• Its lightly feathered legs, as with the Brahma and the Cochin, are prone to fungus and scaly leg mite in mud — the floor must be dry

For the general parasite and hygiene rules, see our coop biosecurity guide.

Chick Sexing in the Salmon Variety

The commonest colour of the Faverolles is the Salmon, and in this variety the sexes are completely different in colour:

• Hens: salmon and cream tones — light and soft
• Cocks: black, white and straw in sharp contrast — markedly darker

The difference shows in the chick down too: pullets are lighter and plainer, cockerels darker and more contrasted. It isn't infallible, but an experienced eye can call it early — along with the Welsummer it is one of the few pure breeds in which sex can be read early. For detail see our guide on how to tell a chick's sex.

Care and Housing

• Coop space: 0.4-0.5 m² per hen (a large body)
• Run: 2-3 m²; it tolerates confinement
• Flying: heavy and barely flies; a 1-1.5 m fence is enough
• Perch: mid-to-low (40-50 cm) — a heavy bird
• Floor: dry (feathered legs)
• Cold: copes well; lays through winter
• Heat: dense feathering is a burden in summer; shade and cool water are needed

For coop dimensions see our guide on how to build a chicken coop.

Hatching

The Faverolles goes broody moderately and makes a good mother. It isn't as dependable a broody as the Silkie or the Cochin, but nor is it a zero like the Leghorn. For natural incubation see our guide to hatching with a broody hen.

In an incubator the period is standard: 21 days, 37.5-37.8 °C, 45-55% humidity, lockdown on day 18. The cream, pale shell makes candling straightforward — an advantage over the Marans' dark shell.

We set out the process in our 21-day incubation guide; to keep the days straight, the Kuluçka Takip app builds the calendar and reminds you of turning and hatch days. You can check out the app here.

A breeding note: the Faverolles is a pure breed. The five toes and the beard are easily lost in a cross, so use pure-line stock — and count the chicks' toes.

Pros and Cons

• + Among the gentlest and most affectionate of chickens; ideal with children
• + Lays through the winter (150-200 a year)
• + Dual purpose: a large body and meat prized in France
• + Five toes, beard and feathered legs: a striking bird with show value
• + In the Salmon variety, chick sex can be guessed early
• + Tolerates confinement; cold-hardy
• + A pure breed: you can hatch your own chicks
• − Gets bullied in a mixed flock — don't keep it with dominant breeds
• − The beard hides lice and mites; regular checks are essential
• − Feathered legs: the floor must be dry
• − Moderate egg output; poor in heat

Who Is It For?

The Faverolles suits you if: you have children and want a hen that can be handled and cuddled; you want eggs through winter; you want meat as well as eggs; you like an unusual, striking bird; your flock is made up of calm breeds.

The Faverolles is not for you if: your flock contains dominant breeds (it gets bullied); you want maximum eggs → the Lohmann or the Leghorn; you want a guaranteed broody → the Silkie or the Cochin; you live in a hot climate; or you can't commit to regular parasite checks (the beard needs them).

To compare all the breeds side by side, see our guide to choosing a laying or meat breed.