La Flèche chicken

La Flèche
Hen at the Écomusée du pays de Rennes
Conservation statusFAO (2007): no data:45
Other namesFrench: Poule de La Flèche
StandardFrance (in French)
Usedual-purpose
Traits
Weight
  • Male:
    • Standard: 3.5–4 kg
    • Bantam: 900 g
  • Female:
    • Standard: 3–3.5 kg
      Bantam: 800 g
Skin colorwhite
Comb typetwo vertical spikes
Classification
APAcontinental
PCGBrare soft feather: heavy

The La Flèche (French: Poule de La Flèche, pronounced [pul la flɛʃ]) is a rare French breed of dual-purpose domestic chicken. It originates from the département of the Sarthe, in the Pays de la Loire region, and is named for the town and commune of La Flèche in that area, not far from the capital of the Sarthe, Le Mans. The breed was once famous for the fine quality of its meat; since the Second World War, numbers have fallen very low.