Mistral Gris day old chicks - Artisanal meat birds

Our Mistral Gris (“Mee-strahl Gree”) are a ‘Label Rouge’ style of pasture meat bird - the best breed for healthy chicken meat. They grow much faster than the best pure-bred heritage birds, but not too fast like the commercial broilers. These are robust chicks that feather quickly and can go outside to start foraging at a few weeks old. Raised on pasture they truly create a specialty Artisanal meat.  

The Mistral Gris are best raised till  12/13weeks, when they become the best roasters you'll ever eat. They will average between 3.5-6 lbs of finished weight at this time, with the hens weighing a bit less than the roosters. You can process them as early as 10 weeks, but we find the meat to be the best when raised a bit longer. They can put on quite a bit of weight in the last few weeks, so if you are aiming for big birds they can be safely grown longer.

They have broader breasts and heavier thighs than the Freedom Rangers, Western Rustics, etc. Despite the black feathers, they dress cleanly and easily. Rub with butter and roast in an open pan for the most divine dinner!

Mistral Gris look a lot like Barred Rocks, with black and white barred feathers, single combs and yellow skin. They were bred from Barred Rocks and several other heritage breeds using old-fashioned breeding techniques and a ‘3 way cross’. It takes at least 10 generations to perfect a cross like this, and the parent/grandparent lines need to be refreshed every 4 years, so they are an ongoing project here at the farm. No genetic engineering or ‘terminal genes’ have been used, but the Gris grow too large to be good breeders themselves.

Here is our Growers guide to raising Mistral Gris