Poussin

"Poussin", French for unfledged chicken or spring chick, owes its tenderness to its young age and fast growth. Just over three weeks of age at processing, and with a dressed weight of approximately 12 to 20 oz. for a whole-body, eviscerated bird, these happy little chickens are free to roam about in comfortable heated barns, in their own natural social clusters. The young Poussins have complete freedom to eat and drink at will. This combined with their young age allows Poussin to be of extremely tender, light meat, while delicately textured and flavored character.

Some have confused these special small chickens with "cornish hens". Poussins are younger than Cornish by a week or more when prepared for the market. Cornish can reach as much as 2 lbs in size whereas a Poussin ranges from 12 to 20 ounces. Recent market changes in part due to limited availability of fresh Cornish, has pushed the traditional Poussin size to the upper ends of the size range. Historically, Poussin would be closer to 12 to 16 ounces in all. In recent years we have seen demand stronger for birds weighing closer to 16 to 20 ounces in size when eviscerated whole body ready to cook.