Sasso Chicken Breeds Details and Management Information

The Sasso broiler chicken, made to be hardy and to as a slow-growing bird, is a broiler alternative to the fast-growing hybrid broilers that are based on the cornish cross. 

Sasso is actually not a breed name, but the name of the French company that has been breeding chicken for decades. The major focus for Sasso is in colored birds under the “Label Rouge” certification standard. They also have other brands.

Bred to grow under all manner of rearing systems and reach a market weight of 2 kilograms in 3 months, the Sasso Breed is a choice for those who want to take advantage of the in-betweens of the traditional free-range Kienyeji chicken and the fast-growing hybrid broiler.  

Sasso Chicken Breeds Background Information

In the 1950s Serge Perrault from southern France wanted to preserve the traditional chicken breeds.  His work led to the development of the Sasso T lines. A project by a cooperative of farmers in the same area led to the creation of SASSO when they were involved in the development of the “Label Rouge” specifications for traditional chicken. 

It was in the 1990s that SASSO opened a second location near the airport so as to streamline the export of the SASSO breeds. 

In 2016. SASSO signed an alliance with Hendrix Genetics, leading to an alliance in 2017, where Hendrix Genetic acts as a backup for all international SASSO breeding grandparent stock activities. The worked in the advantage of both SASSO and Hendrix Genetics, giving SASSO an international footprint while being an addition to Hendrix Genetics foray into the Traditional Poultry Breeds, which it started in 2013. 

In Kenya, SASSO breeds are distributed via Tanzania’s Silverlands Company where they distribute SASSO day old chicks through distributors in Kenya

Sasso Chicken Breed Profile

The strength of the SASSO breeds comes from the “Label ROUGE” concept which they conceptualized in 1965. Label Rouge serves as a certified mark of quality, showing that the birds have been raised in certain conditions and processes. 

Chicken products certified as Label Rouge carry the Label Rouge Sticker, with unique identification numbers ensuring making it easy to trace the origin and history of that specific product from the farm to the shelf.

Label Rouge is based on 5 principles namely:-

1. Hardy breeds that are able to withstand harsh outdoor conditions. 
2. Chicken raised in freedom raised outdoors or with good space per bird. The specification defines outdoors as 2 square meters per bird and free-range as unlimited space. If kept indoors, the maximum density should be 11 birds per square meter, with lower density being the preference. 
3. Plant-based diet consisting of up to 75% cereals, supplemented by plant protein. 
4. Slow growth ensuring firm meat texture and great flavour.  The meat products should look good, taste good, smell good, and feel good when touched. 
5. Healthy and Safe growing conditions. 

The SASSO chicken breeds available in Africa due to their ability to withstand the African poultry-keeping conditions are SASSO Rainbow T (TR), SASSO Rainbow X (XR), SASSO Ruby C(C44), SASSO Ruby N (XL44N) and SASSO Ruby T (T44). 

The Ruby T is meant to be a dual-purpose chicken for meat and eggs, while the others are for meat. 

Sasso also provides the SA51, SA31A, and SA31L that are meant for breeding. 

Breed Profile: Sasso Rainbow T (TR) Chicken. 

The SASSO Rainbow T (TR) is meant to be a free-range bird that can be kept for meat. 

Breed Name: Rainbow T.

Scientific Name: Gallus gallus domesticus.

Other Names: none.

Temperament: Friendly and Forages well.

Purpose: Meat.

Body Size: Large.

Broodiness: Data not available.

Climate: Most Climates can tolerate heat and cold.

Comb: Single.

Eggs Productivity: Data not available.

Size of Eggs: Data not available.

Colour of eggs: Data not available.

Colour: Rainbow Coloured.

Breed Profile: Sasso Rainbow X (XR) Chicken. 

The SASSO Rainbow X (XR) is meant to be a hardy free-range bird dual-purpose bird that can withstand any climate. It is a multi coloured bird (rainbow)

Breed Name: Rainbow X.

Scientific Name: Gallus gallus domesticus.

Other Names: none.

Temperament: Friendly and Forages well.

Purpose: Meat.

Body Size: Large.

Broodiness: Data not available.

Climate: All Climates can tolerate heat and cold.

Comb: Single.

Eggs Productivity: Data not available .

Size of Eggs: Data not available .

Colour of eggs: Data not available.

Colour: Rainbow Coloured.

Breed Profile: Sasso Ruby C (C44) Chicken. 

The SASSO Ruby C (C44) is a heavy chicken breed that is meant for meat, gaining up to 3.4 kgs for males and 2.7 kgs for females at 10 weeks It has reddish colored feathers. It is meant to gain a lot of weight while consuming less food. It is a balance between flavour, feed conversion ratio and tolerance to harsh climates 

Breed Name: Ruby C44.

Scientific Name: Gallus gallus domesticus.

Other Names: none.

Temperament: Friendly and Forages well.

Purpose: Meat.

Body Size: Large.

Broodiness: Data not available.

Climate: medium tolerance to heat and cold.

Comb: Single.

Eggs Productivity: Data not available.

Size of Eggs: Data not available.

Colour of eggs: Data not available.

Colour: Unique reddish coloured feathers.

Breed Profile: Sasso Ruby N (XL44N) Chicken. 

The SASSO Ruby N (XL44N) is a naked neck free-range breed that is meant for meat, gaining up to 2.6 kgs for males and 2.0 kgs for females at 10 weeks. The Ruby N does well in high temperatures with no reduction in the feed and water intake.  The feathers are reddish in colour

Breed Name: Ruby N (XL44N).

Scientific Name: Gallus gallus domesticus.

Other Names: none.

Temperament: Friendly and Forages well.

Purpose: Meat.

Body Size: Large.

Broodiness: Data not available.

Climate: Superior tolerance to high temperatures.

Comb: Single.

Eggs Productivity: Data not available.

Size of Eggs: Data not available.

Colour of eggs: Data not available.

Colour: Reddish coloured feathers.

Breed Profile: Sasso Ruby T (T44) Chicken. 

The SASSO Ruby T (T44) is a free-range dual-purpose breed, gaining up to 1.9 kgs for males and 1.6 kgs for females at 10 weeks. The Ruby T does well in rural settings as it is easy to manage. 

Breed Name: Ruby T (T44).

Scientific Name: Gallus gallus domesticus.

Other Names: none.

Temperament: Friendly and Forages well.

Purpose: Meat and eggs.

Body Size: medium.

Broodiness: Data not available.

Climate: hardy.

Comb: Single.

Eggs Productivity: Total of 230 eggs at 70 weeks.

Size of Eggs: Data not available.

Colour of eggs: Brown.

Colour: Reddish coloured feathers.

Advantages of Sasso Chicken Breeds

1. Huge selection of breeds for different purposes – Sasso chicken breeds have a huge selection of breeds for different purposes.  
2. Hardy and rustic – Sasso chicken breeds can tolerate harsh climatic conditions.  They can do well in the rural African setting. 
3. Gain weight faster – Sasso chicken breeds for meat gain weight faster, reaching market weight in 10 weeks. This means the farmer can have 4 production cycles in a year

Disadvantages of Sasso Chicken

1. Sasso chickens are meant to do well in free-range conditions where space is available. 

Sasso Chicken Farming Management

Sourcing and receiving of SASSO Day-old Chicks

SASSO day-old chicks can be purchased from several day old chick selling companies based in Kenya. Make sure they import the Chicks directly from Silverlands Tanzania. This will ensure that you get quality SASSO F1 chicks.

Before receiving the SASSO day old chicks, make sure your brooding room is prepared. It should be disinfected, filled with new litter material, and disinfected feeding and drinking trays placed appropriately. Make sure the heat source is working as required. Brooding for SASSO chicks follows the standard brooding process as shown here

Housing and Hygiene for Sasso Chicken

For better production, make sure that you follow the recommended housing requirements for traditional chicken. SASSO chicken can be raised either in deep litter, semi free-range or full free-range systems. 

The house for SASSO chicken should protect them from adverse weather while providing security for them. 

The table below shows the spacing and temperature needed for SASSO Chicken

Age of SASSO chicken (in weeks)	Temperature (in celsius)	Floor Space per SASSO bird in Square feet	Feeding space per SASSO bird in Inches	Drinking space per SASSO bird in inches
1	29-32	0.25	1	0.5
2-3	26.5-29	0.5	1.5	0.75
3-5	Room	0.75	2	0.75
5-8	Room	1	2	1
Above 8	Room	2	3	1.5

You will also need to adhere to a lighting program to ensure your Sasso chicken develops well. The table below shows the recommended lighting program for SASSO chicken. 

Age of SASSO bird in days	Hours of light
1-2 days	24
3-7 days	20
8-14 days	16
15 days and above	Normal daylight hours

Sasso Chicken Vaccination Schedule

Make sure you follow standard poultry hygiene and biosecurity practices so as to ensure maximum productivity and good health for your SASSO chicken. 

You should also follow the recommended SASSO vaccination program for your area.

Please note that there is no standard vaccination program for all chicken for all areas. The vaccines needed in India are not the ones needed in Kenya or Europe. Even in some countries, different vaccines are administered in different areas. Vaccine programs are based on the most prevalent diseases in the given area. 

In Kenya, SASSO chicken vaccination should follow the Kienyeji chicken vaccination program. 

Sasso Chicken Feeding Program

Feeding your SASSO chicken well will ensure that the SASSO birds attain the required weight at the correct time. 

Please note that SASSO broilers are created to grow slower than the normal broiler. This means that you should not try to speed up growth using broiler finisher feeds. In order to get the great meat taste and texture of SASSO, the birds need to reach market weight in 9-10 weeks and not faster. This ensures that the muscles develop slowly and well, attaining similar texture and flavour as traditional Kienyeji chicken. 

Sasso chicken should be in the brooder for about 3 weeks, in which a complete diet for meat chicken should be provided.

You can choose to formulate your own feeds or use commercial feeds. 

After 3 weeks, feel free to let your SASSO chicken scavenge for their own feed (free-range). Letting SASSO birds on the range helps them develop the required muscle texture for quality traditional chicken meat.  For Optimal growth, 80% of the food required for SASSO broilers should be provided for in the morning and evening.  The SASSO birds should be able to scavenge for the remaining 20%. 

Record Keeping for SASSO chicken

Good record-keeping for your SASSO chicken will ensure you track the production, expenses, and income. This will help you tell if your SASSO chicken venture is worthwhile. Records such as weight gain, amount of feed consumed will help you calculate the Feed Conversion ratio for your SASSO broilers. 

You can either choose to keep your records manually or use the SmartBird Poultry Records Management Software available here. 

Marketing SASSO chicken

At about 9-10 weeks, SASSO broilers are ready for the market. The weight at this time should be 1.5 to 2 kilograms. It is advisable to have the target market in mind before starting to keep SASSO chicken.  This ensures that you raise the birds to attain the needed weight for the market. 

Where to buy Sasso F1 chicks in Kenya

You can buy SASSO F1 breeds from the following suppliers in Kenya

1. Kitofarm –  Kitofarm is located in Joska along Kangundo road. They supply SASSO F1 day old chicks, sourced directly from Silverlands Tanzania. They also sell 1 to 4 weeks old Sasso chics. Kitofarm delivers Sasso chics all over Kenya, with deliveries in Nairobi. You can reach KITOFARM on 0753672952