Poussin (chicken)
butcher's term for a young chicken

In Commonwealth countries, poussin (pronounced is less commonly called coquelet) is a butcher's term for a young chicken, less than 28 days old at slaughter and usually weighing 400–450 grams (14–16 oz) but not above 750 grams (26 oz). It is sometimes also called spring chicken, although the term spring chicken usually refers to chickens weighing 750–850 grams (26–30 oz). The word is the French language term for the same thing. Normally a portion is a whole poussin per person.
In the United States, poussin is an alternative name for a small-sized cross-breed chicken called Rock Cornish game hen, developed in the late 1950s, which is twice as old and twice as large as the typical British poussin.
External links
The British Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affair' definition of poussin and coquelet
The British Assured Food Standards organisation's definition of poussin.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Poussin (chicken)” is butcher's term for a young chicken. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Poussin, chicken and butcher's, not as a finished interpretation.
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