The Cobb 700, developed initially for the heavy bird markets seeking high breast meat yield, has a slower growing attributes and robust health that make it suited to the higher welfare version of standard chicken.

"Our farm trials show that the Cobb 700 is the perfect fit for this increasingly significant market," said Euan Meldrum, marketing manager for Cobb Europe.

"This sector is growing chicken at a lower stocking density, which provides a clear point of difference through an enhanced level of welfare."

Cobb Sasso150 broilers with their distinctive coloured markings.

The Cobb Sasso150 is the first product to emerge from the new partnership between Cobb and the French breeder Sasso, a world leader in coloured chickens.

The new breed is a coloured chicken bred from a rustic brown female, mated with a white male, with around 10 per cent of the broilers having brown feathers and providing distinctive coloured markings.

Parent stock of the Cobb Sasso150 is highly prolific, producing more than 160 broiler chicks /hen housed to 60 weeks.

The broilers are ideally suited to free range and organic systems as well as less intensive indoor production.

As a slow growing breed, the broilers will not exceeds 45 grams per day and benefit from a high liveability, low feed conversion and good carcase conformation.

"Both breeds have been extensively tested at our UK trials farm and are already creating a lot of interest through the industry," add Mr Meldrum.

He said that the Cobb Sasso150 was the first of many products expected from the collaboration between Cobb and the French company.

At the launch at the Pig and Poultry Fair, the president of Cobb Jerry Moye said that the new birds were meting issues of welfare that have been concerning the market and were meeting the needs of the free range speciality market.

At the fair the Cobb Sasso150 was also given approval by the RSPCA to be used in the organisation's welfare friendly Freedon Food scheme.